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==Criticisms of the single-bullet theory== {{see also|John F. Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories}}{{multiple image | align = right | direction = vertical | total_width = 230 | image1 = HSCA-Connally-7-166.jpg | image2 = JFK Assassination - HSCA - Dr. Cyril Wecht's testimony.ogg | caption1 = The HSCA concurred with the [[Warren Commission]]'s [[single-bullet theory]]. (The figure illustrates how the oblong wound in Connally's back was indicative of a bullet which had been tumbling after striking an intervening object.) | caption2 = Of the nine-member medical panel, only Dr. [[Cyril Wecht]] (testimony above) rejected the theory.<ref>[[#Bugliosi2007|Bugliosi (2007)]], p. 859.</ref> | alt1 = A illustration shows the bullet, which had hit Kennedy a moment before, rotating and tumbling before entering Connally's skin, causing his entry wound. }} Critics of the single-bullet theory state that it is not possible that a single bullet could cause the number of wounds it did and still remain nearly intact.<ref name="Spokane Daily Chronicle; September 9, 1978">{{cite news |author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.--> |title=Assassination Panel to Hear Ballistic Experts |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1338&dat=19780909&id=vKMSAAAAIBAJ&pg=6804,2122625 |newspaper=Spokane Daily Chronicle |location=Spokane, Washington |date=September 9, 1978 |agency=AP |page=9 |access-date=January 4, 2015}}</ref> Some critics state that discrediting the theory would suggest the involvement of two shooters.<ref name="Spokane Daily Chronicle; September 9, 1978"/> ===Analysis based on Zapruder film and physical evidence=== Critics of the single-bullet thesis question not only the bullet's trajectory and relative lack of damage, but also the question of timing of hits to both the president and Connally. A single bullet would have passed through both men in less than 1/100 of a second, which means that a strike of both men by a single bullet would have happened too quickly to be caught on more than a single Zapruder frame (these were exposed at 1/18th second intervals). From the [[Zapruder film]] one can see Kennedy with his hands in front of his chest near his throat as he emerges from behind the sign at Zapruder frame 225. According to one popular version of the single-bullet theory (promoted by [[Gerald Posner]] in his book, ''Case Closed''), the interval between frame 223 and 224 is the time the same projectile passes through both Kennedy and Connally's body. It is not obvious at this point (frame 224) whether Connally has, or has not, been hit; however, Connally, but not other limousine occupants, is newly blurred in frame 224 but not in frame 223. Connally himself, in analyzing the frame-by-frame Zapruder film, identified his own hit later, at about Zapruder frame 230, whereas Kennedy is certainly hit about Zapruder frame 224, a third of a second earlier. Beginning immediately after frame 224, Connally rapidly raises and then lowers both arms, then turns to his right toward the Zapruder camera, but it is not clear that he is turning to see what has happened to Kennedy. Connally's cheeks then puff out, and his mouth opens. Many{{who|date=January 2023}} suggest that he is beginning to show the shock of the bullet. Others{{who|date=January 2023}} suggest that Connally is doing exactly what he said he did in reaction to hearing the first bullet: he said he realized an assassination was unfolding so he turned to see the President.<ref>Warren Commission Hearings, 4 H 132-133: http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh4/html/WC_Vol4_0070b.htm</ref> It is at this point that some critics of the single-bullet theory believe Connally is actually hit by a second and separate bullet, and this is also what Connally himself believed, but only on the supposition that the first shot he heard was one that struck the president. (If the first shot missed the president, then Connally's memory of being hit later corresponds with the single-bullet theory.) Proponents of the single-bullet thesis argue that Connally is simply exhibiting a delayed pain reaction to having been hit by the same bullet that hit Kennedy, a third of a second earlier. Some critics{{who|date=January 2023}} believe the puffing out of Connally's cheeks is simply physics at work, as the bullet collapses one of his lungs, forcing air into his mouth. Other critics believe that the puffing of Connally's cheeks result from him shouting, "Oh, no, no, no", which his wife, Nellie, said he shouted after the first shot but before the second shot.<ref>Warren Commission Hearings, 4 H 147: http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh4/html/WC_Vol4_0078a.htm</ref> The premise that a collapsed lung would cause Connally's cheeks to puff out is dismissed by [[Michael Baden]], chief [[forensic pathology|forensic pathologist]] for the HSCA. "When the lung is punctured, as Connally's was, the air in the lung goes out into the chest cavity, not out of the mouth, so Connally's cheeks puffing out would have not been caused by air trying to escape."<ref>{{cite book|first=Vincent|last=Bugliosi|author-link=Vincent Bugliosi|title=[[Reclaiming History: The Assassination of President John F. Kennedy]]|publisher=[[W.W. Norton & Company]]|location=New York City|date=2007|isbn=978-0393045253|page=479}}</ref> When an enhanced copy of the Zapruder film was released in 1998, many{{who|date=January 2023}} felt the delayed reaction theory was debunked. Others, particularly Posner,<ref>''Case Closed''{{full citation needed|date=December 2013}}</ref> noted that Connally's right lapel flips up at frame 224 (it hides the right part of his white collar in frame 224, which is far more clearly seen in both frames 223 and 225). In this same frame, as noted above, Connally suddenly becomes blurred with regard to the rest of the automobile (Connally is clear in frame 223). Frame 224 is precisely the best-posited frame of the impact of the bullet to Kennedy, who is still behind the sign at this point. Zapruder himself does not appear to jump until frame 227, blurring all contents of the automobile. Connally's immediate reaction after frame 224, including a flinch in which he flexes both elbows and brings his hat up, is seen by some as an unconscious reaction to the strike (single frames of this reaction appear to show Connally unharmed, with hat held up in front of his chest, while Kennedy behind him has already clearly been hit). Others{{who|date=January 2023}} see this as Connally's reaction to the sound of the first shot. Immediately after the arm spasm, Connally begins a motion which drops his right shoulder and holds his right arm pinned to his right side, including a slow rolling motion toward this side. He also is seen to look over his right shoulder at Kennedy and shows an expression of pain only after turning his head back toward Zapruder's position around frame 275. In the [[Oliver Stone]] movie ''[[JFK (film)|JFK]]'', Stone goes to great lengths to debunk the single-bullet theory, although some discrepancies exist between the narrative and the historical record. One example is when he shows Connally seated directly in front of Kennedy at the same height. In fact, Connally was seated in a jump seat the edge of which was {{convert|3|in|cm|round=0.5}} inboard and possibly {{convert|4|in|cm}} lower than Kennedy.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jim|last=Forsyth|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-kennedy-connally-clothing/texas-governors-bloody-clothes-are-centerpiece-of-jfk-anniversary-idUKBRE99E16E20131015|title=Texas governor's bloody clothes are centerpiece of JFK anniversary|work=[[Reuters]]|date=October 15, 2013|access-date=January 2, 2023}}</ref> The House Select Committee concluded that Connally could have been as much as {{convert|6|in|cm}} to the left of Kennedy. Moreover, Stone has Connally looking straight ahead. However, when Connally emerges from behind the freeway sign at Zapruder frames 222β223, he is clearly rotated significantly to his right. These points are of critical importance in assessing whether the bullet that passed through Kennedy could have caused Connally's injuries. Computer recreations showing accurate body positioning of the two men show that their injuries, if caused at Zapruder frame 224, fall on a line which emanates from a circle enclosing several windows on the sixth floor of the Texas Book Depository, and includes the window of the sniper's nest. Connally continued to hold his hat after the single bullet struck and broke his right wrist. Critics contend this is not physically possible.<ref>{{cite web | last = McAdams | first = John | title = The JFK Assassination Single Bullet Theory | url = http://www.jfkassassination.net/sbt.htm | access-date = October 17, 2007}}</ref> However, in the Zapruder film Connally continues to clutch the hat even after Kennedy's head wound, this being a point generally agreed to be after Connally had already been hit. In fact, Connally's wife, Nellie Connally, stated that he held on to his hat until he was put on a stretcher at Parkland Hospital.<ref>{{cite magazine | last = Patoski | first = Joe Nick | title = What They Saw Then: The Unedited Transcripts | magazine = [[Texas Monthly]] | url = http://www.texasmonthly.com/mag/1998/nov/extra/transcripts.3.html | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20001013092436/http://www.texasmonthly.com/mag/1998/nov/extra/transcripts.3.html | archive-date = October 13, 2000 | access-date = October 17, 2007}}</ref> Thus, it is reasonably clear that Connally continued to hold the hat after being hit. Wrist fracture would not preclude ability to hold a light object such as a hat,<ref>{{cite book | first1 = Daniel K. | last1 = Inouye | first2=Lawrence | last2=Elliott | title = Journey to Washington | url = https://archive.org/details/journeytowashing00inou | url-access = registration | publisher = [[Prentice-Hall]] |location=Hoboken, New Jersey | year = 1967 | pages = [https://archive.org/details/journeytowashing00inou/page/151 151β152] | asin = B0006BQRQO}}</ref> and Connally's nerve damage was limited to a superficial branch of the radial nerve which served a sensory function only, and would not have interfered with his grip strength (nor was Connally's hand function in any way permanently harmed). ===Right to left trajectory from 6th floor window=== A further criticism of the single-bullet theory has to do with the apparent trajectory of the "single bullet". Perhaps the most outspoken critic of the single-bullet theory has been pathologist [[Cyril Wecht|Dr. Cyril Wecht]], who, as a member of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, wrote a dissenting opinion in which he explained why, in his view, the left-to-right trajectory from the sixth-floor window of the Texas School Book Depository through Kennedy's neck could not possibly intersect with Connally's right armpit.<ref>[7 HSCA 199]http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/reportvols/vol7/html/HSCA_Vol7_0105a.htm</ref> Wecht notes that in the photographs it appears that Connally is seated in the middle of the jump seat and Kennedy is to the right side of his seat with his right arm resting on the top of the limousine side.{{cn|date=March 2025}} According to the analysis done by the HSCA, the horizontal angle from the 6th floor window of the Texas School Book Depository to the limousine at frame 190 or so was about 13 degrees, right to left. The vertical angle was about 21 degrees downward from the horizontal plane and 18 degrees relative the car which was going down at 3 degree slope.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/reportvols/vol6/html/HSCA_Vol6_0026b.htm |title=History Matters Archive - HSCA Appendix to Hearings - Volume VI, pg |publisher=History-matters.com |access-date=August 3, 2010}}</ref> If Connally was seated in the middle of his seat, the bullet should have struck him to the left of his spine. The HSCA concluded that the thigh wound was made by a bullet travelling much slower than one would expect the bullet to have after exiting Kennedy's neck. The single-bullet theory holds that the bullet which struck Connally's thigh had also passed through his wrist, slowing it down in the process. Connally said that he never felt this thigh wound at any time until the next day. On the other hand, Dr. Shires, who operated on Connally's thigh wound, thought that the wound to the thigh, which he said extended to the region of the femur, could have been made by a bullet travelling at high speed striking the thigh on an angle.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh6/html/WC_Vol6_0061a.htm |title=History Matters Archive - Warren Commission Hearings, Volume VI, pg |publisher=History-matters.com |access-date=August 3, 2010}}</ref> The HSCA concluded that Connally was not seated in the middle of his seat but was about {{convert|7|-|8|in|cm}} to the left of that position.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/reportvols/vol6/html/HSCA_Vol6_0030b.htm |title=History Matters Archive - HSCA Appendix to Hearings - Volume VI, pg |publisher=History-matters.com |access-date=August 3, 2010}}</ref> NASA Engineer Thomas Canning provided an analysis of the photograph taken by Hugh Betzner from the rear of the limousine a moment prior to the first shot. According to Betzner, he took the picture and began winding his camera to take another when the first shot sounded.<ref>Warren Commission Hearings, 19 H 467 http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh19/html/WH_Vol19_0243a.htm</ref> It has been determined that Betzner's photograph was simultaneous with Zapruder frame 186.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/reportvols/vol6/html/HSCA_Vol6_0029a.htm |title=History Matters Archive - HSCA Appendix to Hearings - Volume VI, pg |publisher=History-matters.com |access-date=August 3, 2010}}</ref> Canning could not see Connally's shoulder in Betzner's photograph and concluded that this meant that the shoulder was obscured by the person standing in front of Betzner. This, he said, put the shoulder well to the left of Kennedy's midline putting his right armpit in line with a right-to-left path through his neck. The analysis and conclusion of Canning depends on the correctness of the assumption that Connally's shoulder would have been visible if the man in front of Betzner was not there. The photo taken by James Altgens from a similar angle earlier on Houston Street would seem to indicate that Connally's shoulder was below the line of sight.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/hsca/reportvols/vol6/html/HSCA_Vol6_0030a.htm |title=History Matters Archive - HSCA Appendix to Hearings - Volume VI, pg |publisher=History-matters.com |access-date=August 3, 2010}}</ref> ===Chain of evidence=== Some critics have questioned the circumstances surrounding the bullet's discovery at Parkland Hospital. In a 1966 interview with author [[Josiah Thompson]], one of the men who found the bullet, Parkland personnel director O.P. Wright, cast doubt on whether the bullet subsequently entered into evidence as CE 399 was the same bullet he held in his hand that day. Wright told Thompson that the bullet they found was point nosed, whereas CE 399 is round nosed.<ref>{{cite book |last= Thompson|first= Josiah |title= Six Seconds in Dallas | publisher=Bernard Geis Associates|location=New York City|pages= 175β76 |year= 1967 |isbn= 978-0-394-44571-7}}</ref><ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQrhINnxDJI Josiah Thompson on O.P. Wright], speaking in 2003</ref> In 1964, both Wright and Darrel Tomlinson, a maintenance employee at Parkland who passed the bullet along to Wright, were shown the bullet and said the bullet in evidence appeared to be the same one as the bullet found on the stretcher, though neither could positively identify the bullet as the same one.<ref>[http://www.history-matters.com/archive/jfk/wc/wcvols/wh24/pdf/WH24_CE_2011.pdf Warren Commission Exhibit no. 2011, p 2]</ref> According to Kennedy's Secret Service agent, Paul Landis, when the presidential limousine was taken to Parkland hospital, he noticed that there was a bullet lodged in the seat behind where Kennedy had been sitting. He took this bullet and left it on Kennedy's stretcher, he said that he believes this was the same bullet which is said to have been discovered on Connally's gurney and which according to the single-bullet theory had struck Connally and then fallen out of his body.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Epstein |first1=Kayla |title=Ex-Secret Service agent reveals new JFK assassination detail |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-66792977 |work=BBC |date=13 September 2023}}</ref>
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