Was The Conduct Of The Oswald Lineups Proof of Innocence?

But Oswald was wearing Commission Exhibit 150 for both lineups, the shirt that has a frayed hole in the elbow. (4 H 73)

Detective Elmer Boyd admitted under oath that the three police employees WERE dressed better than Oswald. (7 H 127)

Fritz lied to the Commission when he testified that the police officers "fixed themselves where they would look like prisoners" . Prisoners don't wear red vests or brown sport coats. And it's not a mistake that Fritz could have made unintentionally because Fritz testified that he was present at the first lineup for Helen Markham (4 H 212) and Det. Clark testified that those items of clothing were taken from the homicide office.

THE PERSON ADMINISTERING THE LINEUP KNEW WHICH PERSON IN THE LINEUP WAS THE SUSPECT

Jim Leavelle conducted lineup #'s 1,3 and 4 and spoke to the witnesses prior to lineup 2. Leavelle indicated in testimony that he knew that two officers from the Vice Unit and a jail clerk had been used for the first lineup. (7 H 263-264)

Leavelle also testified that he had seen Oswald, "the first day he was arrested and when they brought him in and out of the office taking him to and from the jail, and of course, I had saw him at the lineups, what-have-you". (7 H 268)

So Leavelle, by his own admission, was more than aware that Oswald was the suspect.

He knew it.

Detective Sims conducted lineup # 2 at 6:30 pm on Friday. According to Capt. Fritz, Sims was present at the first interrogation session between 2:15 and 4:05 (4 H 209) and thus knew that Oswald was the suspect prior to his conducting the 6:30 lineup.

In addition, Sims testified that he KNEW ALL THREE OF THE POLICE FILLERS that were used in the lineup he conducted. (7 H 179)

IT WAS INDICATED TO THE WITNESSES THAT THE PERPERTRATOR WAS PRESENT IN THE LINEUP

In his testimony, Callaway quoted what Detective Jim Leavelle told himself, Guinyard and McWatters before they viewed lineup # 2 :

Mr. CALLAWAY. We first went into the room. There was Jim Leavelle, the detective, Sam Guinyard, and then this busdriver and myself......and Jim told us, "When I show you these guys, be sure, take your time, see if you can make a positive identification.........We want to be sure, we want to try to wrap him up real tight on killing this officer. We think he is the same one that shot the President. But if we can wrap him up tight on killing this officer, we have got him." (3 H 355)

Leavelle was telling them that the suspect in Tippit's killing was in the lineup they were about to see.

THE "FILLERS" DID NOT RESEMBLE EITHER THE PERPERTRATOR OR THE SUSPECT

"Let me say this, that it would be very unusual if we had a showup and .........if they put anything other than men that fit their approximate size and age in there with them......because we just don't operate that way." --- Dallas Detective L. C. Graves (7 H 253)

Mrs. Markham's description of the Tippit killer as given to Officer J.M. Poe was a white male, about 25, about 5 feet 8, brown hair, medium build . ( 7 H 68 ) She also testified that the man who she saw shoot Tippit "wasn't too heavy." (3 H 317-318)

And she gave a completely different description of the killer to FBI Agent Bardwell D. Odum. She told him that the killer was a white male, about 18, black hair, red complexion. (3 H 318)

Ted Callaway, who viewed the exact same lineup as Mrs. Markham about two hours later, described the killer as a man with dark hair and a fair complexion (3 H 356)

Howard Brennan described the Kennedy killer as early 30's , fair complexion, slender.

So how did the physical attributes of the "fillers" in the first two lineups compare to the descriptions given by the witnesses who viewed them?

Perry was 34 yo 5-11 150 brown hair dark complexion (7 H 235, 7 H 168)

Clark was 31 yo 5-11 177 blond hair ruddy complexion (7 H 239, 7 H 168)

Ables was 26 yo 5-9 165 dark hair ruddy complexion (7 H 242-243, 7 H 168)

Elmer Boyd told the Commission that they "always tell them to get the same color". (7 H 131)

But Sam Guinyard testified that the men in the second lineup ( who were the same men as was in the first ) were NOT the same color (7H 399)

Markham, Guinyard, Callaway and even Brennan all viewed the exact same lineup, with the exact same "fillers" in the exact same positions, dressed exactly the same. The fillers were all too dark, too blond and too heavy with the completely wrong complexion to match the descriptions of the witnesses.

As if having one blond in the first two lineups was not enough, the Dallas Police put TWO blonds in the lineup with Oswald and Ables for lineup # 3. (7 H 179)

In this lineup, the witnesses, Barbara and Virginia Davis described the man they saw running across their lawn as a white male, slender, light complexion, with either light brown or black hair (3 H 349); (6 H 457).

But both fillers Richard Walter Borchgardt and Ellis Carl Brazel had blond hair, and a ruddy complexion. (7 H 179)

And Ables also had a ruddy complexion (7 H 242-243, 7 H 168)

In his testimony, taxicab driver William Scoggins described the murderer of Tippit as a white male, light complexion, 25-26, medium height and weight, with either medium brown or dark hair (3 H 333)

But Lineup # 4 "filler" John Thurman Horne was 17 and "filler" David Edmond Knapp was 18. (7 H 200)

The final "filler" for the fourth lineup was Daniel Lujan, a 26 year old Mexican who was on the heavy side at 5-8 and 170. (7 H 245)

This is what the NIJ says about providing fillers for police lineups :

"Fillers who do not resemble the witness’s description of the perpetrator may cause a suspect to stand out."