(Testimony of Bell P. Herndon)
Mr. Herndon.
Wood, of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Dallas, Tex., office, Mr. Ruby's attorneys were present, one being chief counsel Mr. Clayton Fowler, another attorney was present by the name of Mr. Joe Tonahill. Also present during the examination was a representative of the Dallas district attorney's office, a Mr. William Alexander.
Mr. Specter.
Was he present during the time of the examination or during the preliminary discussion on questions only?
Mr. Herndon.
He was present during the entire examination except for that phase in which Mr. Ruby was actually responding to my questions while he was actually on the instrument.
Mr. Specter.
And who else was present?
Mr. Herndon.
Also present during the entire polygraph proceedings was a Dr. William Beavers, I believe, of Dallas, Tex., and a chief jailer, I believe his name was E. L. Holman. There was a court reporter, Odell Oliver, also present during the proceedings.
Also present during the preliminaries of the proceedings was a gentleman from the Dallas sheriff's office by the name of Mr. Sweat, who indicated that he was a polygraph examiner.
Mr. Specter.
Was a request made that he not be present during the course of the examination?
Mr. Herndon.
After consultation with Mr. Specter and myself, I believe Mr. Specter made arrangement with the sheriff, Mr. Decker, that Mr. Sweat not be present during the polygraph examination and further proceedings.
Mr. Specter.
What was the physical arrangement of the room with respect to Mr. Ruby's positioning during the time that the polygraph examination was actually administered?
Mr. Herndon.
I attempted to arrange Mr. Ruby in such a position that there would be a minimum of distraction and disturbance to him during the actual polygraph examination. He was placed rather closely against a wall where there were no pictures or no distracting marks or implementations on the wall I also tried to place him in such a position so that he could not readily see anyone else who was in the room during the proceedings.
Mr. Specter.
Were you successful in placing him in a position where he could not see anyone else while the test was being administered?
Mr. Herndon.
I believe he was in a position that only his secondary vision from the sides would possibly give him the impression that somebody was in the room.
Mr. Specter.
What effect, if any, did the presence of the other people in the room have on the administration of the test, in your opinion?
Mr. Herndon.
Normally during a polygraph examination the only ones in the room are the examinee and the examiner, and during Bureau proceedings we usually have another agent in the room out of sight that takes notes. It is considered an undesirable factor to have many people present in the room during a polygraph examination, particularly if these people are involved in any way in the case, such as the defendant's attorney or someone who has a personal and keen knowledge in the proceedings. In this particular instance, it appeared to me that Mr. Ruby divorced the presence of these people from his mind during his response to the questions. However, it should be considered a factor which is one that could tend to negate a valid conclusion with regard to chart interpretation.
Mr. Specter.
Have you taken that factor, then, into account in your evaluation of char interpretation?
Mr. Herndon.
Yes; I have.
Mr. Specter.
Mr. Herndon, did you hear the testimony of Dr. William Beavers which was taken immediately following the administration of the polygraph examination commencing at 9:10 p.m., on July 18, 1964?
Mr. Herndon.
I heard his testimony.
Mr. Specter.
Did you hear him testify in a conclusory fashion that: "These symptoms," referring to symptoms which he had described, "plus the depression which was evident caused me to diagnose a psychotic depressive reaction"? Did you hear him make that diagnosis?
Mr. Herndon.
Yes; I did.
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