The John F. Kennedy Assassination Homepage

Navigation

  » Introduction
  » The Report
  » The Hearings

Chapters

  » Table of Contents
  » Page Index
 
  » Letter of Transmittal
  » Foreword
  » Chapter 1
  » Chapter 2
  » Chapter 3
  » Chapter 4
  » Chapter 5
  » Chapter 6
  » Chapter 7
  » Chapter 8
  » Appendix I
  » Appendix II
  » Appendix III
  » Appendix IV
  » Appendix V
  » Appendix VI
  » Appendix VII
  » Appendix VIII
  » Appendix IX
  » Appendix X
  » Appendix XI
  » Appendix XII
  » Appendix XIII
  » Appendix XIV
  » Appendix XV
  » Appendix XVI
  » Appendix XVII
  » Appendix XVIII
Warren Commission Report: Page 566« Previous | Next »

(APPENDIX X - Expert Testimony)

of the barrel. 115 The faint ridge formations were insufficient for purposes of effecting an identification, 116 but the latent palmprint was identified as the right palm of Lee Harvey Oswald. 117


The cartons.--Using the silver nitrate method, the FBI developed nine identifiable latent fingerprints and four identifiable latent palm-prints on Box A, 118 seven identifiable fingerprints and two identifiable palmprints on Box B, 119 and two identifiable fingerprints and one identifiable palmprint on Box C. 120 One of the fingerprints on Box A was identified as the right index fingerprint of Lee Harvey Oswald, 121 and one of the palmprints on Box A was identified as the left palm-print of Lee Harvey Oswald. 122 All the remaining prints on Box A were the palmprints of R. L. Studebaker, a. Dallas police officer, and Forest L. Lucy, an FBI clerk, who shipped the cartons from Dallas to the FBI Laboratory in Washington, D.C. and fingerprints of Detective Studebaker. All but one of the fingerprints on Box B belonged to Studebaker and Lucy and one palmprint was that of Studebaker. The fingerprints on Box C were those of Studebaker and Lucy and the palmprint was Studebaker's. 123 One palmprint on Box B was unidentified. 124


The FBI developed two fingerprints on Box D by silver nitrate, and the Dallas police developed a palmprint on Box D by powder. 125 The fingerprints belonged to Lucy. The palmprint was identified as the right palmprint of Lee Harvey Oswald. 126 While the age of a print cannot, be generally determined, 127 this palmprint must have been relatively fresh, because the carton was constructed of cardboard, an absorbent material, and if a long period had elapsed between the time the print was made and the time it was powdered, the perspiration would have been absorbed into the cardboard, and the print could not have been developed by powder. 128 Tests run by the FBI show that usually a latent impression on such cardboard cannot be developed by powder more than 24 hours after it is made. 129 Latona felt that the maximum age of the palmprint on Box D at the time of development (which was shortly after the assassination), would have been 3 days; Mandella felt that the maximum time would have been a day and a half. 131


The three cartridge cases and the cartridge case found in the No prints were developed on the cartridge found in the rifle or on the three expended cartridge cases. 132

QUESTIONED DOCUMENTS

Two experts gave testimony concerning questioned documents: Alwyn Cole 133 and James C. Cadigan. 134 Cole apprenticed as a questioned document examiner for 6 years, from 1929 to 1935, and has been examiner of questioned documents for the U.S. Treasury Department since then. Cadigan has been a questioned document examiner with the FBI for 23.5 years, following a specialized course of training and instruction. Both have testified many times in Federal and States courts. 135 Their conclusions were identical, except as noted.
« Previous | Next »

Found a Typo?

Click here
Copyright by www.jfk-assassination.comLast Update: Wed, 3 Aug 2016 21:56:36 CET