1. Why did it take the authorities three hours between the time Henry Wade announced that Oswald had been formally charged with the murder of President Kennedy at 10:30 PM, and 1:35 AM, when he was arraigned for it?
2. Why didn't Wade announce at the midnight press conference that Oswald had been charged like he said he was going to do at 10:30 PM?
3. Is that why Oswald was hustled off the stage, because someone in the crowd told him that he had been charged with the murder and he didn't know anything about it?
4. Why did it still take the authorities another hour and a half after that press conference to arraign Oswald?
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/waldo.htmMr. HUBERT. What were the circumstances under which the viewing of Oswald in the assembly room on Friday were held?
Mr. WALDO. Well, at what I would judge to be approximately 10 to 10:30 p.m., Captain Fritz and District Attorney Wade came out of the homicide office into the third floor corridor and Captain Fritz, whose voice never carries he speaks in a hoarse whisper most of the time tried to say something, and there were immediate shouts of "We can't hear you, we can't hear you" from people only 15 feet away. So then Mr. Wade took over and I was close enough to hear him say that Oswald had been formally charged with the assassination of President Kennedy, but immediately there were cries from people two or three rows, if that's the word, behind me in this jammed, packed mass, "Henry, we can't hear you. We can't hear you. Can't we hold this some place else?"
He then conferred with Captain Fritz and by then Chief Curry had moved in, maybe Chief Curry was there all the time I didn't notice him--but the three conferred and then Chief Curry, who can on occasion speak with considerable force and volume, called out and everybody heard this, "All right, we'll set it up in the Police Assembly Hall in the basement for Mr. Wade to make his announcement, if that's what you want?" Or--approximately those words, and then there was another momentary conference between the district attorney and the two police officials, and Chief Curry added, and I am almost certain that no one requested this--it was a voluntary statement on his part, "And I'll have the prisoner brought down for you, too, if, you like."
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/russ/testimony/fritz1.htmMr. BALL. Later that night you took him down to the showuproom again, didn't you, when you had a press interview?
Mr. FRITZ. No, sir; I didn't have a press conference.
Mr. BALL. You didn't?
Mr. FRITZ. No.
Mr. BALL. Did you give any instructions to the press conference?
Mr. FRITZ. Yes, sir; the chief told me he wanted him brought down for a press conference, and I told my officers to take them down and I asked the chief to let me put it on the stage. I was a little bit afraid something might happen to him in front of that stage, someone in the crowd might hurt him but he said no, he wanted him out there in the front, and I told him I would like to put him on the stage so that the officers could jerk him inside the Jail office if anything happened but he said no, he wanted him in front, so I told the officers to take him down.
I went down later to see how everything was going but I couldn't get in. The crowd had jammed clear back out into the hall.
Mr. BALL. Do you know what time you sent him up to the jail?
Mr. FRITZ. I have it here, I think--12:05; yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. 12:05?
Mr. FRITZ. Yes, sir.
Mr. BALL. You had an arraignment charging him with the assassination of President Kennedy, murder of President Kennedy.
Mr. FRITZ. Yes, sir; I went to that arraignment.
Mr. BALL. That was at what time? I believe you showed it at 1:35 a.m. in your records.
Mr. FRITZ. That would be about right.
Mr. BALL. 1:35?
Mr. FRITZ. I will tell you in a minute to be sure. I show 1:35.
Steve Thomas
