Was Dean Andrews Under Heavy Sedation in the Hospital?
Dean Andrews was in the hospital in New Orleans from November 20, 1963 until November 29, 1963 being treated for double pneumonia.
Conspiracy theorists like to claim that Andrews was not under sedation when he received the supposed phone call from Clay Bertrand to represent Lee Harvey Oswald. They believe this is an important point because it makes it more likely that Andrews would remember an actual phone call.
Here is an excerpt from James DiEugenio's Destiny Betrayed: (page 181)
"As per Andrews being under sedation at the time of the call, this is false. The FBI discovered that Andrews did receive sedation on that day, November 23. But it was at 8:00 PM in the evening. The call from Bertrand came in four hours earlier."
DiEugenio's source is Bill Davy's book, Let Justice Be Done, on page 52:
"This still leaves open the question of whether Andrews was heavily sedated at the time of the call. A check of the hospital records would certainly resolve that issue and the FBI did just that. On December 5th, Special Agent Richard Bucaro reviewed Andrews' medical record. It clearly states that on November 23rd Andrews did not receive any sedation until 8:00 PM."
Here is the source for Davy's paragraph:
Other reports provide a more complete picture.
Here is an excerpt of his testimony before the Warren Commission:
On many occasions, he said that he was under heavy sedation.
Andrews was asked at the Clay Shaw trial about talking to FBI agent Regis Kennedy:
Can anyone point out to me where this clearly STATES that Andrews did NOT receive any sedation UNTIL 8:00 PM?
Andrews was in the hospital from November 20th until November 29th. No one in their right mind could think that his entire hospital chart could be reported in just one paragraph. And, even if his first dose of sedation was at 8 PM, it is quite possible that it could distort his memory of what had happened earlier.