Magic Bullet Theory

The Magic Bullet Theory is the concept that a single bullet shot by Lee Harvey Oswald from the sixth floor of the Texas School Book Depository on November 22, 1963, was responsible for all the wounds to President John F. Kennedy and Texas Gov. John Connally except the fatal head shot. This theory is criticized by a number of people, but was supported by the Warren Commission.

Function

According to the Magic Bullet Theory, a 6.5-mm bullet fired from a rifle passed through the neck of President Kennedy as well as the chest and wrist of Gov. Connally before embedding itself in the thigh of the governor.

Effects

This theory states that the bullet traveled through 15 layers of clothing and seven layers of skin. It also passed through approximately 15 inches of tissue, the knot of a necktie, and removed 4 inches of rib and shattered a radius bone.

Considerations

The magic bullet itself was found on the stretcher of Gov. Connally at the Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas after the assassination. The copper jacket was completely intact with the bullet's nose in perfect shape.

Significance

Using the Magic Bullet Theory, the Warren Commission found that while there was a difference of opinion by the members to whether this bullet could have completed all of the wounds, it still was adopted as the probable explanation.

Results

In 1978, the House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations adopted the theory of the magic bullet. However, a major disagreement was established as to the time frame of the wounds inflicted.

References

• The Single Bullet Thoery
• Kennedy Assassination: Single Bullet Theory
• Single Bullet Theory

Resources

• The Single Bullet Theory Details