General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Those who demand that everyone "just ACCEPT that Oswald did it"... [View all]stopbush
(24,785 posts)"...if it can be shown that there was no vehicle or person with a police radio near the trajectory where I found it to be, then, that is impeaching evidence." - Dr. James Barger, Lead Scientist, BBN, 2001
"If you could prove to me that there was no police officer in the place where he had to be, you would falsify (the acoustics evidence)." - G. Robert Blakey, Chief Counsel, HSCA, 2003
http://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/part-1b.html#dallas
http://www.jfkfiles.com/jfk/html/acoustics.htm
The only evidence that HSCA had for a second shooter was the Dictabelt sound recording. Four of the twelve HSCA members dissented to the HSCA's conclusion of conspiracy based on the acoustic findings, and a fifth thought a further study of the acoustic evidence was "necessary"- HSCA Report pp. 483499, 503509; Vincent Bugliosi, Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, 2007, ISBN 978-0-393-04525-3, endnotes pp. 202-3, citing the HSCA report, p. 84.;
"The acoustic evidence that was the sole objective, scientific support for the existence of a conspiracy in the HSCA investigation was debunked.", Sturdivan, The JFK Myths, 2005, p. 77
The Justice Department reviewed the HSCA report and the National Academy of Science's study of the acoustical evidence. It reported to the Judiciary Committee on March 28, 1988 and rebuked the HSCA's conclusion of a probable conspiracy. - Vincent Bugliosi, Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy, 2007, ISBN 978-0-393-04525-3, p. 379.
In 2003, an independent researcher named Michael O'Dell reported that both the National Academy and Dr. Thomas had used incorrect timelines because they assumed the Dictabelt ran continuously. When corrected, these showed the impulses happened too late to be the real shots even with Thomas's alternative synchronization. In addition, he showed that, due to a mathematical misunderstanding and the presence of a known impulse pattern in the background noise, there never was a 95% or higher probability of a shot from the grassy knoll. - http://mcadams.posc.mu.edu/odell/
Richard Sprague, an expert on photographic evidence of the assassination and a consultant to the HSCA, noted that the amateur film the HSCA relied on showed that there were no motorcycles between those riding alongside the rear of the presidential limousine and H.B. McLain's motorcycle, and that other films showed McLain's motorcycle was actually 250 feet behind the presidential limousine when the first shot was fired, not 120 to 138 feet. No motorcycle was anywhere near the target area. - Letter, Richard E. Sprague to Harold S. Sawyer, March 3, 1979, pp. 12, Sprague Collection
"The more than six-hundred page draft was put aside, and a majority of the [HSCA] committee approved a preliminary nine-page "Summary of Findings and Recommendations" that concluded, based solely on the flawed acoustics findings, that there was a conspiracy to kill JFK involving a second gunman." ... "G Robert Blakey later told a journalist [Earl Golz], 'If the acoustics come out that we made a mistake somewhere, I think that would be the end of it.' " Posner, Case closed, 1993, p. 457