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

I have said before that, overall, I think that Oswald did a good job of defending himself. But, as I reconsider, I think he could have done a much better job, particularly at the Midnight Press Conference. I have come to think that by that time, he was really quite intimidated, like a boxer who took too many punches and was more trying to avoid being hit than deliver any blows. This is how Oswald should have started, rather than, "I don't know what this whole situation is about. No one has told me anything..."

"I am innocent. I did not shoot anyone. I do not own a rifle. The rifle these officers have shown you does not belong to me. If they claim my fingerprint is on it, they are mistaken, because I have never handled it. I don't know anything about it. I don't know how it got on the 6th floor. I had nothing to do with it. I didn't murder the President. I did not murder Officer Tippit. I am being framed. I have demanded to have a lawyer, but they won't give me one. And, I am asking for a Texas criminal defense lawyer to come forward to defend me. I am sure that I can convince you of my innocence, and I have no doubt we can convince a jury of my innocence because i am innocent. I would no more have shot President Kennedy than anyone watching this. I didn't do it."

 So, why wasn't Oswald more forceful and aggressive and adamant at the Midnight Press Conference? And look how those reporters are paying attention to him. Do you really think all that racket was going on that we hear when we listen to it? All that banging. All that rattling. Someone yelling, "At ease!" Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. 

But, what I am wondering is if they browbeat him before this, if they warned him not to sound defiant. Because: he was more defiant in the hallway then he was here. He should have come across as, not just defiant, but angry and outraged. 

But, if they did try to put limits on what he could say and control his content, how could they do it? What was the "or else" they could have threatened him with if he didn't abide? "You tone it down Oswald, or else we're going to..." what?  

And how could he not know that he was charged, formally charged, with killing the President? How was it that he learned that from a reporter?