Lee Harvey Oswald, Life-History, and the Truth of Crime
Ghosts of the Disciplinary Machine: Lee Harvey Oswald, Life-History, and the Truth of Crime Jonathan Simon* It seems to me important, very important, to the record that we face the fact that this man was not only human but a rather ordinary one in many respects, and who appeared ordinary. If we think that this was a man such as we might never meet, a great aberration from the normal, someone who would stand out in a crowd as unusual, then we don't know this man, we have no means of recognizing such a person again in advance of a crime such as he committed. The important thing, I feel, and the only protection we have is to realize how human he was though he added to it this sudden and great violence beyond- Ruth Paine' I. INTRODUCTION: EARL WARREN'S HAUNTED HOUSE Thirty-four years ago, the President's Commission on the Assas- sination of President Kennedy, popularly known as the Warren Commission, published its famous report. The Commission's most * Professor of Law, University of Miami; Visiting Professor of Law, Yale Law School. I would like to thank the following for their comments on earlier drafts of this paper Anthony Alfieri, Kristin Bumiller, Marianne Constable, Rosemary J. Coombe, Thomas Dumm, John Hart Ely, Patrick Gudridge, Christine Harrington, Austin Sarat, Adam Simon, and especially Mark Weiner for exceptional editorial assistance. All errors of fact or judgment belong to the author. I would also like to thank the University of Miami School of Law for providing summer research support.
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