RIP to the Single-bullet theory?

[Jon Banks]

There's something not right here. Do y'all really think it's credible that a Secret Service agent would put such an immensely valuable piece of evidence on a hospital stretcher?  - where it could have easily gone unnoticed momentarily and dropped off, rolled under a cupboard, been fingered, stolen as a souvenir?
Following professional protocol, he would immediately have pocketed the bullet, then submitted it to be bagged as crucial evidence.

So, the discovery of the bullet on the stretcher points more to an "amateur" plant.

I agree.

Alternative possibilities are:

A - Landis is telling the truth about feeling guilty about potentially mishandling what he later realized could've been a major piece of evidence. He didn't talk about it because he knew he screwed up.

or

B - This is a Limited Hangout intended to cover for someone else who placed a bullet on either Kennedy's or Connolly's stretcher.


I'm inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt for now but my opinion could change depending on what's in his book.

[Charles Collins]

Common sense time - why would "they" put this crucial piece of evidence on the wrong stretcher?

Only the folks that are ignorant about the details of the JFK assassination and people biased against the authorities would believe Landis’ outlandish story. Sadly, the publishers know that there are enough people in these two categories to make this book profitable for them. Especially if it is timed to coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of the assassination. I think the publishers most likely took advantage of Landis’ advanced age and perhaps his financial situation. So I do have some sympathy for Landis. The biased folks tend to throw common sense out the window in their desperation to believe in anything other than the official story. Pleas for common sense usually go in one ear and out the other….

[John Iacoletti]

I would like to add that Paul Landis’ outlandish story most certainly fits my definition of a morphing memory. And therefore could be added to the ones already specified in the thread by that title.

There’s nothing particularly “outlandish” about the story, and it also provides an explanation for how the bullet ended up on the wrong stretcher — other than the go-to of “Tomlinson was mistaken”.

It’s also an error to equate not coming forward with a story with morphing memory.

I was hit by a BB when I was a much younger and more foolish person. It lodged just beneath the skin but still had to be surgically removed. A typical BB gun from that era fired in the range of approximately a 300 to 400 feet per second velocity. The slowest velocity that I can get the Hornady Ballistic Calculator to calculate a Carcano bullet’s trajectory is 600 feet per second. At that velocity (due to gravity and the resistance of the air) the barrel would need to be aimed 48.92” above the target to hit it at a distance of 58-yards (the approximate distance from the sixth floor window to JFK at Z224). Does anyone really believe that this is what actually happened? If so, please explain your position.

There’s no good reason to assume that Kennedy’s back wound was necessarily caused by a bullet fired from a Carcano or that it originated from the 6th floor window.

[Jim Hawthorn]

A - Landis is telling the truth about feeling guilty about potentially mishandling what he later realized could've been a major piece of evidence. He didn't talk about it because he knew he screwed up.

or

B - This is a Limited Hangout intended to cover for someone else who placed a bullet on either Kennedy's or Connolly's stretcher.

I can't see anyone of an official capacity (not even a dizzy agent under shock) putting the bullet on a stretcher which was then within a medical urgency context/procedures.

[Jon Banks]

Only the folks that are ignorant about the details of the JFK assassination and people biased against the authorities would believe Landis’ outlandish story. Sadly, the publishers know that there are enough people in these two categories to make this book profitable for them. Especially if it is timed to coincide with the sixtieth anniversary of the assassination. I think the publishers most likely took advantage of Landis’ advanced age and perhaps his financial situation. So I do have some sympathy for Landis. The biased folks tend to throw common sense out the window in their desperation to believe in anything other than the official story. Pleas for common sense usually go in one ear and out the other….

Come on Charles. I know you're aware that the NY Times has tended to promote the official narrative about the Kennedy assassination. They don't typically boost JFK conspiracy books.

Do you think the Times did nothing at all to determine whether or not Landis is a credible witness before publishing their article?

To me, given their history, it's significant that they are taking his book and his claim seriously. And the rest of the news media seems to be following the lead of the NY Times on the Landis story.

Again, it's possible that he could be misremembering some things. But we don't know enough to conclude that it's a hoax and Landis is just doing this to sell a book. Time will tell...

[Andrew Mason]

he days following the tragedy” and told in subsequent years, Mr. Hill said in an email. “In my mind, there are serious inconsistencies in his various statements/stories.”[/b]

I would like to add that Paul Landis’ outlandish story most certainly fits my definition of a morphing memory. And therefore could be added to the ones already specified in the thread by that title.

It is difficult to understand why he did not mention the bullet in his written statements of November 27/63 (18H758: 2 pages) and November 30/63 (18H751: 7 pages).  His Nov 30 statement included these details:

"Agent Hill helped Mrs . Kennedy out of the car, and I followed.   Mrs . Kennedy's purse and hat and a cigarette lighter were on the back seat. I picked these three items up as I walked through the car and followed Mrs . Kennedy into the hospital. The President's body was taken directly to an Emergency Room, and I think I remember Mrs . Kennedy following the people in but coming out almost immediately.

The door to the Emergency doom was closed and I stayed by Mrs. Kennedy's side. Someone, in the meantime, had brought a chair for Mrs . Kennedy to sit in and she and she sat just outside of the Emergency Room. There were several people milling around and with the help of a nurse we cleared all unauthorized personnel out of the immediate area."

[Charles Collins]

It is difficult to understand why he did not mention the bullet in his written statements of November 27/63 (18H758: 2 pages) and November 30/63 (18H751: 7 pages).  His Nov 30 statement included these details:

"Agent Hill helped Mrs . Kennedy out of the car, and I followed.   Mrs . Kennedy's purse and hat and a cigarette lighter were on the back seat. I picked these three items up as I walked through the car and followed Mrs . Kennedy into the hospital. The President's body was taken directly to an Emergency Room, and I think I remember Mrs . Kennedy following the people in but coming out almost immediately.

The door to the Emergency doom was closed and I stayed by Mrs. Kennedy's side. Someone, in the meantime, had brought a chair for Mrs . Kennedy to sit in and she and she sat just outside of the Emergency Room. There were several people milling around and with the help of a nurse we cleared all unauthorized personnel out of the immediate area."

I don’t remember that anyone has ever said that Landis was ever actually inside Trauma Room 1. But I could be forgetting something. The account you posted appears to indicate that he stayed outside the room in the corridor when Jackie went into the room. I know that the room was relatively small and that would have been a deterrent to anyone who wasn’t needed in there.