The Trial Of Lee Harvey Oswald

Check your whacked conspiracy theories, first things first.

But for a bullet shot that could easily have missed or not have been fatal, by a man who easily could not have been where he was while Oswald -thanks to delay- was where he was, Lee Oswald would have been incarcerated and put on trial for the assassination of President Kennedy in 1964.

The question therefore becomes, what would occur in that trial, and what would come of it for the people involved and the United States. What defense would be put up, what arguments made, how would Oswald act and react, and what would, in the end, be the courts final decision? And what would become of Oswald? You are not limited to these questions as this deals with the trial as a whole and anything involved with said thing, but they are simply to put things in perspective.
 
I remember that; wasn't their scenario for LHO's survival being Jack Ruby's gun misfiring or something like that? Anyway, long odds against him, especially in Texas. The Trial would've been held under Texas Law, as there wasn't a Federal Law on the books for assassinating a President (one wasn't on the books until the '70s, but I may be wrong). Two charges of Capital Murder, and three of attempted murder (Gov. Connally, plus Mrs. Kennedy and Mrs. Connally-either one of whom could've been hit) are what Oswald would've faced. He goes to Huntsville to wait on a date with Old Sparky. If his appeals succeed, he stays alive until SCOTUS rules against the Death Penalty in 1972, and his sentence would've been commuted to Life in Prison. If not, sometime in 1967 or '68, he sits down in Huntsville's Electric Chair and doesn't get up again...2500 Volts will have seen to that. In those days, death row stays were a lot shorter than they are now.....
 
Check your whacked conspiracy theories, first things first.

But for a bullet shot that could easily have missed or not have been fatal, by a man who easily could not have been where he was while Oswald -thanks to delay- was where he was, Lee Oswald would have been incarcerated and put on trial for the assassination of President Kennedy in 1964.

The question therefore becomes, what would occur in that trial, and what would come of it for the people involved and the United States. What defense would be put up, what arguments made, how would Oswald act and react, and what would, in the end, be the courts final decision? And what would become of Oswald? You are not limited to these questions as this deals with the trial as a whole and anything involved with said thing, but they are simply to put things in perspective.

Oswald claimed that he was a patsy, but he was an extremely bizarre character who had renounced his citizenship to live in the Soviet Union, and frankly, I would think it unlikely that he acted alone. Oswald probably had accomplices and confidants, and given the direction he was heading, I'm sure he'd probably have try to make a deal--and have it fall flat.

This is Texas. In the 1960s. Oswald gets the last shock of his life unless some of the nasty things--like JFKs mob connections and the CIA's possible involvement come through.

I would imagine that Oswald would probably take a few other people down with him, but unless some of the more outlandish stuff is true he's a dead man.
 
Oswald claimed that he was a patsy, but he was an extremely bizarre character who had renounced his citizenship to live in the Soviet Union, and frankly, I would think it unlikely that he acted alone. Oswald probably had accomplices and confidants, and given the direction he was heading, I'm sure he'd probably have try to make a deal--and have it fall flat.

Oswald had a history of lying and was the kind of man who would smile in your face to stab you in the back, so the patsy remark was little more than him trying to worm his way out of getting the blame. He was also not competant enough to get into anything conspiratorial (the KGB threw him out of the country because he was no good to be turned into a spy for them as they were thinking of doing). He also didn't have any friends or confidants or accomplices, largely thanks to anti-social behavior, a history of violence, and his Communism (which he had out of anti-social behavior). The man had to have newsmen carry his coffin at his funeral for goodness sake because there weren't enough family members and almost no friends to carry his coffin, and in the only social organization he was apart of (The Fair Play for Cuba Committee, New Orleans chapter) he was the one and only member.

Oswald had ability (he was a Marine Sharpshooter, and a good one at that, more than capable of hitting Kennedy and more than capable of making a similar shot from twice the distance to boot), psychological reasoning (he had previously tried to kill General Walker and likely viewed Kennedy as the representation of a system he hated, both in terms of politics and the US government, and the wealth of the Kennedy's), and a history of self glorification and violence (Oswald wanted to be remembered for something, which he said himself at some point, which would be remembered hundreds of years later, and wanted to stand out. He was also abusive to his wife and known to have outbursts and fits of rage; again, General Walker).

This is Texas. In the 1960s. Oswald gets the last shock of his life unless some of the nasty things--like JFKs mob connections and the CIA's possible involvement come through.
JFK didn't have mob connections and the CIA was not involved. There's little reason they would be. They pissed Kennedy off on occasion (Bay of Pigs, after which he became angry enough to declare he'd smash it to a thousand pieces and scatter it to the wind), but Kennedy utilized them as much as any other President did in international affairs, and I doubt very much would have dissolved them.

I would imagine that Oswald would probably take a few other people down with him, but unless some of the more outlandish stuff is true he's a dead man.
Again, there's no one but Oswald. He was a social outcast, a lonely man by his own want to be alone (Communist affiliation largely for the sake of being different and standing out, and taking his wife home from the USSR to join him in loneliness), a violent man, and a cold man without remorse. He had no affiliation with anybody in the common sphere, let alone any massive conspiracy or anything of that nature, and had all the ability to kill Kennedy by himself and all the evidence to back up that.

Here's how I see Oswald in Trial: He makes the case a political one and one for him to espouse his extreme leftist views. He claims he is a patsy; that they're only making him the target because of his time in the USSR and his Communism, and uses the trial to drone on about Socialism and Communism and the evils of the American government and all that. In the end, he could either argue Conspiracy (maybe trying to drag down the US government by saying it was the CIA or something), or just arguing that he didn't do it and he's only getting the screws because of his politics. It will be the Kennedy Assassination debate of the last 4 decades incarnate. The prosecution argues that Oswald did it alone, and has evidence to back it up. The defense argues Conspiracy, and has little evidence in itself but can do enough to cast doubt on the prosecution's case.
 
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@Emperor Norton:

Of all of the Presidential Assassination attempts I can think of, most are launched by deranged individuals. But there are still minor characters in many of these attempts. I don't mean to suggest that Oswald had a few pals to take shots at JFK as well, but I suppose I'd suggest that if there were screwball friends of his, he'd put them on the hook too.

I suppose that I've given Oswald too much credit and thought that he'd have others of his ilk--violent, anti-American fanatics wouldn't want to join his little rampage. I'd not considered that Oswald might really be alone in the world--that's an interesting point that I'd not considered. Thanks for mentioning it.
 
JFK didn't have mob connections and the CIA was not involved. There's little reason they would be.

I suspect that Max may have been thinking of JFK's father. But there are conflicting accounts of mob involvement with JFK himself, such as allegations the West Virginia primary was bought off by Kennedy. That, plus JFK's dalliance with at least two mobsters' girlfriends (Marilynn Monroe among them)...As for the CIA, part of what makes people suspect them is that they've certainly been involved in similar events, just like most of the other suspects.

Like the congressional investigations in 1978 pointed out, there's credible evidence of both organized crime and anti Castro exile groups involvement with the assassination, but nothing concrete enough to bring an indictment. But any halfway good lawyer or investigator would use it to try and leverage a better sentence for Oswald, avoiding the death penalty. I suspect he might have the same fate as James Earl Ray, proclaiming himself a pawn in a large conspiracy to the end of his days.
 
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