>>> YESTERDAY BEGAN ON A NUMBING
NOTE OF HORROR.
WITH MILLIONS OF AMERICANS AS
SPECTATORS.
IT BUILT TO A MOMENT OF INTENSE
GRIEF AND HEART-TUGGING EMOTION
AND CONTINUED ON A HIGH
EMOTIONAL NOTE THROUGHOUT THE
EVENING AND THE MORNING HOURS OF
TODAY, MONDAY.
IT BEGAN WITH A FATAL SHOOTING
OF LEE HARVEY OSWALD, BY JACK
RUBY IN THE BASEMENT OF DALLAS
POLICE HEADQUARTERS.
HERE IS HOW IT LOOKED AND
SOUNDED ON LIVE TELEVISION.
THE VOICE OF THAT OF TOM PETTIT.
>> HES BEEN SHOT.
LEE OSWALD HAS BEEN SHOT.
>> THAT WAS A 1963 NBC "TODAY"
SHOW REPORT ON THE MURDER OF LEE
HARVEY OSWALD.
FOUR MONTHS LATER IT TOOK A
DALLAS JURY ABOUT TWO HOURS OF
DELIBERATION TO FIND NIGHTCLUB
OWNER JACK RUBY GUILTY OF
MURDER.
HIS CONVICTION LATER WAS
APPEALED BUT RUBY DIED IN PRISON
OF LUNG CANCER BEFORE A NEW
TRIAL DATE COULD BE SET.
THE ENTIRE ORDEAL IS PART OF A
WIDE NETWORK OF CONSPIRACY
THEORIES SURROUNDING PRESIDENT
KENNEDYS ASSASSINATION.
JOINING US NOW THE AUTHOR OF
"KENDS AVENGER, THE FORGOTTEN
TRIAL OF JACK RUBY" WRITTEN BY
DAN ABRAMS.
IT IS GREAT TO SEE YOU.
YOUVE WRITTEN A SERIES OF BOOKS
WHERE YOU DIVE HEAD FIRST INTO A
PIECE OF HISTORY THAT DOESNT
GET A WHOLE LOT AFTER TENSION SO
HOW DID YOU ARRIVE AT THIS
TRIAL?
>> WELL AND THIS ONE IN
PARTICULAR IS AMAZING THAT IT
HADNT GOTTEN MORE ATTENTION.
BECAUSE AS YOU SHOWED RIGHT
THERE, THIS WAS THE STORY OF THE
EARLY 1960s.
AND THIS TRIAL WAS THE STORY OF
1964.
I MEAN, THE WORLDS MEEFDIA WAS
AT THIS CASE.
AND IT WAS -- IT WAS SO
HIGH-PROFILE, THE FACT THAT ITS
BECOME A FOOT NOTE TO HISTORY,
JACK RUBYS CASE, YES, THE
DELIBERATION WAS RELATIVELY
QUICK, BUT THE TRIAL ITSELF WAS
FASCINATING.
I MEAN, THERE WERE CELEBRITY
WITNESSES, THERE WERE CELEBRITY
LAWYERS.
THERE WAS AT ONE POINT A JAIL
BREAK THAT OCCURRED LITERALLY IN
FRONT OF THE MEDIA THAT WAS
GATHERED THERE AT THE
COURTHOUSE.
THIS TRIAL WAS A SPECTACLE AND
AS YOU POINTED OUT, JACK RUBY
DIED AN INNOCENT MAN, MEANING
THIS CONVICTION WAS OVERTURNED
AND HE WAS PREPARING FOR A NEW
TRIAL WHERE I THINK HE WOULD
HAVE PRESENTED A VERY NEW
DEFENSE THAN THE ONE THAT HE
PRESENTED IN THE CASE THAT DID
EXIST.
>> DAN, WHAT THREATS HAVE PULLED
ON FOR A NEW TRIAL, FOR A NEW
DEFENSE.
I MEAN GIVEN THERE ARE SO MANY
THREADS TO JACK RUBY, TO THE
TRIAL, TO HIS CASE, TO THE EVENT
THAT PROPELLED HIM INTO ETERNAL
MEMORY, THERE WAS SO MANY
THREADS TO IT, HIS CRIMINAL OR
HIS ASSOCIATIONS IN THE
BACKGROUND.
WHAT THREADS WOULD HE PULL ON IF
THERE HAD BEEN, IF HE HAD LIVED
AND HAD BEEN A NEW TRIAL.
>> SO THE NEW TRIAL WOULD HAVE
BEEN A DEFENSE OF EFFECTIVELY
WHAT WE KNOW AS MANSLAUGHTER.
HE WOULD HAVE SAID I ACTED IN
THE HEAT OF PASSION.
THERE WAS NO MALICE OF
FORETHOUGHT.
I WANTED TO PROTECT JACKIE FROM
HAVING TO TESTIFY.
JOHN KENNEDY WAS A BELOVED
PRESIDENT TO ME AND HE WOULD
HAVE GOTTEN LESS THAN FIVE YEARS
IF THAT HAD BEEN THE CASE UNDER
TEXAS LAW AT THE TIME.
INSTEAD, AT THIS TRIAL, HE
PURSUED AN INSANITY DEFENSE AND
NOT JUST INSANITY, HE PURSUED A
DEFENSE THAT HE DID NOT REMEMBER
THE EVENT ITSELF.
THAT HE WAS AN EPILEPTIC SAYSURE
AND IN WHAT IS KAUGCALLED A FUG
STATE AND HE HAS NO RECOLLECTION
AND THE JURY QUICKLY REJECTED
THAT.
THE MUCH SMARTER DEFENSE IN THIS
CASE WOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE HE
LIKELY WOULD HAVE PURSUED IN A
NEW TRIAL WHICH WOULD HAVE BEEN
DONT CONVICT ME OF MURDER,
DONT SENTENCE ME TO DEATH, JUST
GIVE ME THIS LESSER CRIME WHERE
I GET FIVE YEARS OR LESS IN
PRISON.
>> SO JACK RUBYS LAWYER CHOSE
TO USE THAT DEFENSE STRATEGY,
MANY SUGGESTED HE MIGHT BE THE
CRAZY ONE BUT HE HAD FOUGHT
ENOUGH BATTLES IN ENOUGH
COURTROOMS TO REMAIN CONFIDENT
HE COULD CONVINCE A JURY JACK
RUBY WAS A SICK MAN AND NOT IN
CONTROL OF HIS SENSES WHEN HE
HAD COMMITTED WHAT WOULD
ORDINARILY BE CONSIDERED A
MURDER BY LAYING OUT HIS
APPROACH IN THE BAIL HEARING HE
HAD PROVIDED PROSECUTORS WITH AN
EARLY ROAD MAP OF THE CASE TO
COME.
BUT BELLE ISLE FELT DISCLOSING
HIS DEFENSE TO HELP IN THE COURT
OF PUBLIC OPINION.
THE VENUE IN WHICH THE JURORS
WOULD BUT SELECTED.
THE DEFENSE HAS COMMISSIONED JAY
CLEMONS TO POLL DALLAS RESIDENTS
ABOUT WHETHER THEY BELIEVED RUBE
YIF WAS SANE.
IN DECEMBER 66% ANSWERED YES BUT
AFTER INTENSE COVERAGE OF THE
TWO BAIL HEARINGS, THE FIRM
ASKED THE SAME QUESTION AGAIN
AND THIS TIME ONLY 40% RESPONDED
THAT THEY THOUGHT RUBY WAS SANE.
THE GAMUT APPEARED TO HAVE PAID
OFF.
>> THAT IS INTERESTING AS A
DEFENSE BUT TELL US MORE ABOUT
JACK RUBY, WHO HAS BEEN
SHORTHANDED IN HISTORY AS DALLAS
NIGHTCLUB OWNER AND THEN WE SEE
THE VIDEO CLIP THAT WE JUST SAW
AGAIN THIS MORNING.
WHO WAS THIS GUY?
TAKE US TO WHAT LED HIM TO THAT
MOMENT.
>> HE WAS A NEVER DO WELL.
HE WAS A BUNCH OF FAILED CLUBS
AN NEVER ABLE TO SUCCEED IN
ANYTHING THAT HE HAD DONE.
AND A LOT OF PEOPLE LOOKED TO
HIS BACKGROUND TO SAY THAT IS
THE KEY, RIGHT.
THIS IS A GUY WHO HAD LOW LEVEL
MOB CONNECTIONS AND BEEN TO CUBA
IN 1959 AND THAT SHOWS HE WAS
PROBABLY PART OF A CONSPIRACY TO
KILL JOHN KENNEDY.
BUT WHEN YOU ACTUALLY DIG INTO
WHO JACK RUBY WAS.
HE WAS A LOSER.
HE WAS ONE OF LIFES LOSERS.
ANDIN
AND INCREASINGLY HE DID DEVELOP
SOME LEVEL OF MENTAL ISSUES.
THE QUESTION IS HOW SEVERE WERE
THEY AND WHAT WAS THE CAUSE OF
THEM, ET CETERA.
BUT THE NOTION THAT SORT OF THE
MOB OR CUBANS OR SOMEBODY ELSE
WOULD HAVE HIRED JACK RUBY OF
ALL PEOPLE TO BE THE ASSASSIN TO
KILL THE ASSASSIN IS KIND OF
ABSURD WHEN YOU GET TO KNOW WHO
JACK RUBY WAS.
>> WELL, DAN, YOU LET ME TO MY
NEXT QUESTION WAS OVER ALL OF
THE YEARS OF CONSPIRACY
THEORIES, THE ARGUMENT HAS BEEN
THAT LEE HARVEY OSWALD HAD TO BE
SILENCED AND JACK RUBY WAS THE
GUY THAT SOMEONE BEHIND THE
SCENES CHOSE TO SILENCE HIM.
DID YOU SEE IN THE RESEARCH FOR
YOUR BOOK AND YOUR INVESTIGATION
ANY EVIDENCE THAT HE WAS DOING
ANYTHING OTHER THAN ACTING
ALONE?
>> SO WE DONT DRAW A CONCLUSION
IN THE BOOK ABOUT THAT.
THE BOOK IS ABOUT THE TRIAL.
BUT I WILL TELL YOU THAT HAVING
NOW RESEARCHED THIS, I DONT
THINK THERE IS I CHANCE THAT
JACK RUBY WAS ACTING WITH
ANYBODY ELSE.
IT IS CLEAR TO ME THAT JACK RUBY
WAS ACTING ALONE.
AND HOW DO WE KNOW THAT?
I THINK THERE ARE THREE KEY
FACTORS.
NUMBER ONE IS THE TIMING.
LEE HARVEY OSWALD WAS SUPPOSED
TO BE MOVED AT 10:00 IN THE
MORNING ON THE DAY HE WAS
KILLED.
ALL OF THE MEDIA WAS THERE TO
WATCH HIM BE MOVED.
JACK RUBY IS STILL AT HIS HOME.
HE EVENTUALLY GETS NEAR THERE AT
11:17 A.M., AN HOUR AND A 15
MINUTES LATER BECAUSE HES
WIRING MONEY TO ONE OF HIS --
SOMEONE WHO WORK THE ATED AT ONE
CLUBS AND HAPPENS TO STROLL OVER
TO THE POLICE STATION AND LOW
AND BEHOLD WITHIN A MINUTE
OSWALD IS WALKED OUT.
AND HE TAKES THAT OPPORTUNITY TO
KILL HIM.
AND HE WAS THERE AS AN ASSASSIN.
YOU GET THERE ON TIME.
YOU DONT TAKE THE ADVANCE OF
BEING AN HOUR AND A 20 MINUTES
LATE AND SAY OH, LOOK AT THAT,
LOW AND BEHOLD, WE GOT LUCKY.
HE HAD ANOTHER OPPORTUNITY TWO
DAYS BEFORE WHEN OSWALD WALKED
RIGHT PAST HIM.
IF HE WAS AN ASSASSIN WHY DENT
HE DO IT TWO DAYS EARLIER.
AND FINALLY HE REFERRED TO HIS
BELOVED
BELOVED DOG, IN HIS CAR.
KNOWING JACK RUBY, HE WOULD NOT
HAVE LEFT BELOVED SHEBA IN THE
CAR.
>> SHEBA, WOW.
DAN, ONE ELEMENT OF THIS THING
IS STRIKING TO ME, THE AMERICAN
JUDICIAL SYSTEM, SO JOHN KENNEDY
IS KILLED ON NOVEMBER 22nd,
1963, JACK RUBY KILLS OSWALD OR
SHOOTS OSWALD ON THE 24th AND
THIS TRIAL IS HELD EARLY IN
1964.
THE SPEED, THE PACE OF THE
JUDICIAL SYSTEM THEN ON THIS ONE
TRIAL COMPARED TO WHAT HAPPENS
TODAY.
TODAY IF IT HAPPENED IT WOULD BE
PROBABLY TRIED TWO YEARS FROM
NOW.
>> IT IS A REALLY GOOD POINT.
AND WHEN YOU THINK ABOUT THE
FACT THAT THERE WAS ALSO A TON
OF EXPERT TESTIMONY IN THE CASE
ABOUT THE HIS PSYCHOLOGICAL
STATE.
AND THOSE CASES TAKE EVEN LONGER
TO ALLOW THE EXPERTS FROM BOTH
SIDES TO SPEND TIME WITH THE
DEFENDANT, TO WRITE REPORTS, ET
CETERA.
BUT YOURE RIGHT, THIS CASE
MOVED VERY QUICKLY.
BUT ILL TELL YOU, THAT IS IN
PART BECAUSE THE DEFENSE WANTS
IT TO MOVE QUICKLY.
RUBYS ATTORNEY WANTED IT TO
MOVE QUICKLY.
AND TYPICALLY IN THE CASES THE
DEFENSE COULD BE ASKING FOR THE
EXTRA TIME.
>> AN IT IS A FASCINATING STORY.
THE NEW BOOK IS KENNEDYS
AVENGER, ASSASSINATION AND
CONSPIRACY AND THE FORGOTTEN
TRIAL OF JACK RUBY.