Kaitlyn Flood JFK Assassination Conspiracies Surrounding the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, there were many conspiracies, whether they were about the trajectory of the bullets, if the actual assassination was an inside job, if the autopsy files were destroyed, and many other things. Resulting from the investigation of the assassination, many conspiracy theories were developed. The Single Bullet Theory (SBT) was created by Arlen Specter from the President’s Commission. This theory says that a bullet, identified as CE399, (also known as the “magic bullet”) struck Kennedy in the back, exiting his neck without leaving any fragments behind. That same bullet then hit Governor Connally near his right armpit, coursed through his chest after shattering a rib, and exited just under his right nipple. It then shattered his right wrist and became lodged in his left thigh. It is said that less than 4 grains of the bullet’s substance were lost. The SBT believed there was a single gunman (Oswald) who fired 3 bullets. Most critics believe that 4 shots were fired, although Connally himself (a critic of the SBT) believed that the number of shots fired were 3. With the Single Bullet Theory, there are several valid contradictory statements that were made, and whether or not some facts released by the President’s Commission were distorted is still something that may never be solved. Of all the conspiracy theories developed, Robert Kennedy had the most to say, and did the most investigating of the assassination. Robert had a strong belief that the CIA, FBI, and Secret Service had something to do with the event, and he no longer trusted any of them. Upon his own investigation, Robert concluded that Oswald had not acted alone. He suspected many things, including the CIA’s secret war against Fidel Castro, President Kennedy’s betraying the anti-Castro cause, or a mafia connection were the main cause of his brother’s assassination. His many travels to gather information helped him solidify his beliefs. As far as the actual evidence from the autopsy, the FBI published a report that was inconsistent with the US Navy’s autopsy findings. James J. Humes, the man who performed the autopsy, claimed that there was a lot of blood on his autopsy notes, and he did not want anyone to see that, so he burned them. The official autopsy report stated that the bullet which hit Kennedy in the upper back exited at the front of the neck. However, the FBI account stated that the medical examination of the president’s body revealed that the bullet which entered his back had penetrated to a distance of less than a finger length, which was later concurred with by a panel of forensic pathologists. All in all, the autopsy of President Kennedy was performed by a commander who had not previously performed an autopsy on a gunshot victim, the associated records were burned or modified, and the location of key evidence (such as the president’s brain) is still unknown.
Works Cited Bugliosi, David Talbot & Vincent. "The Lessons of J.F.K." Time. Time Inc., 21 June "John F. Kennedy Assassination Conspiracy Theories." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 22 Apr. 2014. Web. 25 Apr. 2014.