A History of the Single-Bullet Theory Follies

[Michael T. Griffith]

It would take many pages to detail the history of the follies of the single-bullet theory (SBT). Below is a condensed version of those follies--the many changes, contradictions, and bogus assumptions that have been put forth in defense of the theory. From its inception, the SBT has undergone some drastic changes in its assumptions about JFK's back wound, the location of JFK and Connally, JFK's forward lean when hit, and Connally's degree of turning when hit, among other issues.

Consider:

* At first the back wound was above the throat wound, but now it's level with or slightly below the throat wound, a difference of at least 1 inch in its vertical location on the back. But, we are told, the SBT still works!

In Dale Myers' SBT animation, the back wound is above the throat wound, noticeably above it. But the HSCA established that the back wound is actually slightly below the throat wound, or at least level with it.

* At first the alleged magic-bullet hit came at right around frame 210 of the Zapruder film (Z210), then it was at Z188, but now it's "positively" at Z224, based on a 56-millisecond supposed flip of Connally's lapel, never mind that pieces of fabric cannot move up and down that quickly.

* At first the alleged magic-bullet hit was the first shot, but now it's "positively" the second shot.

* At first, no one denied that JFK is clearly reacting to a wound in Z225, which proves he must have been hit no later than Z221, because it would take at least 4 frames for him to react to a wound with his hands and arms. But, at the 1992 ABA mock Oswald trial, Dr. Robert Piziali, who headed the Failure Analysis SBT trajectory analysis, denied that Z225 shows JFK reacting to a wound! Piziali put forth this specious denial because he admitted that if JFK reacted in Z225, the bullet that caused this reaction could not have hit him later than Z221, which would destroy his Z224-lapel-flip SBT.

To show the confusion that exists among SBT defenders, I note that Dr. John Lattimer, a devout WC apologist, concluded Kennedy shows a "reflex reaction" to a wound in Z225 and opined the wound occurred at about Z220. In fact, in his book Kennedy and Lincoln (New York: Harcourt, Brace, Johanovich, 1980), Lattimer acknowledged that Kennedy's elbows are beginning to "fly upward in frame 224" (p. 241), yet current SBT defenders claim the magic bullet hit him in Z223-224, making his Z224 reaction a physical impossibility.

* At first the SBT required that Connally was rotated 20-30 degrees to the right when the missile struck, but now we're assured the theory can still work even though some of the theory's defenders admit Connally's torso was rotated only 10-15 degrees.

In his SBT analysis, Myers has his Connally figure rotated 15 degrees to the right, whereas fellow lone-gunman theorist Todd Wayne Vaughan measures the degree of rotation as being only 10 degrees. In the Zapruder film we see Connally's shoulders are facing nearly parallel to the roll bar in Z223-224. The roll bar is a fixed horizontal point inside the limousine, and thus provides us with an excellent measuring rod. One can look at Z223-224 and plainly see that Connally's shoulders are nearly parallel to the roll bar. FBI photographic expert Lyndal Shaneyfelt noted to the WC that in Z222 Connally is turned only slightly to the right and that in the few frames thereafter he is "almost square, straight on with the car momentarily."

Dr. Thomas Canning did the HSCA's SBT trajectory analysis. Incredibly, he ignored the HSCA FPP's findings about the location of the back wound. Canning found that he could not get his vertical trajectory lines to match up when he used the back wound's location as determined by the FPP--even that was too low--so he moved it up by 1 inch. In order to make the horizontal trajectory work, Canning had to assume Connally was positioned so far to the left that his right shoulder was practically in the middle of the jump seat. Z224 alone visibly refutes any attempt to move Connally that far to the left, but ignoring Connally's actual horizontal position was the only way Canning could get the horizontal trajectory to line up.

* At first the SBT assumed Kennedy was sitting normally in his seat when the missile struck, but now the theory must assume he was leaning so far forward that most of his back was off the seat (ala Myers' SBT "reconstruction"), a notion that is not supported by the photographic evidence. Dr. Michael Baden, the chief of the HSCA forensic panel, claimed JFK was leaning so far forward that he was almost doubled over when the SBT bullet hit him. He said this because the HSCA's forensic experts determined that the bullet struck JFK's back at a slightly upward angle and that the back wound was nearly 2 inches lower than where the WC placed it.

* At first the conflict between the holes in the back of the coat and shirt and the official locations for the back wound were explained by speculating that the coat and shirt "bunched" up to or beyond the collar, but now, in response to photographic evidence, we're told the coat and shirt bunched by forming a hump below the collar.

This bizarre theory assumes the shirt--which was tailor-made and on whose tails Kennedy was sitting--bunched in nearly perfect, millimeter-for-millimeter correspondence with the coat. However, photos and footage show that Kennedy's coat was fairly flat, and certainly not bunched into some hump near the collar, shortly before Kennedy was first hit with a bullet. Willis slide 5, which was taken moments before the first hit, shows Kennedy's coat was lying flat or nearly flat on his back when the slide was taken. Professor Josiah Thompson, author of the highly acclaimed book Six Seconds in Dallas, confirmed this fact by studying the original color slide under a microscope. Even assuming the coat was significantly bunched, the odds that the shirt would bunch in nearly perfect correspondence with the coat are astronomically remote.

Sources for further study:

10 Reasons I Reject the Single-Bullet Theory
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-7AW56BXCumXFsOwyN6lE0WTBltOzeYI/view

The Shifting Sands of the Single-Bullet Theory
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MOKXTpq1hC5UHrF-JanDjQvzk2q0HvRF/view

The Magic Bullet: Even More Magical Than We Knew?
http://www.history-matters.com/essays/frameup/EvenMoreMagical/EvenMoreMagical.htm

Big Lie About a Small Wound in Connally's Back
https://history-matters.com/essays/jfkmed/BigLieSmallWound/BigLieSmallWound.htm

[Tim Nickerson]

It would take many pages to detail the history of the follies of the single-bullet theory (SBT). Below is a condensed version of those follies--the many changes, contradictions, and bogus assumptions that have been put forth in defense of the theory. From its inception, the SBT has undergone some drastic changes in its assumptions about JFK's back wound, the location of JFK and Connally, JFK's forward lean when hit, and Connally's degree of turning when hit, among other issues.

Consider:

* At first the back wound was above the throat wound, but now it's level with or slightly below the throat wound, a difference of at least 1 inch in its vertical location on the back. But, we are told, the SBT still works!

In Dale Myers' SBT animation, the back wound is above the throat wound, noticeably above it. But the HSCA established that the back wound is actually slightly below the throat wound, or at least level with it.

* At first the alleged magic-bullet hit came at right around frame 210 of the Zapruder film (Z210), then it was at Z188, but now it's "positively" at Z224, based on a 56-millisecond supposed flip of Connally's lapel, never mind that pieces of fabric cannot move up and down that quickly.

* At first the alleged magic-bullet hit was the first shot, but now it's "positively" the second shot.

* At first, no one denied that JFK is clearly reacting to a wound in Z225, which proves he must have been hit no later than Z221, because it would take at least 4 frames for him to react to a wound with his hands and arms. But, at the 1992 ABA mock Oswald trial, Dr. Robert Piziali, who headed the Failure Analysis SBT trajectory analysis, denied that Z225 shows JFK reacting to a wound! Piziali put forth this specious denial because he admitted that if JFK reacted in Z225, the bullet that caused this reaction could not have hit him later than Z221, which would destroy his Z224-lapel-flip SBT.

To show the confusion that exists among SBT defenders, I note that Dr. John Lattimer, a devout WC apologist, concluded Kennedy shows a "reflex reaction" to a wound in Z225 and opined the wound occurred at about Z220. In fact, in his book Kennedy and Lincoln (New York: Harcourt, Brace, Johanovich, 1980), Lattimer acknowledged that Kennedy's elbows are beginning to "fly upward in frame 224" (p. 241), yet current SBT defenders claim the magic bullet hit him in Z223-224, making his Z224 reaction a physical impossibility.

* At first the SBT required that Connally was rotated 20-30 degrees to the right when the missile struck, but now we're assured the theory can still work even though some of the theory's defenders admit Connally's torso was rotated only 10-15 degrees.

In his SBT analysis, Myers has his Connally figure rotated 15 degrees to the right, whereas fellow lone-gunman theorist Todd Wayne Vaughan measures the degree of rotation as being only 10 degrees. In the Zapruder film we see Connally's shoulders are facing nearly parallel to the roll bar in Z223-224. The roll bar is a fixed horizontal point inside the limousine, and thus provides us with an excellent measuring rod. One can look at Z223-224 and plainly see that Connally's shoulders are nearly parallel to the roll bar. FBI photographic expert Lyndal Shaneyfelt noted to the WC that in Z222 Connally is turned only slightly to the right and that in the few frames thereafter he is "almost square, straight on with the car momentarily."

Dr. Thomas Canning did the HSCA's SBT trajectory analysis. Incredibly, he ignored the HSCA FPP's findings about the location of the back wound. Canning found that he could not get his vertical trajectory lines to match up when he used the back wound's location as determined by the FPP--even that was too low--so he moved it up by 1 inch. In order to make the horizontal trajectory work, Canning had to assume Connally was positioned so far to the left that his right shoulder was practically in the middle of the jump seat. Z224 alone visibly refutes any attempt to move Connally that far to the left, but ignoring Connally's actual horizontal position was the only way Canning could get the horizontal trajectory to line up.

* At first the SBT assumed Kennedy was sitting normally in his seat when the missile struck, but now the theory must assume he was leaning so far forward that most of his back was off the seat (ala Myers' SBT "reconstruction," a notion that is not supported by the photographic evidence. Dr. Michael Baden, the chief of the HSCA forensic panel, claimed JFK was leaning so far forward that he was almost doubled over when the SBT bullet hit him. He said this because the HSCA's forensic experts determined that the bullet struck JFK's back at a slightly upward angle and that the back wound was nearly 2 inches lower than where the WC placed it.

* At first the conflict between the holes in the back of the coat and shirt and the official locations for the back wound were explained by speculating that the coat and shirt "bunched" up to or beyond the collar, but now, in response to photographic evidence, we're told the coat and shirt bunched by forming a hump below the collar.

This bizarre theory assumes the shirt--which was tailor-made and on whose tails Kennedy was sitting--bunched in nearly perfect, millimeter-for-millimeter
correspondence with the coat. However, photos and footage show that Kennedy's coat was fairly flat, and certainly not bunched into some hump near
the collar, shortly before Kennedy was first hit with a bullet. Willis slide 5, which was taken moments before the first hit, shows Kennedy's coat was lying flat or nearly flat on his back when the slide was taken. Professor Josiah Thompson, author of the highly acclaimed book Six Seconds in Dallas, confirmed this fact by studying the original color slide under a microscope. Even assuming the coat was significantly bunched, the odds that the shirt would bunch in nearly perfect correspondence with the coat are astronomically remote.

Sources for further study:

10 Reasons I Reject the Single-Bullet Theory
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-7AW56BXCumXFsOwyN6lE0WTBltOzeYI/view

The Shifting Sands of the Single-Bullet Theory
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1MOKXTpq1hC5UHrF-JanDjQvzk2q0HvRF/view

The Magic Bullet: Even More Magical Than We Knew?
http://www.history-matters.com/essays/frameup/EvenMoreMagical/EvenMoreMagical.htm

Big Lie About a Small Wound in Connally's Back
https://history-matters.com/essays/jfkmed/BigLieSmallWound/BigLieSmallWound.htm

There are so many false claims in that that it's not worth even bothering to address them.

[Michael T. Griffith]

There are so many false claims in that that it's not worth even bothering to address them.

Why don't you identify just two of the claims that you say are false? Or just one?

[Tim Nickerson]

Why don't you identify just two of the claims that you say are false? Or just one?

In Dale Myers' SBT animation, the back wound is above the throat wound, noticeably above it. But the HSCA established that the back wound is actually slightly below the throat wound, or at least level with it.

[Tim Nickerson]

Why don't you identify just two of the claims that you say are false? Or just one?

Here's one more;

In his SBT analysis, Myers has his Connally figure rotated 15 degrees to the right,

Myers has Connally rotated 37 degrees to the right at Z223.

[Tom Graves]

Griffith: In Dale Myers' SBT animation, the back wound is above the throat wound, noticeably above it.

But the HSCA established that the back wound is actually slightly below the throat wound, or at least level with it.

Griffith: In his SBT analysis, Myers has his Connally figure rotated 15 degrees to the right.

Myers has Connally rotated 37 degrees to the right at Z223.

Tim,

Please don't confuse Michael T. Griffith with the facts.

-- Tom

[David Von Pein]

[Michael T. Griffith]

In Dale Myers' SBT animation, the back wound is above the throat wound, noticeably above it. But the HSCA established that the back wound is actually slightly below the throat wound, or at least level with it.

You guys don't even know the basics of the relevant evidence of your own case. Here's the HSCA wound diagram for the back wound:

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HSCA-JFK-neck2-6-43.jpg

https://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/reportvols/vol7/pdf/HSCA_Vol7_M53a_Kennedy.pdf
7 HSCA, Figure 12, p. 100

Now, look at those HSCA illustrations and tell me why I am wrong to say that the HSCA FPP located the back wound slightly below or at least level with the throat wound. Let's hear it.

Notice, also, how far the HSCA FPP had to have JFK leaning forward.

And I note you avoided the fact that the FPP also observed that the back wound's abrasion collar proves the bullet struck the back at a slightly upward angle. That's why they had to assume JFK was leaning so far forward when the bullet struck.

Compare the HSCA FPP's Figure 12 with the WC's CE 385 and with Lattimer's Figure 8 in his Wound Ballistics Review article.

CE 385: https://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh16/pdf/WH16_CE_385.pdf
Lattimer Figure 8: https://www.jfk-assassination.net/pdf/lattimer.pdf

Lattimer's downward trajectory through the neck seems to be slightly steeper than the WC's. It's definitely steeper than the HSCA FPP's. But, nah, the SBT still magically works! Never you mind the 10-15-degree differences in downward angles between the HSCA, WC, and Lattimer SBT illustrations! It just must work, lest we be forced to admit there were multiple gunmen!

Finally, I trust you're not denying that Myers puts the back wound noticeably above the throat wound, right? Look at his animation:

You can see that he has the back wound visibly above the throat wound (3:55-3:57). It's worth noting that Myers rotates Connally at least 25 degrees to the right (3:22-3:23). Curiously, Myers seems to be using Connally's rotation seen in Z238-242 as Connally's position when the SBT bullet allegedly struck (3:26-3:30), which of course is both erroneous and misleading, not to mention that it invalidates the Z224-lapel-flip SBT.