Jim Garrison

Earling Carothers Garrison (November 20, 1921 - October 21, 1992) -- who changed his first name to simply Jim in the early '60s -- was District Attorney of New Orleans, Louisiana from 1962 to 1973; he is best known for his investigations into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

Biography

Earling Carothers Garrison was born in Knoxville, Iowa. His family moved to New Orleans in his childhood. He served in the United States Army in World War II, then got a law degree from Tulane University. He briefly worked for the FBI, then went into private law practice. He served as New Orleans' assistant District Attorney from 1954 to 1958. In 1961 he ran for District Attorney, succeeding in the race despite lack of major political backing, and took office in May of the following year. In 1973 he lost the office to Harry Connick, Sr.. He was elected a State of Louisiana Appeals Circuit Court Judge, serving from 1978 to his death in 1992.

Related Topics:
Knoxville, Iowa - United States Army - World War II - Tulane University - FBI - 1954 - 1958 - 1961 - 1973 - Harry Connick, Sr. - 1978

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After the Clay Shaw trial, Garrison wrote three books about the Kennedy assassination, A Heritage of Stone (1970), The Star Spangled Contract, and the best selling book, On the Trail of the Assassins (1988). During the Shaw trial, Garrison attempted to connect Shaw to the CIA. At the time, no hard evidence could be produced regarding any such connection. Subsequently, in 1979, Richard Helms (former director of the CIA) gave sworn testimony in a civil deposition which confirmed Shaw's contact with the CIA prior to the Shaw trial. In addition, it has been discovered, through FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests that Clay Shaw had access to and clearance from the CIA to a CIA program called QKENCHANT. To date, there is no unclassified information concerning what the QKENCHANT program was about. However, whether in fact this CIA connection tied Shaw to the Kennedy assassination is an unresolved and contested issue even to date. The controversy surrounding Clay Shaw's now apparent CIA activities will not be conclusively resolved until the scope and purpose of the QKENCHANT program are fully revealed.

Related Topics:
Clay Shaw - Book - 1970 - 1988 - Richard Helms - FOIA - QKENCHANT

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The 1991 Oliver Stone motion picture JFK was largely based on Garrison's book. Kevin Costner played a fictionalized version of Garrison in the movie. Garrison himself had a small on-screen role in the film, playing United States Supreme Court Justice Earl Warren.

Related Topics:
1991 - Oliver Stone - Motion picture - JFK - Kevin Costner - United States Supreme Court - Earl Warren

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Garrison was able to subpoena the Zapruder film and show it in public for the first time. Until the trial, the film had not been seen by the public, and bootleg copies made by assassination investigators working with Garrison led to the film being widely distributed.

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