What could investigators have done better to prevent the proliferation of CTs?

[Tom Graves]

What could the law authorities and investigators have done better to prevent the proliferation of tinfoil-hat JFKA conspiracy theorists?

Tape-record the interrogations of LHO?

Have witnesses initial every scrap of evidence?

Not make mistakes in reports and witnesses' statements like placing Jacob, Holt and Simmons on the South side of Elm Street?

Prevent Jack Ruby from sneaking down the ramp?

Handcuff LHO to something on the second floor while continuing their search of the TSBD?

Greer should have speeded up and started zig-zagging or something when he heard the first "firecracker"?

Tippit should have drawn his revolver before getting out of the patrol car and watched LHO like a hawk after doing so?

Left the long bag where they found it in the Sniper's Nest?

Sealed all of the windows on the motorcade route?

Should have had tape recorders running during the whole motorcade to record the number and timing of shots?

Told the evil, evil, evil CIA not to do it?



What else?

[Lance Payette]

The circumstances, including who JFK was and the number of people and organizations who detested him (as well as who Oswald was, as well as the chaos of Dealey Plaza), made this an almost perfect storm for conspiracy theories.

That's why it's the ultimate murder mystery - Agatha Christie on steroids.

The single most obvious thing they could have done was keep Oswald alive to stand trial. That should not have been difficult.

(I never see this discussed, but for a few years I was into handguns and discussions of "stopping power" and whatnot. The odds of one shot from a .38 with 1963-era ammunition killing someone would be extremely iffy. It can happen and in Oswald's case obviously did, but if Ruby's effort was some kind of planned hit it was an exceedingly chancy one. The odds of surviving one shot from a .38, especially in the circumstances in which Ruby fired it, would be pretty good.)

[Tom Graves]

The odds of one shot from a .38 with 1963-era ammunition killing someone would be extremely iffy. It can happen and in Oswald's case obviously did, but if Ruby's effort was some kind of planned hit it was an exceedingly chancy one. The odds of surviving one shot from a .38, especially in the circumstances in which Ruby fired it, would be pretty good.)

Maybe he knew what he was doing.

[Jon Banks]

They should NOT have:

1: allowed Abraham Zapruder's video to be aired in public

2: allowed Jack Ruby, a mob-connected FBI informant, to kill LHO

3: mis-identified CE399 as the "Magic Bullet"

4: allowed JFK's autopsy to be conducted by amateurs who didn't follow proper procedures

5: stopped investigating potential accomplices within 48 hours of the assassination

6: allowed witnesses to give testimony to the Warren Commission which contradicted their initial statements given to the police or FBI in November 1963


I could make a longer list but this is a start 

[Sean Kneringer]

Prevent Jack Ruby from sneaking down the ramp?

His impulsive actions are overblown in the grand scheme of things. Had he lived, Oswald strikes me as someone who would have denied the crime right up to the electric chair.

[Jon Banks]

His impulsive actions are overblown in the grand scheme of things. Had he lived, Oswald strikes me as someone who would have denied the crime right up to the electric chair.

Which is not typical of people who engage in political assassinations.

You LN's act as if Oswald somehow knew in advance of his murder that we'd still be debating this case 60+ years later.

[Richard Smith]

There are some people who believe that every major event in history has some nefarious conspiracy behind it.  The identity of the victim (i.e. a charismatic president) followed by the killing of Oswald are the most notable factors in fueling the JFK conspiracy crowd.  If Oswald had lived, we would likely know a lot more about him and his motive.  My guess is that he would have taken the James Earl Ray path.  Pleading guilty to avoid the death penalty then teasing a conspiracy for the rest of his life for attention and sympathy.  Oswald's death was like throwing gasoline on the conspiracy spark.

[Lance Payette]

His impulsive actions are overblown in the grand scheme of things. Had he lived, Oswald strikes me as someone who would have denied the crime right up to the electric chair.

Yes, the Ruby killing of Oswald is bizarre and fascinating by any standard, but attempting to make it an organized conspiratorial event is perhaps the ultimate in ad hoc theorizing.

The choice of an erratic, red-flag character like Ruby in the first place ... the way Ruby spent his morning, even though Oswald was supposed to be moved much earlier ... Sheba in the car ... Ruby at Western Union minutes before the shooting ... some prearranged "signal" to alert Ruby the time was now ... a DPD participant to let him in the alley door ... the car horn "signal" ... all the things that could have gone wrong as Ruby approached Oswald ... relying on a single shot from a .38 ... Ruby lives to tell his tale, represented by flamboyant civil attorney Mel Belli.

Yep, sounds like a DPD/Mafia operation to me. Yep, no one could think of a tidier way to eliminate Oswald than THAT scenario. I love Santo Trafficante's answer at some hearing when asked "What if I told you Jack Ruby had Mafia connectiions?" Trafficante: "I'd say the Mafia needs a new personnel director." Me, too, Santo.

(By "ad hoc theorizing" I mean: You are stuck with the events as they actually occurred and thus must force-fit them into a conspiracy scenario even though no real-world conspiracy would have looked anything like that unless the conspirators were absolute idiots.)