Who killed John F. Kennedy?

Encyclopedia of Opinion

Question: Who killed John F. Kennedy?
Position1 of 5›: Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK
Argument1 of 4›: Oswald's history of violence

Lee Harvey Oswald had a long history of past acts of violence.

The argument

President Kennedy's assassination was not the first time Lee Harvey Oswald harmed another person; he has an extensive history of violence. Oswald had committed other assassinations and is rumored to have been physically and verbally abusive to his wife, Marina. His known anger issues combined with his strong distaste for the United States government and past military experience pushed him to assassinate President Kennedy out of pure hatred. Oswald was constantly arguing with Marina throughout their marriage. Often their fights would end in Oswald physically abusing her. Marina and their children would regularly move in and out depending on how severe and frequent the abuse was. Approximately six months before JFK's assassination, Oswald attempted to assassinate General Edwin Walker because he was a right-wing extremist. Despite being a short distance from his home office window, Oswald missed and Walker only got shrapnel into his arm.

Premises

[P1]Oswald had a documented history of anger and violence, including being reported as physically and verbally abusive toward his wife Marina. [P2] About six months before the assassination, Oswald attempted to kill the right-wing General Edwin Walker, narrowly missing. [P3] His anger, distaste for the US government, and military experience are cited as pushing him to assassinate Kennedy. [C] Therefore, Oswald's history of violence supports the conclusion that Lee Harvey Oswald killed JFK.

Counter-arguments

The claims that Lee Harvey Oswald was abusive to Marina were never proven true. Additionally, no one reported spotting Oswald trying to shoot General Walker. Oswald could have been lying about the assassination attempt for personal gain. Therefore, it is unfair to assume that either of these accusations against Oswald is true since they are not proven.

Rejecting the premises

[Rejecting P2] It is not confirmed that Oswald was abusive. [Rejecting P4] No witnesses reported seeing Oswald fire the gun.

Proponents cited

Warren Commission
“While Oswald appeared to most of those who knew him as a meek and harmless person, he sometimes imagined himself as ‘the Commander’ and, apparently seriously, as a political prophet—a man who said that after 20 years he would be prime minister. His wife testified that he compared himself with great leaders of history. Such ideas of grandeur were apparently accompanied by notions of oppression. He had a great hostility toward his environment, whatever it happened to be, which he expressed in striking and sometimes violent acts long before the assassination.”
Ron Capshaw
“On April 10, he left Marina detailed instructions of what to do if he was captured by the police, and then on a flat low trajectory from less than one hundred feet fired a shot into Walker’s window where the general was seated. Only a window frame across the middle of the double window deflected the bullet and saved Walker’s life.”