Inside The Mind Of The Man Who Killed America's Most Loved President JFK

A deadly circle, indeed. An assassination, followed by the assassin’s own killing, broadcast live to millions. It sounds like a movie script, but it was real. This is the story of 24-year-old Lee Harvey

Oswald, who shot former US President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963, and was himself gunned down two days later, on this very day in 1963, by nightclub owner Jack Ruby, right on live TV.

Who Was Lee Harvey Oswald?

At the age of 12, he was placed in juvenile detention for truancy. Around the same time, a psychiatrist declared him "emotionally disturbed" due to lack of normal family life. He attended 12 schools in his youth, and repeatedly quit. At 17, he joined Marines where he was court-martialed twice and jailed again. In 1959, he was discharged from his active duty into the Marines Corps Reserve, and he flew to Europe, lived in Minsk, married a Russian woman and had a daughter. In 1962, he returned to the United States and the very next year, he shot and killed JFK. This does not end here, 45 minutes later, he murdered Dallas police officer JD Tippit on a local street.

Why Did A 24-Year-Old Kill The 35th President of US, JFK?

What must be his motive? While the question seems simple, the answer is not. The reasoning is tangled with conspiracies. Many believe that his motive was not stemmed from hatred toward President Kennedy, but because of emotional immaturity and low self-esteem. Throughout his life, he sought attention, and by killing the President, he thrust himself onto the biggest stage imaginable, only to die before gaining the recognition he craved. On April 10 of the same year, he attempted to assassinate the US Army General Edwin Walker, while he was at a desk by a window at his Dallas home. Oscar considered Walker a fascist, which is what drew him to take such steps. However, the shot missed Walker, and hit a window. The FBI's investigation of the incident came up cold, and Oswald could easily avoid charges. Oswald's Russia defection, and then renouncing the US citizenship again before returning to the country is also seen as a crucial part of his motive. A survey called the 2023 Gallup poll found that 20% of those surveyed believed Oswald conspired with the US government to kill Kennedy, whereas 16% suspected that he worked for the CIA, noted Al Jazeera. However, no evidence has been released to support either of these claims. His association with the USSR and Cuba, are seen as a reason too. Many claims also suspect the attack to be orchestrated by foreign adversaries. Claims like the vice president Johnson being involved to assume power too are part of the conspiracies. From JFK Assassination Records' "Lee Harvey Oswald: Background and Possible Motives" note one of the reasons to be his interest in Marxism. Oswald in an interview with reporter said, "I'm a Marxist, ... I became interested about the age of 15. From an ideological viewpoint. An old lady handed me a pamphlet about saving the Rosenbergs. ... I looked at that paper and I still remember it for some reason, I don't know why." The records note that his interest in Russia led to some of his associate call him "comrade" or "Oswaldskovitch". The records concluded: "Long before the assassination he expressed his hatred for American society and acted in protest against it. Oswald's search for what he conceived to be the perfect society was doomed from the start. He sought for himself a place in history--a role as the "great man" who would be recognised as having been in advance of his times. His commitment to Marxism and communism appears to have been another important factor in his motivation."

Who Killed The Killer?

At 12pm EST on 24 November, 1963, in the basement of Dallas police station, Oswald was killed by Jack Ruby. When Oswald was brought to the station, a crowd of press, television cameras, and angry JFK supporters followed. Once he was brought in the room. Ruby emerged from that flood of people and wounded him fatally with a single sot from a concealed .38 revolver. Ruby was immediately detained and claimed that rage at JFK's murder was his motive. For some, he became a hero, but what the history cannot change is the fact that he too was a criminal, charged with first-degree murder.