Assassination of JFK - Doubt will not go away

Today, the world is remembering what was one of the most highly publicised outrages in US history — the assassination of President John F Kennedy 50 years ago. Nobody has ever been convicted of that crime.

A presidential commission, headed by Earl Warren, chief justice of the Supreme Court, concluded that Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone in assassinating JFK. The commission came to that conclusion by essentially ignoring any evidence that pointed towards a conspiracy.

A public opinion poll recently conducted by the Gallup organisation found that only 30% of Americans believe the commission’s conclusion, while 61% disagree. Not once in repeated public opinion surveys over the past 50 years has a majority of Americans believed the assassin acted alone. This is not proof of a conspiracy, but it is an indictment of the investigation.

Americans look back fondly on JFK, who enjoyed an average approval rating of 70%, the highest average of any of the 10 presidents who have served in the past half-century. In the years since his death, his approval ratings have actually increased.

Surely his murder deserved better treatment at the hands of the investigating authorities.