ASSASSINATION ARCHIVES

Summary of Findings and Recommendations	(PDF: 1042 K)
Letter of Submittal
Contents
I. Findings of the Select Committee on Assassinations in the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy...
II. Findings of the Select Committee on Assassinations in the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
III. Recommendations of the Select Committee on Assassinations
Title
Letter of Transmittal
Contents
Summary of Findings and Recommendations	(PDF: 431 K)
I. Findings of the Select Committee on Assassinations in the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy...
II. Findings of the Select Committee on Assassinations in the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...
III. Recommendations of the Select Committee on Assassinations
Introduction	(PDF: 885 K)
History of the Committee
Nature and Scope of the Investigation
Structure of the Investigation
I. Findings of the Select Committee on Assassinations in the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy...	(PDF: 1394 K)
Introduction: The Kennedy Presidency in Perspective
Presidential Assassinations in the United States
A New President
Foreign Affairs: A Fragile Peace
At Home: A Troubled Land
November 1963: A Trip to Texas
A. Lee Harvey Oswald Fired Three Shots at President John F. Kennedy...	(PDF: 1682 K)
1. President Kennedy was struck by two rifle shots fired from behind him
2. The shots that struck President Kennedy from behind were fired from the sixth floor...
3. Lee Harvey Oswald owned the rifle that was used to fire the shots...
4. Lee Harvey Oswald, shortly before the assassination, had access to and was present on the sixth floor...
5. Lee Harvey Oswald's other actions tend to support the conclusion that he assassinated President Kennedy
B. Scientific Acoustical Evidence Establishes a High Probability That Two Gunmen Fired at President John F. Kennedy...	(PDF: 2148 K)
(a) Warren Commission analysis of a tape
(b) Dallas Police Department recordings
(c) Other evidence with respect to the shots
(d) Witness testimony on the shots
(e) Certain conspiracy allegations
(f) Summary of the evidence
C. The Committee Believes, ... , That President John F. Kennedy was Probably Assassinated as the Result of a Conspiracy...	(PDF: 9717 K)
1. The Committee believes, ..., that the Soviet Government was not Involved in the assassination of President Kennedy
2. The Committee believes, ..., that the Cuban Government was not involved in the assassination of President Kennedy
3. The Committee believes, ..., that anti-Castro Cuban groups, as groups were not involved...
4. The Committee believes, ..., that the National Syndicate of organized crime, as a group, was not involved...
5. The Secret Service, FBI, and CIA were not involved in the assassination of President Kennedy
D. Agencies and Departments of the U.S. Government Performed With Varying Degrees of Competency in the Fulfillment of Their D	(PDF: 2520 K)
1. The Secret Service was deficient in the performance of its duties
2. The Department of Justice failed to exercise initiative in supervising and directing the investigation by the FBI...
3. The FBI performed with varying degrees of competency in the fulfillment of its duties
4. The CIA was deficient in its collection and sharing of information both prior to and subsequent to the assassination
5. The Warren Commission performed with varying degrees of competency in the fulfillment of its duties
II. Findings of the Select Committee on Assassinations in the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr...	(PDF: 1698 K)
Introduction: The Civil Rights Movement and Dr. King
History of civil rights violence
Equality in education--the 20th century objective
A new leader emerges
A philosophy of nonviolence
1960: the year of the sit-ins
1963: a year of triumph and despair
The road to Memphis
The last moments: Memphis, Tenn., April 4, 1968
A. James Earl Ray Fired One Shot at Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., the Shot Killed Dr. King	(PDF: 2557 K)
1. Dr. King was killed by one shot fired from in front of him
2. The shot that killed Dr. King was fired from the bathroom window at the rear of a roominghouse...
3. James Earl Ray purchased the rifle that was used to shoot Dr. King...
4. It is highly probable that James Earl Ray stalked Dr. King for a period...
5. James Earl Ray fled the scene of the crime immediately after the assassination
6. James Earl Ray's alibi for the time of the assassination, his story of "Raoul," ... are not worthy of belief
7. James Earl Ray knowingly, intelligently and voluntarily pleaded guilty to the first degree murder...
B. The Committee Believes, ..., That James Earl Ray Assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., as a Result of a Conspiracy	(PDF: 3472 K)
1. The FBI investigation
2. The Committee investigation
3. Investigation of Ray's motive
4. General indications of conspiracy
5. The brothers, John and Jerry Ray
6. Evidence of a conspiracy in St. Louis
7. Conclusion
C. The Committee Believes, ..., That No Private Organizations or Individuals, Other Than Those Discussed...	(PDF: 2170 K)
1. Rightwing extremist organizations
2. Conspiracy allegations: Memphis
3. Conspiracy allegations: New Orleans
4. Conspiracy allegations: Atlanta
5. Conspiracy allegations: Birmingham
6. Conspiracy allegations: Louisville
7. Conspiracy allegations: St. Louis
8. Conspiracy allegations: Miami
9. Conspiracy allegations: Texas
10. Conspiracy allegations: New York
D. No Federal, State or Local Goverment Agency Was Involved in the Assassination of Dr. King	(PDF: 1701 K)
1. The Federal Bureau of Investigation
2. The Memphis Police Department
3. Missouri State Penitentiary
E. The Department of Justice and the FBI Performed With Varying Degrees of Competency and Legality...	(PDF: 2053 K)
1. The Department of Justice failed to supervise adequately the Domestic Intelligence Division of the FBI...
2. The Department of Justice and FBI performed a thorough investigation into the responsibility of James Earl Ray...
III. Recommendations of the Select Committee on Assassinations	(PDF: 1554 K)
I. Legislative Recommendations on Issues Involving the Prohibition, Prevention and Prosecution of Assassinations...
II. Administrative Recommendations to the Executive
III. General Recommendations for Congressional Investigations
IV. Recommendations for Further Investigation
IV. Separate Remarks, Views and Dissent of Members of the Committee	(PDF: 1844 K)
Separate Remarks of Hon. Christopher J. Dodd Dissenting From the Final Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations
Separate Views of Hons. Samuel L. Devine and Robert W. Edgar
Dissenting Views by Hon. Robert W. Edgar to the Final Report
Dissent and Additional Remarks of Hon. Harold S. Sawyer to the Final Report...
Appendices	(PDF: 2713 K)
Appendix I. Staff of the Select Committee on Assassinations
Appendix II. Consultants to the Select Committee on Assassinations
Appendix III. Contractors for the Select Committee on Assassinations
Appendix IV. Statistical Data and Expenditures
Appendix V. Affirmative Action Program
Appendix VI. Enabling Resolutions
Appendix VII. Index for the Investigation of the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
Appendix VIII. Index for the Investigation of the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Appendix IX. Index for the Public Hearings of the Committee on Legislative and Administrative Reform
References	(PDF: 5410 K)
Introduction
I. Findings in the Assassination of President John F. Kennedy
II. Findings in the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
III. Recommendations of the Committee

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HSCA Final Assassinations Report

The Final Report of the House Select Committee on Assassinations presents the HSCA's findings in the murders of both President John F. Kennedy and Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr. The HSCA found a "probable conspiracy" in the JFK assassination, but was unable to determine its nature or participants (other than that Oswald was still deemed to have fired all the successful shots). In the King case, the HSCA similarly found that James Earl Ray assassinated Reverend King, but that there might have been a small-scale conspiracy involved.

The HSCA Report presents an overview of the HSCA's work. Many more details are present in the twelve volumes of appendices published in each of the two assassination cases (the JFK volumes are available online here). The voluminous files of the HSCA and the many depositions taken in the investigation are a fertile field for today's researchers.