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

After pointing out that the cigar smoker in the Jackson photo, who to me looks like he is doing a Groucho Marx impersonation, looks more like FBI Agent James Hosty than Detective Blackie Harrison, Mary-Ellen wonders whether he was even there.  She thinks he may have been pasted into the photo. Technically, it's possible. There is no reason why he couldn't have been. 

What is his story? What is he supposed to be doing with his right arm as he smokes with his left one? I have been told that he is "reaching for the gun." But, you can see where the gun is, and his right hand can't be anywhere near it. And who reaches to disarm a gunman while continuing to puff on a cigar? It seems to trivialize it, doesn't it? Then there is the officer behind Oswald in the white hat. If you look closely at his face, you'll realize that he is not looking at Oswald, that his stare is distant. He is looking at the camera. He is glancing right through Oswald and the others. I wonder if Jackson said, "Cheese." 

Notice how the jet-blackness of his suit contrasts with how the other dark suits look. Is that even a suit jacket? See if you can see a lapel. Why isn't it shiny like the other suits? It seems more like a black sweater. There are a couple of buttons on the sleeve, but suit jackets typically have four, and the two that are there aren't even the same size. And what about the convenient lapses in the photograph above and below him. Is it possible that they were put there in order to reduce the amount of him available for inspection? Is it possible that his trousers were nothing like Blackie's? And did they add the little lapse above him just for balance? It does seem awfully convenient, much like the white thumbprint in the Moorman photo. Note also that his right arm is way too thick. 

And while we're here, let's note that the entire image is completely ridiculous because a gunshot has supposedly gone off. An explosive, startling, unexpected gunshot. And when I say "gone off" I mean just gone off; less than a second before. So, how  could no one be started? That guy doesn't look the least bit startled. NBC reporter Tom Petitt doesn't look the least bit startled either. 

Perhaps I should take a moment to discuss startle. It is in an automatic, involuntary response, and it is something that affects your face, your neck, and your shoulders, mostly.  Tom Petitt in the white coat isn't startling at all. Detective Lowery on the left, who is clasping his hands in front, looks as cool as a cucumber, and if he could be more relaxed than he is, I don't know how. Fritz on the left is supposedly showing startle with his hand, but he is not startling with his neck and shoulders either. Meanwhile, we've got Leavelle with his hand in Oswald's pants in the groin area. Have you ever seen or heard of a cop doing that? Don't you think it's likely that this is the only time in police history that a cop ever grabbed a prisoner that way? 

Then there is the cop in uniform standing behind Oswald. If you look closely at his face, you'll see that he is not looking at Oswald and the others, that he is glancing through them. He is looking at the camera. I wonder if the photographer said, "Cheese." 

There is no one in that entire photo who looks startled. And as for Oswald, is this the only time in the history of gunshots in which a victim reacted by slapping his arm to his chest? I suspect so. But, the fact is that Oswald doesn't do it in the films. And consider how fast his arm had to be moving to get there in a fraction of a second. And if it was moving that fast, how could it stop that fast? 

And what about the kick of the gun? I mean the recoil. That's a powerful little gun, and the very short muzzle gives it a lot of kick. But notice that the Shooter looks like he is ABOUT to shoot, about to pull the trigger, rather than having already done it. He looks frozen. He looks like he was posing. 

The whole photo is just plain ridiculous, and the story that it is telling is absurd. Yet, it won the Pulitzer Prize. The photo is staged. It is pap for the masses; incredibly stupid pap for the masses.