Clay Shaw

Clay Laverne Shaw (March 17, 1913 – August 14, 1974) was a successful businessman in the U.S. city of New Orleans, Louisiana. He is notable as the only person ever to be tried for conspiracy in relation to the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. This work is copyrighted. ... This work is copyrighted. ... is the 76th day of the year (77th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 226th day of the year (227th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1974 (MCMLXXIV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full calendar) of the 1974 Gregorian calendar. ... Motto: (traditional) In God We Trust (official, 1956–present) Anthem: The Star-Spangled Banner Capital Washington, D.C. Largest city New York City Official language(s) None at the federal level; English de facto Government Federal Republic  - President George W. Bush (R)  - Vice President Dick Cheney (R) Independence - Declared - Recognized... New Orleans is the largest city in the state of Louisiana, United States of America. ... Official language(s) de jure: none de facto: English & French Capital Baton Rouge Largest city New Orleans [1] Area  Ranked 31st  - Total 51,885 sq mi (134,382 km²)  - Width 130 miles (210 km)  - Length 379 miles (610 km)  - % water 16  - Latitude 29°N to 33°N  - Longitude 89°W... President Kennedy with his wife, Jacqueline, and Texas Governor John Connally in the presidential limousine just moments before his assassination The assassination of John F. Kennedy, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, took place on Friday, November 22, 1963, in Dallas, Texas, USA at 12:30 p. ...

Shaw was honorably discharged from the United States Army as a major in 1946. He served as a secretary to the General Staff and was decorated by three nations: The United States with the Legion of Merit and Bronze Star, by France with the Croix de Guerre and named Chevalier de l'Ordre du Merite, and by Belgium named Chevalier of the Order of the Crown of Belgium.^[1] A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from their obligation to serve. ... The United States Army is the largest and oldest branch of the armed forces of the United States. ... A General Staff is a group of professional military officers who act in a staff or administrative role under the command of a general officer. ... The Legion of Merit is a military decoration of the United States armed forces that is awarded for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. ... The Bronze Star Medal is a United States Armed Forces individual military decoration and is the fourth highest award for bravery, heroism or meritorious service. ... The Croix de guerre is a military decoration of both Belgium and France which was first created in 1915. ... The Ordre National du Mérite (in English: The National Order of Merit) is an Order of Chivalry awarded by the President of France. ... Please see Order of the Crown for other decorations bearing this name Order of the Crown Belgium The Order of the Crown is an Order of Belgium which was first created in the year 1897. ...

After World War II Shaw helped start the International Trade Mart in New Orleans which facilitated the sales of both domestic and imported goods. He was known locally for his efforts to preserve buildings in New Orleans' historic French Quarter. ^[2] Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The International Trade Mart was chartered in 1945, first opened its doors in 1948, and in 1985, merged with International House to form the World Trade Center, a private, non-profit organization with a membership of 2,000 corporations and individuals dedicated to promoting international trade and the port of... French Quarter: upper Chartres street looking down towards Jackson Square and the spires of St. ...

New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison prosecuted Shaw on the claim that he used the alias "Clay Bertrand" among New Orleans' gay society and conspired with anti-Castro Cubans to assassinate Kennedy.^[3] Shaw was acquitted on all charges. Earling Carothers Jim Garrison (November 20, 1921 - October 21, 1992) — who changed his first name to simply Jim in the early 60s — was the Democratic District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana from 1962 to 1973; he is best known for his investigations into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. ... A pseudonym (Greek: , pseudo + -onym: false name) is an artificial, fictitious name, also known as an alias, used by an individual as an alternative to a persons legal name. ... Since its coinage, the word homosexuality has acquired multiple meanings. ...

Arrest

District Attorney Jim Garrison arrested Shaw in 1967. He believed that Clay Shaw was the man named as 'Clay Bertrand' in the Warren Commission Report. A lawyer named Dean Andrews Jr. testified to the Commission that he was contacted via telephone by a "Clay Bertrand", who inquired if he would be interested in defending Oswald in court. This was whilst Andrews was "in hospital and under sedation". Andrews described Bertrand as a bisexual man who had previously brought gay clients to him, for Andrews to defend. Andrews also said that Lee Oswald had previously visited his office on approximately three occasions in June-July, about his citizenship status, his wife's status and his dishonourable discharge from the Marine Corps. A district attorney is, in some U.S. jurisdictions, the title of the local public official who represents the government in the prosecution of criminals. ... Earling Carothers Jim Garrison (November 20, 1921 - October 21, 1992) — who changed his first name to simply Jim in the early 60s — was the Democratic District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana from 1962 to 1973; he is best known for his investigations into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy. ... Warren Commission report cover page The Presidents Commission on the Assassination of President Kennedy, known unofficially as The Warren Commission, was established on November 29, 1963, by Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy on November 22, 1963. ... “Bisexual” redirects here. ... A military discharge is given when a member of the armed forces is released from his or her obligation to serve. ...

Andrews later gave different descriptions of Bertrand to investigators. He first said that "Clay Bertrand" was over six feet tall, (Clay Shaw stood 6 feet 4 inches) and then later said that he was 5 feet 8 inches tall. Eventually Andrews testified to the Orleans Parish Grand Jury that Clay Bertrand was not Shaw, but was a client of his named Eugene Davis. He also reiterated this contention on a NBC news program. Eugene Davis then denied being Clay Bertrand, and Andrews said that he had named Davis without the latter's knowledge.^[4]

Police officer Aloysius J. Habighorst (who fingerprinted Shaw following his arrest) gave evidence that Shaw admitted — when asked — that he had used the name Clay Bertrand as an alias. This was on the fingerprint card, along with Shaw's signature. Shaw contended that he had never admitted the alias to Habighorst, and also claimed that he had signed the fingerprint card while it was still blank.^[5]

Officer Habighorst's testimony and the fingerprint card were deemed inadmissible as evidence as the judge concluded that any such questioning — during the booking — constituted a violation of both Miranda v. Arizona and Escobedo v. Illinois. The judge went on to say that he believed Habighorst's testimony was a fabrication and doubted that the incident even took place — stating in court that, "I do not believe Officer Habighorst." ^[6] Holding The Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination requires law enforcement officials to advise a suspect interrogated in custody of his rights to remain silent and to obtain an attorney. ... Holding Where a police investigation begins to focus on a particular suspect who has been refused counsel and not Mirandized, his statements to police are excluded. ...

The trial

Main article: Trial of Clay Shaw

During the trial, which took place in 1969, Garrison called Perry Russo — an insurance salesman — as his main witness. Russo testified that he had seen Shaw with both Oswald and David Ferrie, and that he had heard them both talking about killing the president. ^[7] Jim Garrison is the only prosecutor to bring a trial for the assassination of John F. Kennedy. ... Also: 1969 (Stargate SG-1) episode. ... Mugshot of David Ferrie, August 8, 1961. ...

Critics of Garrison argue that the primary sources from the New Orleans District Attorney's office show Russo's story had evolved over time. ^[8] Garrison's defenders attribute the discrepancy to sloppy writing on the part of Assistant D.A. Andrew Sciambra; the author of the memos in question.

Shaw's attorneys were successful in raising questions as to the validity of Russo's story. Another Garrison witness, Charles Spiesel, was a paranoid accountant who admitted under cross examination that he filed suit in New York in 1964 against a psychiatrist and the City of New York. He claimed that over a period of several years the police and others had constantly hypnotized him and harassed him out of business as well as admitting to regularly fingerprinting his children. These claims threw the prosecution's credibility into serious doubt. Shaw was found not guilty less than one hour after the case went to the jury. For other senses of this word, see paranoia (disambiguation). ... Accountant, or Qualified Accountant, or Professional Accountant, is a certified accountancy and financial expert in the jurisdiction of many countries. ... Professor Charcot was well-known for showing, during his lessons at the Salpêtrière hospital, hysterical woman patients – here, his favorite patient, Blanche (Marie) Wittman, supported by Joseph Babiński. ... In criminal law, an acquittal is the legal result of a verdict of not guilty, or some similar end of the proceeding that terminates it with prejudice without a verdict of guilty being entered against the accused. ...

Clay Shaw and the CIA

Garrison later wrote a book about his investigation of Clay Shaw and the subsequent trial called On the Trail of the Assassins. This book served as one of the main sources for Oliver Stone's movie JFK. In On the Trail of Assassins, Garrison states that Shaw had an "extensive international role as an employee of the CIA".^[9] Shaw denied that he had had any connections with the CIA. ^[10] William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946), known simply as Oliver Stone, is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director and screenwriter. ... JFK is an American film directed by Oliver Stone, first released on December 20, 1991. ...

Richard Helms, former director of the CIA, testified under oath, in 1979, that Clay Shaw had been a part-time contact of the Domestic Contacts Division of the CIA, where Shaw volunteered information from his travels abroad, mostly to Latin America. ^[11] By the mid-1970s, 150,000 Americans (businessmen, and journalists, etc.) had provided such information to the DCS.

Shaw died in 1974 at age 61 of lung cancer.^[12] Lung cancer is the malignant transformation and expansion of lung tissue, and is the most lethal of all cancers worldwide, responsible for 1. ...

Shaw is portrayed by Tommy Lee Jones in the 1991 movie JFK. For the musician, see Tommy Lee. ... The year 1991 in film involved many significant films. ... JFK is an American film directed by Oliver Stone, first released on December 20, 1991. ...

Further reading

• Joe Biles, In History's Shadow: Lee Harvey Oswald, Kerry Thornley & the Garrison Investigation. ISBN 0-595-22455-5
• Milton Brener, The Garrison Case: A Study in the Abuse of Power. ASIN B0006C04I0
• William Davy, Let Justice Be Done: New Light on the Jim Garrison Investigation. ISBN 0-9669716-0-4
• Max Holland, "The Power of Disinformation: The Lie that Linked CIA to the Kennedy Assassination", Studies in Intelligence, Fall-Winter 2001, No. 11
• James Kirkwood, American Grotesque: An Account of the Clay Shaw-Jim Garrison-Kennedy Assassination Trial in New Orleans. ISBN 0-06-097523-7
• Patricia Lambert, False Witness: The Real Story of Jim Garrison's Investigation and Oliver Stone's Film JFK. ISBN 0-87131-920-9
• Joan Mellen, A Farewell to Justice: Jim Garrison, JFK's Assassination, and the Case That Should Have Changed History. ISBN 1-57488-973-7

References

1. ^ "Clay L. Shaw." Dictionary of American Biography, Supplement 9: 1971-1975. Charles Scribner's Sons, 1994.
2. ^ Milton E. Brener, The Garrison Case (New York: Clarkson N. Potter, 1969), pp. 62-64; Patricia Lambert, False Witness (New York: M. Evans and Co., 1998), pp. 48-49; Paris Flammonde, The Kennedy Conspiracy (New York: Meredith Press, 1969), pp. 71-74; Clay Shaw testimony, State of Louisiana v. Clay L. Shaw, February 27, 1969 The JFK 100: Who Was Clay Shaw
3. ^ James Phelan, Scandals, Scamps, and Scoundrels, p. 150-1. (ISBN 0-394-48196-8)
4. ^ The JFK:100 Dean Andres and "Clay Bertrand"
5. ^ James Kirkwood American Grotesque: An Account of the Clay Shaw-Jim Garrison-Kennedy Assassination Trial in New Orleans pp. 353-359 (ISBN 0-06-097523-7).
6. ^ James Kirkwood, American Grotesque (New York: Harper, 1992), pp. 353-59
7. ^ Testimony of Perry Russo
8. ^ Way Too Willing Witness
9. ^ Jim Garrison, On the Trail of the Assassins (ISBN 0-446-36277-8), page 87.
10. ^ Penthouse Interview with Clay Shaw
11. ^ http://www.answers.com/topic/clay-shaw
12. ^ Clay Shaw: Mysterious Death?

There are several prominent people named James Phelan, including three American politicians: James Phelan, Sr. ...

External links

• Louisiana v. Clay Shaw (1969) trial transcript
• Orleans Parish Grand Jury transcripts
• Esquire December 1968 interview
• Penthouse interview
• The JFK 100: One Hundred Errors of Fact and Judgment in Oliver Stone's JFK: Who was Clay Shaw?