Volume I By PENN JONES JR. A Critical Review of the Warren Commission Report on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy Volume I By PENN JONES JR. A Critical Review of the Warren Commission Report on the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy Copyright, The Midlothian Mirror, IDe., 1966 AD rights reserved. No part of this book· may be reproduced without written permission of the Publisher. First Printing: May, 1966 - 7,500 copies Second Printing: September, 1966 - 15,000 cupies LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG NUMBER 66-22846 Printed in U.S.A. Dedicated to my wife and two sons Forgive my grief for one removed. Thy creature. whom I found so fair. I trust he lives in thee, and there I find him worthier to be loved. IN MEMORIAM ·ALFRED LORD TENNYSON PREFACE On a mild, sunlit day in December, 1963, a group of us walked beneath the trees toward open fields behind my house. Philippe Labro, a renown­ ed investigator from French National Television, asked questions. The equipe - sound and camera men from Paris - followed to record our interview. Penn Jones, Jr., an old friend, stood by to watch and listen. I had asked him to be present. Labro probed for my opinion about the assassination of President John F. Kennedy which had OCCUlTed in Dallas a month before. I searched for answers and gave him little sat­ isfaction. What did I know? What did anyone know at that time? Rumors, suspicions and specu-· lations already suffocated the issue. I did not want to add to them. We felt certain about one thing: the story being presented to the world was so grossly pat as to be untrue. They said one troubled man had murdered the President of the United States. If it were as simple as that, why then had authorities been so determined to close the case almost before it had opened? Why had they been so eager to drop all of the loose ends, to declare within hours of his death that Oswald was guilty, guilty alone; and then slammed the doors on the historic tragedy? One investigates the simplest crime far more pro­ foundly than that. There were loose ends. Many loose ends. La­ bro, for example, a man of impeccable objectivitY and a trained observer, had seen Ruby almost im­ mediately after Oswald's death. He saw Ruby calm and self-possessed atthe moment that Tom Howard was standing downstairs in front of the nation's television cameras telling the world that Ruby was .in a ·state of emotional collapse. Some few men in thistry coun were not satis­ fied with these loose ends. Some of these had ob- . sessive theories and tried to make the loose ends arrange themselves in such a way as to prove. these theories. They do not count for anything.. Others, however, with a great dedication to truth wherever it might lead them, have sought to re­ solve--these loose ends for the sake of history and truth. They have devoted themselves to gathering� sifting and re-examining evidence. They have sought to follow truth even when this has led them down roads that sickened and terrified them. Penn Jones belongs to this latter small group. Since that tenible day he has dedicated himself to resolving the riddle, and he has followed authentic leads, abandoned countless ones that turned out not to be authentic. Is it wise to do this? ·Is it wise 1o Uftthe Ud from a mystery and risk releasing a stench such as the world has never known, a stench that might well damage the world? Some men have the faith that truth is the ulti­ mate wisdom. It is a faith that can hardly be fault­ ed. Penn Jones is moved by that faith. He also is moved by a profound sense of responsibility to- ward his country, toward truth and toward evi­ dence. The truth risks being unspeakably ugly in this instance, and at this point in its unfoldment. If, however, all the evidence should ultimately lead by miracle to some simple and benign solu­ tion, the man heaving the greatest sigh of relief would be Penn Jones, Jr. John Howard Griffin Mansfield, Texaa ·February 4, 1966 For quotations, we are deeply grateful to the following authors and publishing houses: MY TWELVE YEARS WITH JOHN F. KENNEDY by Evelyn Lincoln published by David McKay Co. THE CORRUPrED LAND by Fred J. Cook published by The MacMillan Company PORTRAIT OF THE ASSASSIN by Congressman Gerald Ford and John R. Stiles published by Simon and Shuster TROPIC OF CANCER by Henry Miller published by Grove Press ::MORAIJTY IN AMERICA by J. Robert Moskin published by Random House A NATION OF SHEEP by William J. Lederer published by Faucett Publications THE MARCH OF JOURNALISM by Harold Herd published by George·Allen and Unwin of London THE CORPORATION TAKE-OVER edited by Andrew Hacker published by Anchor Books, Doubleday, Inc. MASK FOR TREASON, THE LINCOLN MURDER TRIAL by Vaughan Shelton published by Stackpole Books RESISTANCE, REBELLION, AND DEATH by Albert Camus translated by Justin O'Brien published by AJfred A Knopf, Inc. FOREWORD In the discharge of our duty as a newspaper editor, we must do everything possible to bring into some intelligi­ ble whole ALL the events surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. Inquiry is the life blood of truth, and the careful report of inquiry is the newspaperman's cross and grail. But grails are no longer attractive, and journalism is so timid and weak. How else account for the almost total disregard on the part of the national press of the many persons-missing, murdered, or met with death strangely­ who were related to the tragedy in Dallas. The material of this book (lrst ran as a series in The Midlothian (Texas) Mirror. Further articles w:Ul appear periodically. We expect to work on the assassination for the rest of our Uves--not that any action wiD be taken, but in the hope that historians may be able to point a more accurate finger. When we planned this series beginning at the time of the Jack Ruby trial, we felt the Warren Commission should remain in existence for at least five years. When the Commission made its Report and disbanded, we felt it should be reopened. Now we doubt such action would be profitable other than to add more whitewash to the .already thick coat. We do not have all the answers. But after spending several thousand hours knocking on doors, asking questions, meanwhile reading the Report, we believe audacious actions were taken by the Commission lawyers and the Ohairman obfuscating the evidence left after President Kennedy, Tippit, and Oswald were killed. We are convinced some of the instigators of the assaBSination were people of the lowest sort. On their own merits, none of than would gain an invitation to your home. For the most part they were bribe takers, punks, pimps, homosexuals, perverts, and cheap gamblers. They have now pined a large amount of respectability. And until they are brought to justice, will grow more danprous. We thank the dedicated few who have helped in assem­ bling the facts presented. They must have shed the same hot tears of despair this writer could not hold back. These workers ·came from many walks of life-with no hope of· reward. There were only two in Dallas who would aid us, and for obvious reasons, we do not name them. Perm Jones Jr. CONTENTS at 1 1. Meeting Ruby'sA�ent - 2. George Senator 7 3. Kilgallen; Kantor; Armstrong 21 4. Julia Ann Mercer (Deposition) 25 5. S.M. Holland (Testimony) 27 6. Craig vs Fritz 30 7. Henry Wade (DistrictAttorney) 35 8. Wade (Continued) 40 9. Wade (Continued) 47 10. Carroll Jarnagin (Attorney) 54 11. WaggonerCarr (TexasAttorney General) 61 12. Jones Buys Ruby Letter 64 13. PatrickT. Dean (PoliceSergeant) 67 14. Mark Lane (Attorney) 74 IS� HarryN. Olsen (Dallas Policeman) 18 16. Olsen' (Continued) 85 17. Bertha. Cheek (Sister of Earlene Roberts) 92 18. Hardee (Deposition) Mrs. Rich (Testimony) 99 19. Bernard Weissman (Testimony) 120 20. Weissman (Continued) 136 21. JesseCuny (Dallas Police Chief) 149 22. George Butler (Lt.Dallas Police Force) 160 23. Earlene Roberts 171 24. William F. Alexander, (Assistant DistrictAttorney) 175 25. Summation 182 Read not to contradict and coufute, nor to ·believe and take for granted: But to weigh and consider. FRANCIS BACON 1. Meeting at Ruby's Apartment A. stated In the Warren Cnmmluion Report, Captain WiD Frib of the DaUu PoUee Department quoted Lee Harvey Oswald aa l&1iDa' about the killbur of the Presi­ dent: "People will forget that in a few days and there would be another President" (V 4, P 226). This editor feels Oswald was � on his estimate of the nation's respect. This nation baa not yet bad a chanee to adequately express itself over the 1118&aJnatfon, 8Dd it may take a full IC&le war to make them forget. We have been eritieal of the Warren Report, but we are so grateful for the many &Diwen in the twenty six volumes of testlmoJQ". The 8I1I'Wer8 arethere for thoee who are wilJiug to diJr. We have felt from the very first that thef"mal report ahould not have been made for at least five years. The report was made too aoon, and too many im­ portant characters were overlooked. We have steadily maintained that much study was needed coneerning the finding of Oswald by Offic:er J. D. Tippit. AIJ the police radio ·dispatcher could tell Tippit was that the suspect was "'a white male about SO, slender build, height 5 feet 10 inches, 165 pounds." (VoL 4 page 184).