The Day Innocence Died – Jim Garrison

Jim Garrison is quoted as saying, “telling the truth can be a scary thing sometimes." In 1963, Garrison was the New Orleans District Attorney of Orleans Parrish.Three days after President Kennedy was assassinated he arrested David Ferrie as a possible associate of Lee Harvey Oswald and turned the investigation over to the FBI.

In the fall of 1966, Garrison reopened his investigation into the JFK assassination, after speaking with U.S. Senator Russell Longfrom Louisiana. Long told Garrison that it was his opinion that Oswald could not have acted alone. Garrison soon connected Oswald to Guy Banister, David Ferrie, and Clay Shaw.

During the summer of 1963, Oswald worked in Banister's office and was seen with Clay Shaw and David Ferrie in New Orleans and Clinton, LA. In March of 1967, Jim Garrison arrested and charged New Orleans International Trade Mart director Clay Shaw with complicity in the murder of President Kennedy. To see a brief summary of Clay Shaw's trial and his life, click on the link Clay Shaw.

Oliver Stone's movie JFK mocks the doubtful veracity of the Warren Commission's findings on the Kennedy assassination and summarizes some of the myriad theories that have been proposed. Focusing on the investigation by New Orleans DA Jim Garrison into the activities of the FBI and other government agencies as well as their attempted cover-ups, Stone weaves fact and speculation into a compelling argument for the reopening of the case files.

Jim Garrison died believing the assassination was a conspiracy and authored several books; one being "On The Trail of The Assassins". Garrison was with the FBI, a district attorney, and from 1978-88 he was Judge of the Court of Appeal in New Orleans. Yet, we are told that the man was a paranoid fantasist, a publicity hound and a crooked DA.

Garrison was resurrected in Oliver Stone's “JFK”. In the film, Garrison, played by Kevin Costner, is the archetypal underdog, a hero who sacrifices everything in search of truth. Although there are two contrasting views of the man but I will agree with Garrison in that the truth can be scary, although it is never as frightening as the power of a good lie.

It seems reasonable that the only man to bring anyone to trial for the murder of the president of the United States is a hero and that an error in judgment or otherwise can only be corrected by fixing it by revealing the truth.

Disclaimer: The information contained in this series is that of the presenters and does not necessarily reflect the views of the author. It is information that is in the public domain provided for the reader to form an opinion. Whereas, it is the author’s position that the most profound sin is a tragedy unremembered and the absence of truth. And that’s my thought provoking perspective…

 

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