Did James Simmons See Smoke from a Rifle on the Grassy Knoll?
- Fred Litwin
- 42 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Another one of Mark Lane's witnesses to support his theory that a gunman was firing from the grassy knoll was James Simmons: (page 40 of Rush to Judgment)
In filmed interviews, both James L. Simmons and Richard C. Dodd told me that they had seen smoke near the bushes and trees at the corner of the wooden fence. Simmons said the sound of the shots 'came from the left and in front of us, toward the wooden fence, and there was puff of smoke that came underneath the trees on the embankment.'
Simmons said that "he thought he saw exhaust fumes of smoke near the embankment in front of the Texas School Book Depository," and that "it was his opinion the shots came from the direction of the Texas School Book Depository."
Now, here is what Simmons told Mark Lane in 1966:
LANE. What did you see and what did you hear?
SIMMONS. As the presidential limousine was rounding the curve on Elm Street, there was a loud explosion. At the time I didn't know what it was, but it sounded like a loud firecracker or a gun shot. Ann it sounded like it came form the left and in front of us towards the wooden fence. And there was a puff of smoke that came underneath of the trees on the embankment.
LANE. Where was the puff of smoke Mr. Simmons in relation to the wooden fence?
SIMMONS. It was right directly in front of the wooden fence....
LANE. After you heard the shots and saw the smoke, what did you do?
SIMMONS. I was talkin with Patrolman Foster at the time. And as soon as we heard the shots we ran around to the wooden fence. And when we got there there was no one there. But there was footprints in the mud around the fence, and there was footprints on the wooden two by four railing on the fence.
LANE. Were you questioned by Dallas Police that day?
SIMMONS. Yes, I was.
LANE. Did you give your name to the Dallas Police?
SIMMONS. Yes, I did.
LANE. Did you tell them what you just told me?
SIMMONS. Yes, I did.
LANE. Were you subsequently questioned by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
SIMMONS. About a month later I was questioned by the FBI.
LANE. Did you tell them what you told me and what you told the Dallas Police?
SIMMONS. Yes, I did.
So, Simmons changes the location of the smoke from "near the embankment in front of the depository" to "underneath the trees on the embankment." Lane doesn't ask him about the change in the location of the smoke, nor does he ask him about whether the smoke was "exhaust fumes."
And Lane doesn't dare tell his readers that Simmons initially thought the shots came from the Texas School Book Depository. In fact, Lane doesn't tell his readers anything about what Simmons said in 1964, although he does provide a footnote to Simmons' statement -- so we know that Lane knew about it.
Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Smoke on the Grassy Knoll
He saw smoke but was it from a rifle?
Walter Winborn saw smoke on the grassy knoll, but was it from a rifle?
Previous Relevant Blog Posts on Mark Lane
Mark Lane and the HSCA.
An interesting anecdote from Mort Sahl's book, Heartland.
Some ads for Lane's film Rush to Judgment.
A Garry Wills opinion piece on Mark Lane.
Navasky tests Lane's book and finds it wanting.
A New York Times profile of Lane and his involvement with Jonestown.
An apt profile.
An opinion piece by Anthony Lewis in the New York Times on Mark Lane and Jonestown.
An opinion piece from the Washington Post
A good opinion piece from the Philadelphia Bulletin.
Meagher tells Labro a story about Mark Lane.
Even a left-wing magazine like The Progressive found Mark Lane hard to take.
Mark Lane's addition to the 1992 edition of Rush to Judgment is eye opening.
Lane tells Dolan about Garrison's amazing evidence.
Lane makes a startling allegation.
A profile from Mother Jones magazine.
Lane and Meagher feuded about a blurb for her book.
A profile from Esquire Magazine.
An article from the Tampa Bay Times.
An Anthony Lewis column on Mark Lane from 1978.
Howard Roffman finds that Mark Lane's scholarship is lacking.
A profile of Mark Lane in Newsweek.
Mark Lane offers to introduce Jim Garrison to a witness that, for $25,000, would tie Jack Ruby with Clay Shaw.
This post has a good case study of how Mark Lane exploited a redaction in a document.
Lane tells the Danish press he knows who killed JFK.
Lane speaks at the Louisiana State Bar Association.