Another Day in Dallas

The events flowing from the assassination of John F. Kennedy have been so bizarre that they could be criticized as bad fiction. Not the least of these was the assassination of the assassin in full view of several million televiewers.

And last week, during the trial of the man who shot Lee Harvey Oswald, came another Dallasian episode.

Seven prisoners, lodged in an upstairs cell block of the Dallas County Courthouse, overpowered a guard and started a dramatic getaway. One of them, brandishing a "pistol" carved out of soap and blackened with shoe polish, pushed his way into the crowded second-floor corridor of the courthouse.

With his Palmolive pistol jammed into the back of a frightened female county employee, he barreled his way through the throng. "Get out of my way, please!" the woman cried. "He has a gun in my back!"

Run down in the melee was a 19year-old pregnant stripteaser, Karen Lynn Bennett, professionally known as "Little Lynn," who was on hand as the first defense witness. Shrieked Little Lynn, after one look at the soap-gun: "Oh, my God! He's after me!" He wasn't. But there followed a scuffle, and within minutes the fellow with the soap and one other escapee were recaptured. The other five drifted through the confused crowds. Some were caught later, but a few got away. Television and still cameras caught most of the action. And the trial of Jack Ruby went on.

Just Helping Out. There was very little nonsense in the prosecution's case against Ruby. Dallas County District Attorney Henry Wade and his aides presented their case in less than three days. They were trying to prove that

Ruby, 52, shot Lee Harvey Oswald "with malice aforethought"--and not, as the defense argued, in a fit of momentary insanity brought on by grief over President Kennedy's death.

One of the first prosecution witnesses, Police Reporter John Rutledge of the Dallas Morning News, testified that Ruby was "a loudmouthed extravert" who loved to strut wherever there was big action. Rutledge said that he saw Ruby at police headquarters at least three times on the night of Nov. 22, after Oswald had been arrested. Ruby was familiar with the place; he always liked to hang around with cops. Wielding pad and pencil, he had slipped past a police guard among surging newsmen. "He was explaining to members of the press from out of state who everybody was," said Rutledge. "Somebody would come out and say something to the press and a newsman would say, 'Who's that? Sheriff Decker?' and Ruby would say, 'No, that's Captain Will Fritz.' He'd spell out the names. He was making all the identifications, shouting them out." Once, testified Rutledge, an officer spotted Ruby in the crowd at headquarters and said, "Hey, Jack, what are you doing here?" Ruby had replied: "I'm helping out these reporters here."

Close-Up. Other witnesses said they saw Ruby hanging around headquarters on Saturday, Nov. 23, as well. Then on Sunday morning, Jack Ruby parked his car in a downtown parking lot, walked to a Western Union office to send a $25 money order to Stripper Little Lynn, a faithful former employee who was in straits in Fort Worth. A Western Union employee testified that he stamped Ruby's receipt with his electric clocker at 11:17 a.m. Ruby seemed neither upset nor in a hurry, exchanged pleasantries and departed. According to police measurements, Ruby walked 339 ft. 6 in. down the street to the underground garage ramp of police headquarters, and at precisely 11:21 a.m. he stepped out of a crowd of newsmen, shoved a snub-nosed .38-cal. revolver at Oswald and pulled the trigger.

The man who was closest to it all was Dallas Detective James Leavelle, who was handcuffed to Oswald while escorting the prisoner out of the city jail for transfer to a maximum security county cell. In a matter-of-fact Texas twang, Leavelle testified that "there was a man come from the crowd of reporters and photographers, right up in front of myself and Oswald. When he first dashed out from the crowd, I saw he had a pistol in his right hand, and he was raising his hand, getting ready to shoot. I reached to catch the man by his left shoulder. It appeared to me he took some quick steps."

Q. He fired the gun?

A. Yes, he did. Oswald grunted and said, "No," and slumped to the floor. I had to go down with him because I was handcuffed to him. Police Officer Graves had grabbed his gun and was wrestling the gun away from him. I was watching the gun more so than anything else at the time. The right hand was still contracting on the gun as if he were attempting to fire another shot. I had pulled Lee Harvey Oswald back behind me. As soon as I saw Mr. Graves had his gun arm, I turned my attention back to Mr. Oswald and carried him back into the police office.

Q. What did Ruby say?

A. He said, "I hope the son of a bitch dies ..."

"You Know Me." Detective Thomas McMillon who also was close by, said Ruby shouted: "You rat son of a bitch --you shot the President," as he fired at Oswald. After Ruby was disarmed, he kept repeating, "I hope I killed the son of a bitch, I hope I killed the son of a bitch! You know me, you know me--I'm Jack Ruby!"

As Ruby was hustled off, a police captain said, "Of all the low-life things, this takes the cake! Why did you do it?" Replied Ruby: "Someone had to do it --you guys, the police, couldn't do it. I intended to shoot him three times, but you all moved too fast for me and I didn't get but one shot off!"

The Motive. Prosecutor Wade saved perhaps the most devastating witness against Ruby until last. Police Sergeant Patrick Dean had spoken to Ruby some minutes after the shooting. Against anguished protests from defense attorneys, Dean reported: "He said something about he had thought about killing Oswald two nights prior, when he had seen Harvey Oswald on the show-up stand." Continued Dean: "He said he believed in due process of law, but he was so torn up about this, he and his sister also --his sister had just gotten out of the hospital and she was very emotional also--and he said because this man had not only killed the President but also Officer Tippit, he knew the outcome of the trial would be inevitable--Oswald would get the death penalty. And Ruby said he didn't see any sense in a long, lengthy trial and the necessity of subjecting Mrs. Kennedy to a trip back to Dallas."

By now, Defense Attorney Melvin Belli was on his feet, red-faced and shouting. He demanded a mistrial, cried that Dean's testimony was "incompetent, irrelevant and immaterial!"

Wade: Go ahead, Sergeant Dean.

Dean: He said he first thought about it when he noticed this sarcastic sneer on Oswald's face.

Wade: What night?

Dean: Two nights prior, Friday night . . . That was when he first decided that he would kill him. And he said he guessed he wanted the world to know that Jews do have guts.

When Dean left the stand, the prosecution rested its case. Next, the defense would try to convince the jurors that Ruby had gone out of his mind for a few moments, was not at the time responsible for his actions, but was now all right and could safely be set free.

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