JFK Assassination: Jim Garrison’s Conspiracy Investigation Papers

Description

Garrison’s JFK Conspiracy: Trial, Timeline, and Characters

1961-1973:

• Earling Carothers “Jim” Garrison serves as the District Attorney for the City of New Orleans, Louisiana.

March 1, 1967:

• Jim Garrison arrests prominent New Orleans businessman Clay L. Shaw and charges him with conspiring to kill President John F. Kennedy.

1969:

• The trial of Clay L. Shaw commences. This trial, State of Louisiana v. Clay Shaw, is the only trial ever held in connection with the assassination of President Kennedy.

March 1, 1969:

• Clay L. Shaw is acquitted by a jury after forty-five minutes of deliberation, following a six-week trial.

1971:

• Jim Garrison is prosecuted. (Specific details or outcome of this prosecution are not provided in the source).

Undated (Post-1973):

• Jim Garrison continues his interest in the assassination after his service as District Attorney, producing several partial manuscripts for books about his investigation.
• The family of Jim Garrison donates his papers to the National Archives’ John F. Kennedy Assassination Records Collection, at the request of the Assassination Records Review Board.

1998:

• The Assassination Records Review Board issues its final report, commenting on Jim Garrison and his investigation, noting its impact on the assassination debate and its role in the first public showing of Abraham Zapruder’s film footage of the assassination during the Clay Shaw trial.

Cast of Characters

• Earling Carothers “Jim” Garrison: (1921-1992) The District Attorney for New Orleans, Louisiana, from 1961 to 1973. He conducted an extensive investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, alleging a conspiracy. He arrested and prosecuted Clay L. Shaw for conspiracy to assassinate President Kennedy. Garrison was portrayed by Kevin Costner in the Oliver Stone film “JFK” and was a “media sensation,” whose investigation “altered the assassination debate” and popularized a “radical critique of the official version” of the assassination. His papers regarding the investigation were donated to the National Archives.
• Clay L. Shaw: (1913-1974) A prominent New Orleans businessman arrested by Jim Garrison on March 1, 1967, and charged with conspiring to kill President John F. Kennedy. He was the sole individual ever tried in connection with the assassination (State of Louisiana v. Clay Shaw). He was acquitted by a jury on March 1, 1969, after a six-week trial.
• John F. Kennedy: (1917-1963) The 35th President of the United States, whose assassination in 1963 was the subject of Jim Garrison’s investigation and the State of Louisiana v. Clay Shaw trial.
• Abraham Zapruder: The individual who filmed the assassination of President Kennedy. His film footage was publicly shown for the first time during the Clay Shaw trial, marking an “important assassination record milestone.”
• David Ferrie: An individual of interest to Jim Garrison’s investigation into the JFK assassination.
• Guy Bannister: An individual of interest to Jim Garrison’s investigation into the JFK assassination.
• Rose Cheramie: An individual of interest to Jim Garrison’s investigation into the JFK assassination.
• Vernon Bundy: An individual of interest to Jim Garrison’s investigation into the JFK assassination.
• Perry Russo: An individual of interest to Jim Garrison’s investigation into the JFK assassination.
• Gordon Novel: An individual of interest to Jim Garrison’s investigation into the JFK assassination.
• Keith Thornley: An individual of interest to Jim Garrison’s investigation into the JFK assassination.
• Layton Martens: An individual of interest to Jim Garrison’s investigation into the JFK assassination.
• Richard Nagell: An individual of interest to Jim Garrison’s investigation into the JFK assassination.
• Dean Andrews: An individual of interest to Jim Garrison’s investigation into the JFK assassination.
• Sergio Archacha Smith: An individual of interest to Jim Garrison’s investigation into the JFK assassination.
• Mark Lane: A critic of the Warren Commission, with whom Jim Garrison had a relationship.
• William Turner: The editor of “Ramparts” magazine and a critic of the Warren Commission, with whom Jim Garrison had a relationship.
• Robert Kennedy: (1925-1968) Brother of John F. Kennedy. His Grand Jury Transcript, Medicolegal Investigation (Coroner) & FBI Reports were part of Jim Garrison’s collected records.
• Lee Harvey Oswald: The individual identified by the Warren Commission as the assassin of President Kennedy. Oswald’s notebook was among the materials collected by Jim Garrison.