Originally Recorded: November 19, 2018
J. Waymon Rose of Allen, Texas was Juror Number 10 during the infamous 1964 trial of Texas vs. Rubinstein alias Jack Ruby. He shares his experiences of this infamous trial.
Jack Ruby fatally shot Lee Harvey Oswald two days after President Kennedy was assassinated. In one of the most highly publicized trials of the twentieth century, Ruby was found guilty of murdering Oswald, but the Texas Court of Appeals reversed the decision. Ruby died of lung cancer while awaiting retrial.
At his wife's suggestion, Mr. Rose maintained a journal of his experiences in a 25-cent spiral notebook, detailing the living conditions and limited activities of himself and his fellow jurors as well as his insights and observations of Jack Ruby, his attorneys, the prosecutors and the trial. That notebook is now with the Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza in Dallas.
In November of 1963, Rose was a traveling salesman. The assassination of President Kennedy would initiate a chain of events that would drag Mr. Rose, unwillingly, into history. “I said, I’m too busy to be on any jury, but I’ll get off it,” Rose recalled about his notice of summons. “I’m not going to serve on any jury.” Because millions of Americans had watched the video of Ruby killing Oswald, finding an impartial jury was a daunting task. The prosecutors learned that Rose had a distinguished war record and were determined that he serve on the jury. In fact, Rose wrote in his diary that near the end of the trial, he still had not made up his mind whether Ruby was mentally capable of standing trial.
Mr. Rose says that after 30 minutes of deliberation, with the jury reviewing all details, the verdict became unanimous.
10 окт 2019
