The assassination of President John F. Kennedy took place in Dallas on November 22, 1963 where he was shot twice by Lee Harvey Oswald. A number of conspiracy theories have risen since the shooting took place. It is believed that the shooter was shot and seriously wounded two days later by Jack Ruby, a local club owner, while being led to jail. Among the underlying issues being debated concerning the assassination is that Oswald did not act alone and had been backed up by a second shooter. The House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded after two years of investigation that a second gunman had been involved in the president’s assassination. This revelation was critical since the government had initially dismissed the involvement of a second shooter led by President Lyndon Johnson. This took place just a week after the assassination.
Arguments supporting this theory include the evidence that both Kennedy and then Texas Governor John Connally, were assassinated. H=The Warren Commission (President’s commission on the assassination case), stated that Oswald had fired 3 bullets in 8.6 seconds. The first bullets did not hit, however, the second bullet hit Kennedy from the back. It exited, hitting the rib and waist of the Texas Governor. Critics, however, claim that the bullet which had remained integral could not be accountable for the entire injury caused. Additionally, the fact that both Kennedy and Connally had been hit by several bullets in seconds also implies the involvement of a second shooter.
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Those in disagreement with this conspiracy theory, including the National Academy of Sciences (NAS), uses the main sound recording available to conclude that the second shooting occurred too late after the assassination and cannot be part of it. The NAS used two separate incomplete recordings from a motorcycle patrolman who had left his microphone on unintentionally to come up with the conclusion. Additionally, the Warren Commission had earlier on concluded that Oswald acted alone by firing three bullets from the school depository building on the sixth floor.
The conspiracy has led to the emergence of a number of fallacies of reasoning that do not have solid evidence. In the first place, most people believe that since President Lyndon Johnson benefited from the assassination, he could have participated in the plot to murder Kennedy. This is not exactly the case since there is no credible evidence linking Johnson to the assassination. Moreover, others point out that either the Cuban or Russian governments had been involved in the assassination and that the country was being attacked but the conspiracy also lacks solid evidence.
The argument that two shooters were involved in the assassination is more logical considering the fact that both Kennedy and Connally were shot using several bullets in a matter of seconds. Furthermore, the course of the two bullets did not square with those of Oswald from the sixth floor of the school depository building, implying the possibility of a second shooter from the grassy knoll of Dealey Plaza. The conclusion from the NAS is not entirely credible as some critics state that the gunshot-like sounds occurred at the same exact time as the assassination.
The debate on whether Oswald acted alone or a second shooter was involved still baffles many people in society as more conspiracies unfold. As much as the new investigation concluded that Oswald did not act alone, it has not yet been determined the main reason that promoted Oswald to assassinate Kennedy. More questions have been raised and claims point out that some prominent government officials might have participated in the assassination if not the Cuban or Russian governments.
