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DRAFT, pg. 1 STATE OF TEXAS v. LEE HARVEY OSWALD A "What If?" Mock Trial Law-Related Education www.texaslre.org Curriculum Resource Guide

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DRAFT, pg. 1

STATE OF TEXAS v.LEE HARVEY OSWALD

A "What If?" Mock Trial

Law-Related Education www.texaslre.org

Curriculum Resource Guide

DRAFT, pg. 2

PHOTOS:

The George Reid Collection

About the Collection: George Reid was a longtime Kennedy supporter and amateur photographer who arrived at Love Field early on November 22, 1963 to film some of the preparations for and the arrival of the Kennedys in Dallas.

1. This photo was taken by George Reid

during the late 1960's. Reid is most known for being one of the first people to arrive at Love Field on the day of President Kennedy’s arrival, but he also went back to Dealey Plaza at a later time and filmed the location of President Kennedy’s assassination. Dealey Plaza in Dallas, Texas is roughly rectangular in shape, with a large central triangle of streets that have a wide base along Houston Street. The triangle is made up of Elm to the north, Main in the center, and Commerce on the south – locally known as the “triple underpass”. The assassination of President John F. Kennedy occurred after the presidential limousine had made a wide, slow turn from Houston Street onto Elm Street and was continuing on Elm. The Grassy Knoll, where spectators watched the presidential motorcade, is located north of Elm Street and south of Commerce.

DRAFT, pg. 3

The Phil Willis Collection

About the Collection:

The Phil Willis Collection represents the most extensive collection of images by an amateur photographer in Dealey Plaza at the time of the assassination, as well as the most extensive color record of that day's events in Dealey Plaza. Willis' 30 original color slides, acquired by the Museum from the Willis family in 2002, include unique images of the motorcade and investigators at the scene over the next several hours. Official investigators and researchers have scrutinized Willis' photo of the president during the shooting—a particularly rare image—repeatedly since 1963. The Willis Collection also includes correspondence and documents about the slides, various clippings, newspapers, and magazines about the assassination, numerous sealed copy sets of the slides, and the camera used by Willis on November 22, 1963.

2. This slide shows the presidential

limousine and the Secret Service car that followed Governor Connally and President Kennedy from the rear. The motorcade is traveling west on Elm Street through Dealey Plaza about to pass in front of the Stemmons Freeway sign, blocking the view of Abraham Zapruder. This image is commonly known as “Willis 5” by researchers and corresponds to

Zapruder frame 202 just prior to the first shot.

DRAFT, pg. 4

The Jay Skaggs Collection

About the Collection:

The Jay Skaggs Collection features 20 color slides taken by amateur photographer Skaggs in Dealey Plaza just before and in the minutes following the Kennedy assassination. Skaggs, who took photos as he followed investigators around the plaza immediately after the shooting, believed his photos were unimportant since they did not show the actual shooting. In fact, they are of great historical significance and may someday answer questions about the tragic event. Skaggs donated his original images to The Sixth Floor Museum in 2002.

3. Although this is a faded and slightly

blurred print of the original image, this photo of the northwest corner of the Elm-Houston intersection was taken from the southeast corner of Elm and Houston Street. The doorway of the Texas School Book Depository, a photographer, and several police officers are all in plain sight, but since there is no appearance of Dallas Police Captain Will Fritz’s car, we can

assume that this photo was taken before 1 p.m.

DRAFT, pg. 5

The Dallas Times Herald Collection

About the Collection:

Donated to the Museum in 1989—two years before the newspaper closed down—these holdings contain original negatives of approximately 700 black-and-white news images taken by photographers for the Dallas Times Herald over the assassination weekend and beyond. Included in the collection are many unique and crucial images, and though only a few of these historic scenes were published by the newspaper, they provide a powerful visual record of President Kennedy's last hours, from his final speech in Fort Worth to his arrival in Dallas, the subsequent motorcade, assassination aftermath, and investigations.

4. Dallas homicide investigators found this paper

bag, supposedly used to transport the murder weapon, along with three spent bullet cartridges and finger and palm prints (later identified as Oswald’s) in the sniper's nest at the Texas School Book Depository on November 22nd. Buell Wesley Frazier, who also worked at the Texas School Book Depository, said that Oswald carried a brown paper package to work that day, but told Frazier it contained curtain rods. Frazier’s estimated size of the bag was slightly off from the actual measurements, but the Warren Commission still concluded that the bag found in the perch was the same one that Oswald carried to work that day and had in fact been used to carry the murder weapon.

DRAFT, pg. 6

5. These three men with Dallas police

officers are “tramps” who heard the commotion on November 22nd, ran through the parking lot, and jumped into empty cars on the train south of Dealey Plaza. The men were walked through Dealey Plaza to the sheriff’s office and then thrown in jail, basically forgotten about, and released on Monday, November 25, 1963. The Warren Commission/FBI never knew about them until a researcher found this picture along with others in the early 1970's.

6. This picture shows Lee Harvey Oswald being interviewed by the media. At this midnight press conference, Oswald stated that he was unaware of being charged with the murder of President Kennedy and denied shooting anyone. He stated that he was only aware of being accused for Officer Tippit’s murder and that he “really [didn’t]

know what the situation [was] about.” 7. Police discovered the sniper’s perch

at 1:12 pm in the southeast corner of the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository, looking out onto Dealey Plaza. This is the same location where officials found three spent bullet shells. Also in the sniper’s perch, police discovered the paper bag that supposedly held Oswald's rifle and finger and palm prints later identified as Oswald's. The rifle was tucked between book cartons near the corner staircase on the northwest side of the building.

DRAFT, pg. 7

The Rusty Livingston Collection

About the Collection: Rusty Livingston was a Dallas Police Crime Lab detective at the time of President Kennedy's assassination. He made copies of photos taken by Lieutenant J.C. "Carl" Day from Dallas Police Department negatives. After being stored in a briefcase for thirty years, Livingston’s photos were published and eventually donated to The Sixth Floor Museum.

8. While Lee Harvey Oswald was living in Oak

Cliff, his wife was living with a woman named Ruby Paine in Irving, Texas. Oswald kept some of his possessions in the Paine’s garage. Ruby Paine and Mrs. Oswald voluntarily gave this evidence to Detective Rusty Livingston. In the top left corner of this photo, there is a “Hands Off Cuba” flyer. In the summer of 1963, Oswald went to New Orleans, an area of high anti-Castro sentiment, under the false name Alec Hidell. There, he began printing and handing out pro-communist leaflets on street corners with the message "Hands Off Cuba".

9. While in New Orleans, Oswald formed a one-

man Fair Play for Cuba Committee chapter loosely connected to the national organization. He remained in New Orleans for three months, distributing pro-Castro literature and appearing on local media supporting communism in general, but specifically Castro.

DRAFT, pg. 8

10. This 1940 bolt-action 6.5mm Italian-made Mannlicher-Carcano rifle with a mounted telescopic sight contained one live shell when it was found with Oswald’s palm print underneath the stock. Ballistics tests found that the rifle was operable and capable of causing the wounds to the occupants of President Kennedy's limousine, as well as the fact that the weapon had been recently fired. Later scientific tests concluded that the

bullet fragments found in the limousine and on the nearly whole bullet found on Governor Connally’s stretcher at Parkland Hospital had been fired from this gun. Neutron Activation Analysis (considered an extremely reliable test) on two of the bullet fragments from the limousine proved conclusively that they came from Carcano ammunition.

11. The day after Kennedy's assassination, Dallas

police found two photographs and two negatives among Oswald's personal possessions at his wife’s boarding house in Irving, Texas. One of these photos shows Oswald holding two weapons. The first is a rifle, which is the same weapon found on the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository. The other weapon is the pistol that Oswald was carrying when he was arrested in the Texas Theatre. That pistol was later connected to the Tippit murder. Oswald insisted that these photos had been faked, but after being analyzed for the House Select Committee, it was determined that the photos were genuine. Although there is no definite proof that these pictures were altered, this photo continues to be a source of argument for researchers who pose questions about the authenticity of the photograph due to Oswald's unusual stance, strange shadows, and other reasons.

DRAFT, pg. 9

12. This photo shows a policeman in the Texas

Theatre, where Oswald was eventually arrested for the murder of Dallas Police Officer J.D. Tippit shortly after 1:54 p.m. The Warren Commission concluded that, after shooting Office Tippit, Oswald headed into a screening of War is Hell in the Texas Theatre and sat in the lower rear section. When police entered and approached him, Oswald stated, "It's all over now" and attempted to shoot the arresting police officer, M.N. McDonald, with a pistol. A struggle ensued, but the gun misfired and only minor injuries were caused.

DRAFT, pg. 10

The Bill Winfrey Collection

About the Collection:

Bill Winfrey, a longtime photographer for the Dallas Morning News, was heavily involved in covering the events of the assassination weekend and later the Jack Ruby trial. His collection was acquired by the Museum in 2004 and 2007 and includes almost 800 images with subjects such as Major General Edwin Walker, Ambassador Adlai Stevenson in Dallas, President Kennedy's chair at the Dallas Trade Mart, the assassination aftermath in Dealey Plaza, Lee Harvey Oswald and Jack Ruby in police custody, the Jack Ruby trial, John and Nellie Connally at Dallas Love Field in 1964, Marina Oswald departing for her Warren Commission appearances in 1964, and numerous other events and individuals as recent as the Dealey Plaza National Historic Landmark District designation ceremonies in 1993. The collection also includes numerous artifacts and documents related to Winfrey's work as a photographer.

13. This photo shows Lee Harvey Oswald at

Dallas Police Headquarters on November 22, 1963. Oswald denied any involvement in the deaths of Officer Tippit and President Kennedy. The next morning at 11:21 a.m., Dallas nightclub owner Jack Ruby shot and killed Oswald with a .38 revolver as Oswald was being transferred from Dallas Police Headquarters to the Dallas County Jail.

DRAFT, pg. 11

LIFE Magazine

About the Collection:

At the time President Kennedy was assassinated, the most popular journals in American homes were Look, LIFE, and the Saturday Evening Post. LIFE was extremely popular because the style was easy for most Americans to read and comprehend. This particular issue is from October 1964 and can be found in the Reading Room at The Sixth Floor Museum.

14.

A week after the Warren Commission completed its investigation into the Kennedy assassination, LIFE magazine published the Commission's findings after conducting a separate investigation. The report in LIFE states that the Commission's findings confirmed that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone and that Oswald was killed not because of a conspiracy to keep him quiet, but by another individual, Jack Ruby, who acted entirely on his own. A member of the Warren Commission, Gerald Ford, guides LIFE readers through how the Warren Commission was able to piece frames from the Zapruder film together with other evidence to explain the events. The report in LIFE concluded that three shots had been fired, all from Oswald’s rifle, from above and behind the President. The first bullet entered the back of President Kennedy's neck and ripped through the lower front portion of his throat, and although this wound may not have been lethal by itself, another bullet hit the rear of the president’s head and, passing through, caused the front part of his skull to explode forward. The Warren Commission concluded that the same bullet that passed through President Kennedy’s throat also caused Governor Connally's wounds.

DRAFT, pg. 12

ORAL HISTORIES:

Dorothy Bush

About Dorothy Bush: Dorothy Bush was Lee Harvey Oswald's ninth grade science teacher at Beauregard Junior High in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Dorothy Bush's Oral History Interview When the assassination first occurred, Dorothy Bush had completely forgotten that she had taught Lee Harvey Oswald a few years before. But after seeing a picture in a magazine, Mrs. Bush remembered the young boy from her classroom. She only taught him for one semester, and "the main two things [Mrs. Bush remembered were] that he talked and had to be moved, and then he could not follow directions and do the work". She also recalled that he was often talking to the girls who sat around him, dressed neatly, and maintained average grades. Mrs. Bush noted that Oswald did not seem like an outcast and was comfortable around his peers. Dorothy Bush's interview was conducted in 2003.

DRAFT, pg. 13

Buell Wesley Frazier

About Buell Wesley Frazier: Buell Wesley Frazier was a co-worker of Lee Harvey Oswald's at

the Texas School Book Depository. The two men were friendly and Oswald often rode to Irving with Frazier on weekends when he wanted to visit his wife, Marina, who was staying with a woman named Ruby Paine at her home in Irving, Texas.

Buell Wesley Frazier's Oral History Interview As a 19 year old boy employed at the Texas School Book

Depository, Frazier spent his days filling orders from different publishers. The first time Frazier and Lee Harvey Oswald met was on Oswald's first day of work at the Texas School Book Depository, when Mr. Frazier's boss asked him to show Oswald how to fill an order. Frazier noted that although Oswald was quiet, "it was a pleasure working with him". The two men never discussed politics, speaking strictly of business while at work, and sometimes about their children or the weather on their shared rides home after the day was over. Frazier recalled that most of the neighborhood children knew Oswald because he would play with them outside the Paine home - where his wife, Marina, was staying - in the evenings, although Frazier never met Oswald's own wife and children.

Oswald had a hard time fitting in with the other workers at the

Texas School Book Depository. One day, Oswald asked Frazier "why do they laugh at what I say?" Frazier noted that Oswald's vocabulary tended to be of a higher level than most of the other men, and they chose to make fun of him instead of trying to understand. Frazier was unaware that Oswald was a high school dropout, and even recalled how knowledgeable Oswald was about current events.

On Thursday, November 21, 1963, Oswald asked Frazier if he

could ride to Irving with him after work that day. Frazier inquired as to why he needed to go to Irving when it wasn't Friday (his typical day for visiting Marina), and Oswald replied that Marina had made curtains for his apartment and he needed to pick up the rods. Nothing abnormal happened on the ride home, and Frazier dropped Oswald off at the Paine home. The next morning Oswald came over to Frazier's sister's home and waited outside until

DRAFT, pg. 14

Frazier was ready to leave. Frazier asked Oswald what was in the package he was bringing to work, and Oswald replied that the package contained the previously discussed curtain rods. Frazier recalled that "Lee was always a very sincere-type person with me. And he never gave the impression that he would not tell you the truth, and so therefore, when he told me that it was curtain rods in there, I didn’t… I didn’t have any reason to doubt him." When they arrived at the Texas School Book Depository, Frazier stayed behind to tend to his car while Oswald went ahead into work. The last time Frazier saw Oswald before the assassination was "shortly before [they] were going to break for lunch and the parade".

Frazier and other co-workers, including Bill Shelley and Billy

Lovelady, stood at the entrance of the Texas School Book Depository to watch the parade. After the shooting the employees stood on the steps and Frazier watched Oswald walk from the dock area along the Texas School Book Depository building and cross Houston Street. Frazier was eating his lunch in the basement before being summoned upstairs for an employee roll call during which Oswald was unaccounted for. The workers were allowed to go home for the day after the roll call was finished.

After being questioned by the police and released from police

custody, Frazier heard on the radio that officials were looking for Lee Harvey Oswald in connection with the assassination of President Kennedy. Frazier was shocked, noting that Oswald "was such a perfectionist in what he did, and he tried to do everything correctly. And he was so good with the children in the neighborhood. I asked myself, how could someone do something like that?".

Buell Wesley Frazier's interview was conducted in 2002.

DRAFT, pg. 15

Harold Norman About Harold Norman:

An employee of the Texas School Book Depository in 1963, Harold Norman was on the fifth floor underneath the alleged sniper's perch at the time of the assassination. Harold Norman's Oral History Interview Norman did not know Oswald very well, only as a co-worker who tended to keep to himself. On the morning of the assassination, Oswald asked Norman and his friend James Jarman what they were doing because they kept watching out the window. They replied that they were waiting for President Kennedy's motorcade to pass by. Norman and his co-workers James Jarman and Bonnie Ray Williams took their sandwiches up to the 5th floor so that they could watch the motorcade from above. As the men were watching the parade pass, three shots were fired. Norman believed that the shots came from directly above him because "[he] could hear the bolt action of the rifle when [the shooter] was ejecting the shells and [he] could hear the empty shells in the floor." After the shots were fired, Norman and his co-workers took off towards the west side of the building and eventually went downstairs to the first floor before heading home for the day. Harold Norman's interview was conducted in 1991.

DRAFT, pg. 16

Bob Jackson About Bob Jackson:

Bob Jackson was a photographer for the Dallas Times Herald, assigned to cover the president’s arrival at Love Field. While riding in the motorcade, Jackson saw a rifle in the 6th floor window of the Texas School Book Depository. He later followed the story to Parkland Memorial Hospital and Dallas Police Headquarters, eventually capturing a Pulitzer Prize-winning photo of Jack Ruby shooting Lee Harvey Oswald.

Bob Jackson's Oral History Interview

As the car he was riding in approached the intersection of Main and Houston Street, Bob Jackson was removing a full roll of film from his camera and loading a new one. He heard the first shot as the car turned from Main onto Houston. Within seconds, the next two shots were fired. Jackson saw two African American men leaning out of the 5th floor window of the Texas School Book Depository. They were looking straight up at the floor above them. (It was later discovered that the men Jackson saw were Harold Norman and his co-workers.) In a window on the sixth floor, Jackson spotted a rifle being drawn inside but could not see the individual holding it. Swinging his camera to capture a picture of the rifle, Jackson could not take it fast enough and wound up with a photo of the empty window. He was the only one in his car to see the rifle, but he pointed out the window to his colleagues riding with him. Bob Jackson's interview was conducted in 1993.

DRAFT, pg. 17

Luke Mooney About Luke Mooney:

In 1963 Luke Mooney was a Dallas County deputy sheriff who watched the motorcade pass and heard shots fired. Later, while investigating the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository building, he discovered the "sniper's nest" and three empty rifle shells. Luke Mooney's Oral History Interview Standing on a curb with other officers at the time of the shooting, Mooney immediately recognized the sound of gunfire. Some spectators assumed that the shots came from the Triple Underpass, but Mooney started towards the Grassy Knoll. The officers saw nothing suspicious there and headed for the Texas School Book Depository. While riding a freight elevator the electricity went off in the building, prompting Mooney to take the stairs to the sixth floor. On the 6th floor of the Texas School Book Depository, Mooney discovered what is now known as the “sniper’s perch” in the southeast corner of the building. He noticed that “the books had been stacked and [there was] a crease in ‘em where the rifle laid appeared to be.” Mooney also found three spent shells near an open window. Leaning out the half-open window, Mooney yelled for Dallas Police Chief Will Fritz to come upstairs. Luke Mooney's interview was conducted in 2002.

DRAFT, pg. 18

Eugene Boone About Eugene Boone:

Eugene Boone was the Dallas deputy sheriff who discovered the rifle on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository. Eugene Boone's Oral History Interview By the time Eugene Boone arrived on the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository, Luke Mooney had already discovered the sniper's nest and the search now centered on finding other evidence. Officials started to work east to west across the building looking for anything that looked out of place. As Boone approached the west side of the building, he noticed stacks of books with the top row pushed over "so as to conceal a crevice that was there from the underneath side". Boone thought the situation looked like it had been previously set up so that the shooter could shove the rifle between the books. Investigating the situation further, Boone found a rifle in the stacks and initially stated that it was a Mauser rifle. Eventually it was discovered that the rifle was an Italian Mannlicher-Carcano rifle. Eugene Boone's interview was conducted in 2003.

DRAFT, pg. 19

J.C. "Carl" Day

About Carl Day: J.C. “Carl” Day was head of the Dallas Police Crime Scene Search Unit in 1963. He was in charge of examining the rifle and fingerprint evidence at the Texas School Book Depository building following the assassination. In 2006, Day donated his original crime lab supplies and equipment to the Museum.

Carl Day's Oral History Interview

After getting the call that the president had been shot on November 22, 1963, J.C. “Carl” Day came from City Hall with his usual equipment to the Texas School Book Depository and was directed up to the 6th floor because it had been determined that the shots came from that area. Day went to the southeast corner window where officials had already found three spent bullet cartridges and took pictures of the boxes "exactly where they were". After taking multiple pictures of the scene, Day searched for fingerprints. He found Lee Harvey Oswald's palm print on a box in the corner where it is thought that Oswald sat as he waited for the motorcade. Even after working on the gun back at his office, Day could not find more definitive prints on the cartridges or gun. Lt. Day was present when Oswald was brought in for further identification and he described Oswald as "cocky and surly", noting that it "didn't seem to bother him much that he had killed someone."

J.C. “Carl” Day's interviews were conducted in 1996 and 2006.

DRAFT, pg. 20

Maurice "Nick" McDonald

About Nick McDonald: Nick McDonald was an officer with the Dallas Police Department at the time of President Kennedy's assassination and confronted Lee Harvey Oswald in the Texas Theatre.

Nick McDonald's Oral History Interview On November 22, 1963, Dallas Police Officer Nick McDonald was performing his normal duties as a field training officer. Stopping to eat lunch at a cafeteria about ten miles from Dealey Plaza, he learned that President Kennedy had been shot and contacted the dispatcher to offer his help. After arriving at Dealey Plaza, McDonald heard a civilian on the police radio reporting that a police officer was lying in the street and appeared to be dead. McDonald recognized his friend J.D. Tippit's patrol car number and set off to find the shooter. After exploring other leads, McDonald heard a report that a suspicious person was seen going into the Texas Theatre. Once at the theatre, McDonald went to the exit door and was let in from the inside by two civilians, one of which was Johnny Calvin Brewer, manager of the nearby Hardy Shoe Store, who had called the police when he saw a man duck into the Texas Theatre. Once inside the theater, McDonald had Brewer identify the man (Oswald) - who was sitting in the third row from the back - and started moving towards him. McDonald was aware that going straight for Oswald would make him suspicious, so he began to search other audience members. As soon as Officer McDonald got close to Oswald, he said "Get on your feet". Oswald stood up from his seat and said, "Well, it's all over now.”, leading McDonald to believe that "he was giving up, and it was going to be a simple arrest." But as McDonald reached for his weapon, Oswald made a fist with his left hand and struck McDonald between the eyes. McDonald hit Oswald back into his seat and was about to hit him in the waist as Oswald pulled out a pistol. McDonald's left hand grabbed the pistol as the firing pin hit him between the thumb and forefinger. After Oswald was arrested by other officers that came to McDonald's aid, McDonald was told to "go to the crime lab and have [his] photograph made because [Oswald was] hollering 'police brutality' and [they] needed proof that he resisted arrest". Nick McDonald's interview was conducted in 2003.

DRAFT, pg. 21

Paul Bentley About Paul Bentley:

Detective Paul Bentley was the chief polygraph examiner with the Dallas Police Department in 1963 and took part in Lee Harvey Oswald’s arrest in the Texas Theater.

Paul Bentley's Oral History Interview

Detective Paul Bentley arrived at the Texas Theater and went to the mezzanine (1st floor). He checked the restrooms as well as the office area for suspect Lee Harvey Oswald. Finding nothing, he went up to the balcony and searched the few people up there. He asked the employees of the theater to turn on the house lights. Once the lights were on Bentley spotted more officers coming in from the back of the theater and he returned to the ground floor. Detective Bentley observed Officer McDonald being assaulted by Oswald and hurried over the back of the seats to assist in the arrest, pulling ligaments in his right ankle while doing so. After making the arrest of Lee Harvey Oswald, Bentley and other Dallas Police officers handcuffed Oswald and placed him in an unmarked police car. Paul Bentley's interview was conducted in 1994.

DRAFT, pg. 22

FILMS:

Orville Nix Film About Orville Nix:

Orville Nix was a General Services Administration employee who worked as an air conditioning engineer in offices on the south side of Dealey Plaza. He took an 8mm film that captured the final moments of President Kennedy’s assassination.

About the Film:

Orville Nix was standing almost a block away from the site of the assassination, near the corner of Main & Houston streets. In the beginning of the film, the president’s limousine is heading north on Houston Street in the direction of the Texas School Book Depository. Nix’s film captured the fatal shot fired at President Kennedy’s head. As Jackie Kennedy climbs onto the trunk of the car to aid Secret Service Agent Clint Hill, the “grassy knoll” is in the background of the frame. About 30 seconds later, chaos erupts as witnesses of the assassination run from Elm Street to Main Street. The next morning around 7:30 a.m., Orville Nix returned to the same area where President Kennedy was shot and filmed again. Finishing off the film sequence is a recording of Nix’s relative on a high school drill team in Fort Worth, Texas.

DRAFT, pg. 23

Abraham Zapruder Film About Abraham Zapruder:

Abraham Zapruder was the president of Jennifer Juniors, a dress company with offices at 501 Elm Street - directly across from the Texas School Book Depository building. He was watching the motorcade from atop a concrete pedestal on the north side of Dealey Plaza (next to the "grassy knoll") and heard two, possibly three shots when President Kennedy was assassinated. Zapruder filmed the event with an 8mm camera, and he is known for having made the only film to capture the entire assassination. The film was even used by the Warren Commission and the House Committee to investigate the president’s death.

About the Film:

At the start of this film, Zapruder’s office assistant, Lillian Rogers, is working at her desk on the morning of the assassination. From a point above and to the right of the parade, Zapruder then films two of his co-workers in Dealey Plaza before focusing on the approaching motorcade. As the parade continues, the film shows shots fired at President Kennedy and Mrs. Kennedy climbing on the trunk of the limousine with Secret Service Agent Clint Hill on board before the car disappears into the underpass. The Zapruder film is considered the most important piece of film evidence in reference to the Kennedy assassination because it is the only known film to capture the entire assassination sequence. The film is acknowledged as the most definitive view of President Kennedy’s death, although experts still debate over what it does show and what is not clearly revealed.

DRAFT, pg. 24

Robert Hughes Film About Robert Hughes:

Robert Hughes was an appraiser for U.S. Customs who worked in the Terminal Annex building on the south side of Dealey Plaza. Hughes loved photography, so he brought his home movie camera to work on November 22, 1963. Robert Hughes walked the short distance from his office to the intersection of Main and Houston streets to film the motorcade.

About the Film:

This film follows the motorcade as the president’s vehicle turns from Main onto Houston Street and ends a few seconds before the first shot. Hughes then films some of the aftermath as well as the search for suspects in the railroad yard behind the grassy knoll and near the Texas School Book Depository.

Robert Hughes' film is important because it is the only home movie known to include a view of the assassin's window of the Texas School Book Depository when President Kennedy was in Dealey Plaza. Unfortunately, because Hughes filmed from a block away, the moving shape in the window cannot be identified.

DRAFT, pg. 25

Elsie Dorman Film About Elsie Dorman:

Elsie Dorman was an employee of the Texas School Book Depository in 1963. She shot this film from her 4th floor office with her husband's camera. Mrs. Dorman held the camera next to her face, so instead of showing the Kennedys, most of the film shows the crowd before, during, and after the shots were fired.

About the Film: The first 20 seconds of this film show Elsie Dorman getting off a bus near her home in the suburbs of Oak Cliff, Texas. Next, the film is broken up into short sequences filmed from Elsie's 4th floor office at the Texas School Book Depository. The clips show the motorcade entering Dealey Plaza, approaching the Texas School Book Depository and turning onto Elm Street. Elsie's husband finished the reel later that day by filming a portion of the Kennedy assassination news on television and, finally, showing their neighborhood.

This film is valuable because it is the only known footage from the day of the assassination that was actually filmed from inside the Texas School Book Depository.

DRAFT, pg. 26

PEOPLE

John F. Kennedy was the 35th President of the United States. Often referred to by his initials, JFK, President Kennedy served from his inauguration in January 1961 until his assassination on November 22, 1963 in Dallas, Texas. Lee Harvey Oswald was an employee of the Texas School Book Depository who was arrested for the assassination of President John F. Kennedy but never went on trial because he was shot and killed by Jack Ruby on November 24, 1963. Jack Ruby was a petty criminal and nightclub owner who shot and killed Lee Harvey Oswald as he was being transferred from the city to the county jail. Officer J.D. Tippit was an officer in the Dallas Police Department who was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald in the Oakcliff section of Dallas, Texas. Governor Connally was the 39th governor of Texas and was a passenger in the presidential limousine when Kennedy was shot. Although Governor Connally was seriously wounded, he was rushed to Parkland Hospital and survived. Jacqueline Kennedy was the wife of President John F. Kennedy. Jacqueline was a photojournalist and Newport, Rhode Island socialite when she married Senator Kennedy in 1953. Known as a fashion icon, Mrs. Kennedy was in the car when President Kennedy was shot. Lyndon B. Johnson was the Vice President of the United States under John F. Kennedy. Johnson was in the car behind President Kennedy when the shots were fired on the presidential limousine. After the assassination, Johnson was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States while aboard Air Force One. Marina Oswald was the wife of Lee Harvey Oswald.

DRAFT, pg. 27

VOCABULARY

Alibi: a defense of having been somewhere other than at the scene of a crime at the time the crime was committed Conspiracy: an agreement between two or more people to commit an act prohibited by law or to commit a lawful act by means prohibited by law Deadly weapon: a firearm or anything manifestly designed, made, or adapted for the purpose of inflicting death or serious bodily injury Defendant: the party against whom a criminal or civil action is brought Evidence: something (as testimony, writings, or objects) presented at a judicial or administrative proceeding for the purpose of establishing the truth or falsity of an alleged matter of fact Felony: a crime that has a greater punishment imposed by statute than that imposed on a misdemeanor Firearm: any device designed, made, or adapted to expel a projectile through a barrel by using energy generated by an explosion or burning substance Homicide: the destruction of the life of one human being by the act, agency, procurement, or culpable omission of another Malice: the intention or desire to cause harm (as death, bodily injury, or property damage) to another through an unlawful or wrongful act without justification or excuse Plaintiff: the party who institutes a legal action or claim Testimony: evidence furnished by a witness under oath either orally or in an affidavit or deposition Verdict: the usually unanimous finding or decision of a jury on one or more matters (as counts of an indictment or complaint) submitted to it in trial that ordinarily in civil actions is for the plaintiff or the defendant and in criminal actions is guilty or not guilty

DRAFT, pg. 28

RESOURCE GUIDES

The Reading Room at The Sixth Floor Museum provides access to

more than 4,000 books, magazines, newspapers and videos that allow

you to explore more information about topics ranging from President

Kennedy's life and legacy to 1960's pop culture.

Resource Guides are organized by topic to help you in your research.

Each guide suggests key resources in a specific content area. Click on

the following links to view the Resource Guides.

President John F. Kennedy: http://jfk.org/content/pdf/reading-

room/resource-guides/president-john-f-kennedy.pdf

JFK Assassination: http://jfk.org/content/pdf/reading-room/resource-

guides/assassination-of-JFK-general.pdf

Evidence and Investigations: http://jfk.org/content/pdf/reading-

room/resource-guides/evidence-investigations.pdf

Warren Commission: http://jfk.org/content/pdf/reading-room/resource-

guides/warren-commission.pdf

Lee Harvey Oswald: http://jfk.org/content/pdf/reading-room/resource-

guides/lee-harvey-oswald.pdf

Texas School Book Depository: http://jfk.org/content/pdf/reading-

room/resource-guides/texas-school-book-depository.pdf

Conspiracy Theories: http://jfk.org/content/pdf/reading-

room/resource-guides/conspiracy-theories.pdf

To access even more information about these topics, contact the

Reading Room at (214) 747-6660 x6646 or [email protected].

DRAFT, pg. 29

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza www.jfk.org The State of Texas v. Lee Harvey Oswald: A "What If?" Mock Trial Courtesy of Law-Related Education

http://www.jfk.org/content/pdf/edu/The%20State%20of%20Texas% 20v%20Lee%20Harvey%20Oswald%20-%20Updated%202010.pdf

Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law (1996), http://dictionary.lp.findlaw.com.