[Sample B: Approval/Signature Sheet] - George Mason University

declared that the witness testimony showed “someone resembling Oswald fired a rifle at
the Dallas and Irving rifle ranges, entered into squabbles and discussions, asked for
another man’s assistance in sighting his rifle and, although he was an excellent shot, fired
at another man’s target.” 489 Once again, the Warren Commission dismissed this
testimony as inconsistent with the known facts of Oswald’s life.
Lane’s fourth and final example of the double Oswald was Sylvia Odio’s
testimony, discussed previously. She claimed that a man identified as “Leon Oswald”
came to her apartment with two mysterious anti-Castroites. Lane stated that the
Commission rejected Odio and the other witnesses’ testimony because it did not fit with
the official theory. According to Lane, “The evidence was contrary to that which I
believe was the fundamental prejudice of the Commission – that Oswald planned and
committed the assassination unaided.” 490 He concluded that Commission had in face
“prepared a fertile ground for the cultivation of rumor and speculation” rather than
allaying fears of conspiracy. 491
Rush to Judgment sold more than one million copies, and helped make Lane the
most prominent critic of the Warren Commission. Lane did not offer any theory about
who was responsible for framing Oswald or assisting him in the assassination – that
would come later, as discussed in the following chapter. Lane succeeded in convincing
many Americans of the shortcomings of the official version of Oswald’s life, but to the
defenders of the Warren Commission, he was an arrogant, outspoken opportunist making
489 Lane, 335.
490 Lane, 325.
491 Lane, 343.
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