Nellie Connally Disputes Warren Commission

NewsMax.com ^ | 11/25/03 | Carl Limbacher and NewsMax.com Staff

[kattracks]

For all the coverage generated by the 40th anniversary of the Kennedy assassination this past weekend, the media managed to miss the only genuine news to emerge from the commemoration.

Nellie Connally, wife of former Texas Gov. John Connally and the only person still alive who rode in the presidential death limousine, publicly disputed for the first time the Warren Commission's "magic bullet" theory, a scenario absolutely essential to its finding that Lee Harvey Oswald was Kennedy's lone assassin.

A year after the assassination the Commission concluded that Kennedy and Gov. Connally were both wounded by the first shot fired by Oswald from the Texas School Book Depository. A second shot missed completely. A third shot slammed into Kennedy's head and splattered his brains throughout the car.

But Mrs. Connally told CNN's Larry King that Kennedy and her husband couldn't have been struck by the same bullet, because she watched her husband react over a period of two seconds after the first shot struck the president.

"John [Connally] sitting right in front of him knew it was a shot," the former Texas first lady said. "He's a hunter and a shooter, you know. . . ."

Mrs. Connally continued:

"So he turned quick to his right and he couldn't see [Kennedy] because he was directly in front of him. And he said, 'No, no, no' and turned to his left. . . . Now this is a second or two. Then, as he whirled back, the second shot hit John . . ."

When pressed about the single bullet theory adopted by the Warren Commission, Mrs. Connally told King, "Do you think a bullet that went through the president's neck can hang there in air between the two seats while John turned to the right, turned to the left and came back?

"That's what I asked the Warren Commission," she explained. "I said, 'I don't believe a bullet could do that. That bullet -- the same bullet did not hit both of them.'"

[Allan]

bump

[Tares]

Yes. -- The jacket & shirt were not 'bunched' they were in a normal position on JFK

The photographic evidence clearly shows otherwise. Once again, take a look. Scroll to the bottom of the page.

[tpaine]

The clothings physical evidence trumps the photos, none of which are clear enough to prove the authors point. He admits it, here:

5. The holes in the back of JFK's shirt and jacket are indeed too low to allow a bullet fired from the "sniper's nest" to emerge from Kennedy's throat and cause Governor Connally's back wound.

The holes have been measured by the FBI, the Clark Panel (CP), and the House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA). The measurements vary slightly, but are close enough to determine that the same missile made the respective holes in the shirt and jacket. The locations determined are as follows:

Distance downward from jacket collar to hole:
FBI: 13.75cm.
CP: 12cm.
HSCA: 13.5cm.

Distance to the right of jacket midline:
FBI: 4.5cm.
CP: 5cm.
HSCA: 5cm.

Distance downward from shirt collar to hole:
FBI: 14.7cm.
CP: 14cm.
HSCA: 14cm.
Distance to the right of shirt midline:
FBI: 2.9cm.
CP: 2.5cm.
HSCA: 2.5cm.

Note that the only consensus between the sources in the above table is the shirt hole measurements as described by the Clark Panel and the House Select Committee on Assassinations.

The measurements do show, however, that the jacket and shirt holes align well enough that there can be no question but that the same missile made them. At one point in time those two holes were in exact alignment.



In order for the holes to align precisely, one or both garments must have been slightly askew.
If those bullet hole locations are taken at face value, the SBT fails.



So the question now becomes: "What was the orientation of JFK's clothing at the time the back wound was inflicted?" That question leads us to source number 6, the photographs.
I would like to make one point before I address the photographic record, a record that is ripe with photographs and films of John Kennedy's jacket, yet shows precious little of his shirt, and nothing of the back of the shirt which concerns us here. In regard to the photographic record and the shirt back, it is inappropriate to speculate about that which cannot be seen. Yet, the issue must be dealt with in some fashion. Because the holes in the shirt and jacket align with one another, and if the jacket was flush and in the normal position when the shot struck, then the shirt must also have been flush and in the normal position.




Conversely, because the holes align, if the jacket was elevated when the shot struck, the shirt must also have been elevated. That logic serves to conjoin the discussion about the photographic record of the shirt and the coat for the purpose of this essay.

___________________________________



In this last paragraph the author admits that he is reasoning backwards. -- "because the holes align", he MUST establish that both jacket & shirt were equally 'bunched', -- an impossible task.
-- Thus, he sees what he wants to see in a group of blurry photos, none of which were taken at the proper time.

[Tares]

In this last paragraph the author admits that he is reasoning backwards. -- "because the holes align", he MUST establish that both jacket & shirt were equally 'bunched', -- an impossible task.
-- Thus, he sees what he wants to see in a group of blurry photos, none of which were taken at the proper time.

If the jacket wasn't bunched, the shirt also couldn't be bunched for the holes to align. If the jacket was bunched, the shirt also had to be bunched for the holes to align. That much I think you, I, and the author agree upon.

If you think the jacket wasn't bunched, why don't you link to a photo of JFK sitting in the limo that clearly shows the jacket was not bunched. I've linked to multiple photos, that despite your protestations, establish that bunching at the time of the shooting is very plausible. One or two links by you will suffice to establish the plausibility of your assertion that the jacket wasn't bunched at the time JFK was shot in the back. Then I can complain that the photos are blurry and weren't taken at the right time.

[tpaine]

If you think the jacket wasn't bunched, why don't you link to a photo of JFK sitting in the limo that clearly shows the jacket was not bunched.

I don't need to try to find such a photo. A rational view of the clothing evidence leads to the conclusion it was not 'bunched' at the moment of the shot.

I've linked to multiple photos, that despite your protestations, establish that bunching at the time of the shooting is very plausible.

No, thats simply not true. A tucked in shirt w/tie & jacket moving together 'bunched', is implausible, -- as your author admits, and as anyone who wears them often can testify.

One or two links by you will suffice to establish the plausibility of your assertion that the jacket wasn't bunched at the time JFK was shot in the back. Then I can complain that the photos are blurry and weren't taken at the right time.

Complain as you like.
I am not liable to 'establish' plausible proofs for the Reports SBT. -- You are.

[Tares]

I am not liable to 'establish' plausible proofs for the Reports SBT.

I'm not asking you to, I've already done that with respect to the shirt and jacket, thanks. What your liable for, should you so desire, is to establish the plausability of something other than the single bullet theory. Link to a photo of JFK in the limo that doesn't show a bunched jacket, go ahead, you can do it. Help On Posting Photo.

[tpaine]

I am not liable to 'establish' plausible proofs for the Reports SBT.

I'm not asking you to,

Of course you did, in your last post.

I've already done that with respect to the shirt and jacket, thanks.

No, neither you, nor your cited author, nor the Commission, have ever done so. You are in denial on this matter.

What your liable for, should you so desire, is to establish the plausability of something other than the single bullet theory.

The burden of proof is on you theorists. You've failed, to date.

Link to a photo of JFK in the limo that doesn't show a bunched jacket, go ahead, you can do it.

Link to a photo of JFK in the limo that shows a bunched shirt & jacket at the moment of the shot -- go ahead, you can do it.