Post by Gil Jesus on Jul 11, 2021 11:37:27 GMT -5
Oswald's Handwriting
Two experts gave testimony to the WC concerning questioned documents: Alwyn Cole and James C. Cadigan. Cole apprenticed as a questioned document examiner for 6 years, from 1929 to 1935, and had been an examiner of questioned documents for the U.S. Treasury Department since then. Cadigan had been a questioned document examiner with the FBI for 23.5 years, following a specialized course of training and instruction. Both had testified many times in Federal and States courts. ( WCR, App. X, pg. 566 ) Their conclusions were identical. The mail order and envelope for the C2766 rifle were photographed by Klein's on microfilm, and then destroyed. (Ibid., pg. 569)
The money order was never microfilmed.
In his testimony, Cadigan was careful to say that CADIGAN 11 had been prepared by LHO and NOT CE 788. The reason he said it that way is because Cadigan never compared the ORIGINAL, CE 788, to Oswald's handwriting. He compared a PHOTOGRAPH of CE 788, which was Cadigan 11. (7 H 423)
Likewise, Cole examined a COPY of the original, which is CE 789, and not the origin, CE 788. (4 H 374)
In fact, ALL of the Commission's handwriting examinations, with regard to the ordering and purchase of the rifle by BOTH Cadigan and Cole, were made of PHOTOGRAPHS of the original exhibits, not the exhibits themselves. In addition, since each handwriting expert was not trained in photographic processing, the photographs they examined were not made by the examiners themselves, but rather "under their supervision".
Meaning someone else.
And because someone else was involved in the "creation" of this evidence, the person or persons responsible for that creation also created a chain of custody of the evidence.
Unfortunately, the chain of custody of those photos was never ESTABLISHED because those persons "under their supervision" remained unnamed, never marked the photos after they processed them and were never called to testify and identify the photos as the ones they took or to describe the technical processes they used in creating them.
And for that matter, neither Cole nor Cadigan was asked any technical questions about the photos even though they admitted supervising their creation. Instead of photographic technicians, the legitimacy of the photographs were confirmed VISUALLY by the examiners, Cadigan and Cole.
In spite of the lack of a chain of custody, the Commission did what it usually did numerous times in its hearings and accepted ALL of the photographs as evidence and designated them as exhibits.
Both Cole and Cadigan testified that the photographs they examined were clear enough to permit an identification through examination. Their opinions covered both the copies of the standards ( the known handwriting of Lee Harvey Oswald ) and the copies of the questioned documents, like the money order.
"Standards" are the known, verifiable handwriting samples that are compared to the disputed handwriting. It is important to remember that, in an examination involving disputed handwriting, the standards will make or break your case. If the examiner has poor standards, this will impact the strength of the opinion.
The standards should be relevant, contemporaneous, in sufficient numbers and, as always, ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
"An optical transfer, in which a genuine signature is transferred onto a document by use of a photocopier, scanner, facsimile machine, or photography. With this type of forgery, an examiner cannot positively identify a signature as genuine without having the original for comparison. Indications of this type of forgery are often but not always present on a copy of the questioned document. Extreme care should be taken by anyone, especially the court system, in evaluating the veracity of documents and signatures when no original can be produced."
4n6.com/handwriting-and-forgery-examination/
Many of the standards in the examination of Oswald's handwriting were COPIES.
Signature and other handwriting identification problems examined from photocopies limit the ability of the forensic document examiner to observe evidence such as speed of execution, lifts of the writing instrument, pauses of the writing instrument and other important evidence.
Reproductions from microfilm or microfiche tend to be of LESSER quality than standard photocopies.
The "Oswald" documents were copies made from microfilm.
The House Select Committee on Assassinations examined the Oswald handwriting using a three member panel consisting of Joseph P. McNally, David J. Purtell, and Charles C. Scott.
The conclusions of the HSCA panel confirm that there are problems with comparing copies with originals.
Scott concluded that while all of the original handwriting purported to be Oswald's was made by the same person, only a "tentative opinion" could be reached as to the reproductions.(8 HSCA 247)
McNally agreed, saying that while the writing on the envelope and the money order matched, there was a caveat ( condition ) that the writing on the envelope was a photo reproduction from microfilm. (4 HSCA 355)
Earlier he explained why the "qualifying" identification when discussing the panel's examination of Oswald's Cuban visa application. He said that because it was not an original document, it "could not be examined microscopically". (ibid.)
During his testimony, McNally was forced to admit that copies were never as good as originals for handwriting comparison:
Mr. FAUNTROY. Are photocopies as good as original handwriting for analysis purposes?
Mr. McNALLY. No, never. (2 HSCA 393)
David Purtell said,
"Photocopies have several limitations. They do not reproduce all the fine details in handwriting needed in making an examination and comparison.....Document examiners only render a qualified or conditional opinion when working from copies. They stipulate that they have to examine the original before a definite opinion will be made." (8 HSCA 239)
BTW, the money order ( Item 29 in 8 HSCA 230 ) which was examined by both McNally and Purtell was described as a XEROX COPY. (8 HSCA 234, 239)
How could an Oswald signature be faked ?
In his examination of the "Dear Mr. Hunt " letter for the HSCA, McNally explained it:
Mr. MCNALLY. ....Oswald's general writing pattern is simple and tends to be rather legible, and to turn out something like that would be not particularly difficult. (4 H 360)
On the next page, he described HOW it could be done.
Mr. McNALLY. ......It could very well be a situation where this thing has been patched together from original writing of Oswald. It can be done using a photo reproduction process. (4 HSCA 361)
Purtell explained further:
"....it is possible to incorporate or insert changes and alterations into copies. A method frequently used is to paste together parts of documents to make one fraudulent document, which is then copied. If the first copy can pass inspection, it will be used; if not, it will be reworked to eliminate all signs of alteration. This amended copy is then recopied for the finished product. This is usually referred to as the "cut and paste" method." (8 HSCA 239)
In addition, the ease with which an individual can reproduce an original genuine writing from one document onto another document using the photocopier is always a consideration. It is possible to make such a transfer with little or no evidence which would reveal such a fraudulent preparation.
Finally, we should always keep in mind that a document examiner's conclusion is correctly considered a professional opinion, not evidence.
The question remains who would have the capability to use a photocopier to forge someone's handwriting ?
The Post Office.
I say this because the Post Office was part of the FBI's counter intelligence program, COINTELLPRO. Part of that program was to intercept, open, read and copy mail from American citizens the Bureau deemed subversive.
Below is a list of FBI informants. Of particular interest is that both the postal inspectors of the cities where Oswald stayed, Dallas and New Orleans, are on the list. It may be no coincidence that the name "A.Hidell" first appeared in New Orleans. I'll bet these two postal inspectors had flagged Oswald, were reading his mail going in and out of their cities and New Orleans was sharing copies of their Oswald mail with Dallas.
Why Dallas ? Because the Dallas P.O. would have become the home office of the surveillance on Oswald when he received his first copy of The Worker.
TOMORROW: EVIDENCE THE DEPOSITORY RIFLE WAS NEVER FIRED
Two experts gave testimony to the WC concerning questioned documents: Alwyn Cole and James C. Cadigan. Cole apprenticed as a questioned document examiner for 6 years, from 1929 to 1935, and had been an examiner of questioned documents for the U.S. Treasury Department since then. Cadigan had been a questioned document examiner with the FBI for 23.5 years, following a specialized course of training and instruction. Both had testified many times in Federal and States courts. ( WCR, App. X, pg. 566 ) Their conclusions were identical. The mail order and envelope for the C2766 rifle were photographed by Klein's on microfilm, and then destroyed. (Ibid., pg. 569)
The money order was never microfilmed.
In his testimony, Cadigan was careful to say that CADIGAN 11 had been prepared by LHO and NOT CE 788. The reason he said it that way is because Cadigan never compared the ORIGINAL, CE 788, to Oswald's handwriting. He compared a PHOTOGRAPH of CE 788, which was Cadigan 11. (7 H 423)
Likewise, Cole examined a COPY of the original, which is CE 789, and not the origin, CE 788. (4 H 374)
In fact, ALL of the Commission's handwriting examinations, with regard to the ordering and purchase of the rifle by BOTH Cadigan and Cole, were made of PHOTOGRAPHS of the original exhibits, not the exhibits themselves. In addition, since each handwriting expert was not trained in photographic processing, the photographs they examined were not made by the examiners themselves, but rather "under their supervision".
Meaning someone else.
And because someone else was involved in the "creation" of this evidence, the person or persons responsible for that creation also created a chain of custody of the evidence.
Unfortunately, the chain of custody of those photos was never ESTABLISHED because those persons "under their supervision" remained unnamed, never marked the photos after they processed them and were never called to testify and identify the photos as the ones they took or to describe the technical processes they used in creating them.
And for that matter, neither Cole nor Cadigan was asked any technical questions about the photos even though they admitted supervising their creation. Instead of photographic technicians, the legitimacy of the photographs were confirmed VISUALLY by the examiners, Cadigan and Cole.
In spite of the lack of a chain of custody, the Commission did what it usually did numerous times in its hearings and accepted ALL of the photographs as evidence and designated them as exhibits.
Both Cole and Cadigan testified that the photographs they examined were clear enough to permit an identification through examination. Their opinions covered both the copies of the standards ( the known handwriting of Lee Harvey Oswald ) and the copies of the questioned documents, like the money order.
"Standards" are the known, verifiable handwriting samples that are compared to the disputed handwriting. It is important to remember that, in an examination involving disputed handwriting, the standards will make or break your case. If the examiner has poor standards, this will impact the strength of the opinion.
The standards should be relevant, contemporaneous, in sufficient numbers and, as always, ORIGINAL DOCUMENTS.
"An optical transfer, in which a genuine signature is transferred onto a document by use of a photocopier, scanner, facsimile machine, or photography. With this type of forgery, an examiner cannot positively identify a signature as genuine without having the original for comparison. Indications of this type of forgery are often but not always present on a copy of the questioned document. Extreme care should be taken by anyone, especially the court system, in evaluating the veracity of documents and signatures when no original can be produced."
4n6.com/handwriting-and-forgery-examination/
Many of the standards in the examination of Oswald's handwriting were COPIES.
Signature and other handwriting identification problems examined from photocopies limit the ability of the forensic document examiner to observe evidence such as speed of execution, lifts of the writing instrument, pauses of the writing instrument and other important evidence.
Reproductions from microfilm or microfiche tend to be of LESSER quality than standard photocopies.
The "Oswald" documents were copies made from microfilm.
The House Select Committee on Assassinations examined the Oswald handwriting using a three member panel consisting of Joseph P. McNally, David J. Purtell, and Charles C. Scott.
The conclusions of the HSCA panel confirm that there are problems with comparing copies with originals.
Scott concluded that while all of the original handwriting purported to be Oswald's was made by the same person, only a "tentative opinion" could be reached as to the reproductions.(8 HSCA 247)
McNally agreed, saying that while the writing on the envelope and the money order matched, there was a caveat ( condition ) that the writing on the envelope was a photo reproduction from microfilm. (4 HSCA 355)
Earlier he explained why the "qualifying" identification when discussing the panel's examination of Oswald's Cuban visa application. He said that because it was not an original document, it "could not be examined microscopically". (ibid.)
During his testimony, McNally was forced to admit that copies were never as good as originals for handwriting comparison:
Mr. FAUNTROY. Are photocopies as good as original handwriting for analysis purposes?
Mr. McNALLY. No, never. (2 HSCA 393)
David Purtell said,
"Photocopies have several limitations. They do not reproduce all the fine details in handwriting needed in making an examination and comparison.....Document examiners only render a qualified or conditional opinion when working from copies. They stipulate that they have to examine the original before a definite opinion will be made." (8 HSCA 239)
BTW, the money order ( Item 29 in 8 HSCA 230 ) which was examined by both McNally and Purtell was described as a XEROX COPY. (8 HSCA 234, 239)
How could an Oswald signature be faked ?
In his examination of the "Dear Mr. Hunt " letter for the HSCA, McNally explained it:
Mr. MCNALLY. ....Oswald's general writing pattern is simple and tends to be rather legible, and to turn out something like that would be not particularly difficult. (4 H 360)
On the next page, he described HOW it could be done.
Mr. McNALLY. ......It could very well be a situation where this thing has been patched together from original writing of Oswald. It can be done using a photo reproduction process. (4 HSCA 361)
Purtell explained further:
"....it is possible to incorporate or insert changes and alterations into copies. A method frequently used is to paste together parts of documents to make one fraudulent document, which is then copied. If the first copy can pass inspection, it will be used; if not, it will be reworked to eliminate all signs of alteration. This amended copy is then recopied for the finished product. This is usually referred to as the "cut and paste" method." (8 HSCA 239)
In addition, the ease with which an individual can reproduce an original genuine writing from one document onto another document using the photocopier is always a consideration. It is possible to make such a transfer with little or no evidence which would reveal such a fraudulent preparation.
Finally, we should always keep in mind that a document examiner's conclusion is correctly considered a professional opinion, not evidence.
The question remains who would have the capability to use a photocopier to forge someone's handwriting ?
The Post Office.
I say this because the Post Office was part of the FBI's counter intelligence program, COINTELLPRO. Part of that program was to intercept, open, read and copy mail from American citizens the Bureau deemed subversive.
Below is a list of FBI informants. Of particular interest is that both the postal inspectors of the cities where Oswald stayed, Dallas and New Orleans, are on the list. It may be no coincidence that the name "A.Hidell" first appeared in New Orleans. I'll bet these two postal inspectors had flagged Oswald, were reading his mail going in and out of their cities and New Orleans was sharing copies of their Oswald mail with Dallas.
Why Dallas ? Because the Dallas P.O. would have become the home office of the surveillance on Oswald when he received his first copy of The Worker.
TOMORROW: EVIDENCE THE DEPOSITORY RIFLE WAS NEVER FIRED