An infamous photograph of Lee Harvey Oswald, which both he and conspiracy theorists insisted was faked, is authentic, researchers have concluded.
The picture shows Oswald holding a Marxist newspaper in one hand and the same model rifle that was used to assassinate President John F. Kennedy in the other. Oswald said the picture was a faked and used to set him up as the fall guy; conspiracy theorists have long pointed to the inconsistent lighting, shadows, and Oswald’s pose as proof of a frame job.
No so, according to Dartmouth College researchers.
“Our detailed analysis of Oswald’s pose, the lighting and shadows and the rifle in his hands refutes the argument of photo tampering,” Hany Farid, a professor of computer science and one of the study’s authors, told Forensic Magazine.
Farid’s previous studies offered evidence that the snapshot’s lighting and shadows are consistent, and this study used a 3-D forensic model of Oswald to analyze his pose in particular.
“We conclude that Oswald’s pose is highly stable,” the study says.
“Our 3-D model of Oswald and his surroundings provide further evidence refuting other claims of photo tampering: the lighting and shadows are physically consistent, and the length of the rifle in Oswald’s hands is consistent with the length of this type of rifle,” the Dartmouth University researchers conclude.
Kennedy was assassinated on Nov. 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, and while Oswald was arrested for the shooting, he was killed by Jack Ruby before he could stand trial.
The famous photo appeared on the cover of Life magazine in 1964.
The Warren Commission eventually concluded that the incriminating photo was real, and Oswald was the sole person behind the Kennedy assassination.