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

[nyquil_man]

233. Okay, let's assume Oswald didn't fire a shot.

Let's go further still and assume he had no intention of firing a shot.

He's ordered at some point (presumably Thursday) to go to Irving and either retrieve his rifle or pick up a package which he thinks (or at least claims to Wesley Frazier) contains curtain rods.

In the first scenario, he's being blackmailed, brainwashed, or there's some other reason why he's bringing a gun, which he has no intention of using, to work on the day a President will be riding past his workplace. In the second scenario, he's being duped into thinking he's carrying something harmless. In either scenario, he's being ordered to put this package somewhere or to hand it off to someone else.

Of course, Oswald does deny shooting anyone. However, he also denies ordering and owning a rifle and denies carrying a package (other than his lunch) to work. Now, perhaps he's covering up for those who ordered him to bring the rifle. Maybe he's being the dutiful fall guy and letting the real assasins escape.

But why, then, is he declaiming that he's just a patsy and insisting on his innocence? Is he willing to risk a trip to the electric chair to cover up the facts? Perhaps. After all, he says "I hear it only takes a second to die" when he's first arrested.