Editorial note: I was only three years old when the tragic events on that November 22nd in Dallas Texas, 1963, when a fine president was cut down. Of course I didn't understand what was going on, but I knew a important man was killed, I could tell that by the reactions of my first foster family when they heard of the news, and spent hours watching the tv news cast of the day in the days that followed. Later years I watch the film clip of the famous Zapruder film, and saw first hand what happened, even I could tell that assassination had to have been done by more than just a lone gunman, and I sure didn't buy the magic bullet explanation.
Let's take a look at Garrison's take on all of this, starting with background of Garrison himself, according to what was posted on wiki: "Earling Carothers Garrison was born in Denison, Iowa. He was the first child and only son of Earling R. Garrison and Jane Anne Robinson who divorced when he was two-years old. His family moved to New Orleans in his childhood, where he was raised by his divorced mother. He served in the U.S. National Guard in World War II, then obtained a law degree from Tulane University Law School in 1949. He worked for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for two years and then returned to active duty with the National Guard. After fifteen months, he was relieved from duty. One Army doctor concluded he had a "severe and disabling psychoneurosis" which "interfered with his social and professional adjustment to a marked degree. He is considered totally incapacitated from the standpoint of military duty and moderately incapacitated in civilian adaptability."
Although one doctor did recommend that Garrison be discharged from service and collect 10% permanent disability, Garrison opted instead to join the National Guard where his record was reviewed by the U.S. Army Surgeon General who “found him to be physically qualified for federal recognition in the national army.
Garrison worked for New Orleans law firm Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles from 1954 to 1958, when he became an assistant district attorney. Garrison became a flamboyant, colorful, well-known figure in New Orleans, but was initially unsuccessful in his run for public office, losing a 1959 election for criminal court judge. In 1961 he ran for district attorney, winning against incumbent Richard Dowling by 6,000 votes in a five-man Democratic primary. Despite lack of major political backing, his performance in a televised debate and last minute television commercials are credited with his victory.
Once in office, Garrison cracked down on prostitution and the abuses of Bourbon Street bars and strip joints. He indicted Dowling and one of his assistants for criminal malfeasance, but the charges were dismissed for lack of evidence. Garrison did not appeal. Garrison received national attention for a series of vice raids in the French Quarter, staged sometimes on a nightly basis. Newspaper headlines in 1962 praised Garrison's efforts, "Quarter Crime Emergency Declared by Police, DA. – Garrison Back, Vows Vice Drive to Continue – 14 Arrested, 12 more nabbed in Vice Raids." Garrison's critics often point out that many of the arrests made by his office did not result in convictions, implying that he was in the habit of making arrests without evidence. However, assistant DA William Alford has said that charges would more often than not be reduced or dropped if a relative of someone charged gained Garrison’s ear. He had, said Alford, “a heart of gold.
Kennedy assassination investigation
As New Orleans D.A., Garrison began an investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in late 1966, after receiving several tips from Jack Martin that a man named David Ferrie may have been involved in the assassination. The end result of Garrison's investigation was the arrest and trial of New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw in 1969, with Shaw being unanimously acquitted less than one hour after the case went to the jury.
Garrison was able to subpoena the Zapruder film from Life magazine. Thus, members of the American public - i.e. the jurors of the case - were shown the movie for the first time. Until the trial, the film had rarely been seen, and bootleg copies made by assassination investigators working with Garrison which led to the film's wider distribution. In 2015, Garrison's lead investigator's daughter released his copy of the film, along with a number of his personal papers from the investigation.
Garrison's key witness against Clay Shaw was Perry Russo, a 25-year-old insurance salesman from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. At the trial, Russo testified that he had attended a party at anti-Castro activist David Ferrie's apartment. At the party, Russo said that Lee Harvey Oswald (who Russo said was introduced to him as "Leon Oswald"), David Ferrie, and "Clem Bertrand" (who Russo identified in the courtroom as Clay Shaw) had discussed killing President Kennedy. The conversation included plans for the "triangulation of crossfire" and alibis for the participants.
Russo’s version of events has been questioned by some historians and researchers, such as Patricia Lambert, once it became known that part of his testimony might have been induced by hypnotism, and by the drug sodium pentothal (sometimes called "truth serum"). An early version of Russo's testimony (as told in Assistant D.A. Andrew Sciambra's memo, before Russo was subjected to sodium pentothal and hypnosis) fails to mention an "assassination party" and says that Russo met Clay Shaw on two occasions, neither of which occurred at the party. However, in his book On the Trail of the Assassins, Garrison says that Russo had already discussed the party at Ferrie's apartment before any "truth serum" was administered. Moreover, in several public interviews, such as one shown in the video The JFK Assassination: The Jim Garrison Tapes, Russo reiterates the same account of a party at Ferrie's apartment that he gave at the trial.
Jim Garrison defended his conduct regarding witness testimony, stating:
Before we introduced the testimony of our witnesses, we made them undergo independent verifying tests, including polygraph examination, truth serum and hypnosis. We thought this would be hailed as an unprecedented step in jurisprudence; instead, the press turned around and hinted that we had drugged our witnesses or given them posthypnotic suggestions to testify falsely."----read the full article here
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Garrison
Other readings: NEW ORLEANS, AND THE GARRISON INVESTIGATION
http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/garrison.htm
Papers of Jim Garrison/ national Archives
https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/finding-aids/garrison-papers.html
Oliver Stone's Portrayal of Jim Garrison
http://www.jfk-online.com/jfk100bigjim.html
Editorial Note: I believe Garrison's theory is more plausible than the Warrens Commission on the assassination. Until we know the truth and justice is finally served, we still be bumbling in the dark.
We have to start demanding answers from our government we can no longer accept the same old song and dance they have been dishing out since that fateful day in 1963. If there is any suspects still alive, they should be brought to justice, there is no statute of limitation on murder I know of.
This week's bible study see page 2
