Those who demand that everyone "just ACCEPT that Oswald did it"...

[JDPriestly]

90. Motive, means, opportunity.

Actually, motive is one of the elements that prosecutors usually seek to explain to the jury in a murder trial.

In US Criminal law, means, motive, and opportunity is a popular cultural summation of the three aspects of a crime that must be established before guilt can be determined in a criminal proceeding. Respectively, they refer to: the ability of the defendant to commit the crime (means), the reason the defendant felt the need to commit the crime (motive), and whether or not the defendant had the chance to commit the crime (opportunity). Opportunity is most often disproved by use of an alibi, which can prove the accused was not able to commit the crime as he or she did not have the correct set of circumstances to commit the crime as it occurred. Motive is not an element of many crimes, but proving motive can often make it easier to convince a jury of the elements that must be proved for a conviction.

Establishing the presence of these three elements is not, in and of itself, sufficient to convict beyond a reasonable doubt; the evidence must prove that an opportunity presented was indeed taken by the accused and for the crime with which he or she is charged. For an example, consider this ruling in the case of a suspect accused of robbery and assault:

... evidence of motive, means, opportunity, and consciousness of guilt are not enough to establish guilt. Compare Commonwealth v. Mandile, 403 Mass. 93, 98 (1988) (evidence of motive, means, unexplained possession of property, and consciousness of guilt not enough to establish robbery). On this record the evidence is insufficient to permit a rational jury to find beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant was the victim's assailant... Nothing in the record sufficiently links the defendant to the crime to permit the conclusion beyond a reasonable doubt that he was the perpetrator.[1]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Means,_motive,_and_opportunity

Was Oswald paid? Did he think he would be paid? Was he doing a favor for someone? Had someone persuaded him that he could right some political wrong by shooting Kennedy? Was Oswald a political extremist of some sort?

Or was he just crazy? And if so, did anyone notice that he was consistently confused, paranoid, anxious or somehow mentally ill?

Who was Oswald anyway? World traveler, ex-Marine, political fanatic, attention-seeker? What made him tick? Why would he do what he is said to have done? Motive is the key. That is why it is important for those of us who remain uneasy about the explanations for the Kennedy assassination.

The question about Oswald's motive is legitimate. I'd like to know what it was.

People suggest that he had a difficult childhood . . . . So do a lot of other people. That doesn't cause them to kill a president.

Even if you utterly accept the idea that Oswald acted alone, in his mind, he had to have some reason for planning the murder so carefully. What was it? Ruby made sure that we will never know. Very strange.