Oswald in the doorway: the blog of the Oswald Innocence Campaign, by Ralph Cinque

If I was an adult in 1963, and I saw this image in the newspaper, I would have asked myself: How could that cop not be aware of the shooter when his arm, holding a gun, is right in front of him? 

Now, this would be a very easy thing to test: whether the shooter was in the visual field of Detective L.C. Graves. And even though in that image, you don't really get a sense of motion of the shooter; we know that he rushed in to shoot Oswald at very close range, the point being the moving objects stand out in one's visual field compared to stationary objects.  But honestly, doesn't it seem like Graves is just ignoring the shooter? Wouldn't you expect him to see him? I mentioned the element of motion, the fact that the shooter was moving fast, which would have aided detection. But, there is also the element of sound. The man had to make sound when he came in, his feet on the ground, his breathing, his clothes rustling. Plus, as he was moving, he was creating wind because he was moving through air and pushing the air. Scent too may have been involved as close as he was to Graves: the possible scent of hair lotion, aftershave, cologne. Even B.O., possibly. Even bad breath, possibly. He's really close. It's like the shooter is scraping past Graves. And Graves was not aware of him? Graves, a policeman? A policeman who was high-alert for this very thing?  

Regardless of your answer, does everyone agree that if Graves had turned his head a little to his left, that he definitely would have seen the shooter? So then, the question becomes: why didn't Graves turn his head? He knew that there was grave concern that someone was going to attack Oswald. He knew about the extreme precautions had been taken. He was walking into a field with Oswald, you might say a battlefield. So, why wouldn't he scan the field to visually cover the entire area of engagement, the entire area of danger? What sense was there in walking out like a horse with blinders on who could only see straight ahead? But, the biggest question of all is: why didn't the American public, upon seeing this picture, not ask themselves: how could that cop not be aware of the shooter?