(Testimony of Henry Wade)
Mr. Wade.
as a part of an international conspiracy, did murder John Fitzgerald Kennedy. And there is no other names of co-conspirators, we have had lots of leads run down upon it. Somebody at the penitentiary down there, a colored person, at least the word to us, that he had told the guard he had hauled Oswald away from there, you all probably got this, but we interviewed him down there.
He was just talking and wanting to come back to Dallas. But there had been lots of things of that kind but to my knowledge none of them have actually been proven out.
Mr. Rankin.
Mr. Wade, I don't think you have quite finished the all of your--hour-by-hour description of what happened up through the killing of Mr. Oswald.
Mr. Wade.
I thought I had hit it. The only thing I can't remember now is the Saturday night.
It seemed like I was down at the police station Saturday night. Why I don't know and maybe for a short while and don't recall everything that happened. That was Saturday, 23d of November, and there is nothing, the charge had already been taken, and I think probably I was on my way home and just stopped by to see what was going on.
At that time there wasn't anything going on and I went home.
Mr. Rankin.
Did you do anything more about the press and TV and radio people crowding into the police station than you have already described?
Mr. Wade.
No; you see I have been in that building probably once every 2 years.
It is the other end of town from my building. I never go up there and I don't think it is my business what goes on up there. Maybe it should be, but I have never been considering it. I think I have enough problems down at my end of the street.
Mr. Rankin.
In any event you didn't do anything.
Mr. Wade.
I didn't tell them anything, I could see the confusion they were getting into but I don't know of anything that I told about, but what if I did, I had no control over it. It was one of those things I just figured I was the one who didn't have the say in it.
Mr. Rankin.
What did you do on Sunday, the 25th?
Mr. Wade.
Well, went to church.
Mr. Rankin.
The 24th.
Mr. Wade.
I went to church, my family and I went to Dr. W. J. Martin's nondenominational church. It has 27 different denominations, very bright fellow, if you are in Dallas you ought to go and hear him.
And as I walked out somebody said they shot Oswald. So I took--turned on the radio and took my wife and kids home, and went down to the police station.
There were still fragments of the story coming in, and we would still get every kind of story out of them, and we got down there at I guess 1:30. He died and then like I said, I think all I told the press, they asked me as I left there, a few of them what we would do on Ruby and I said we would ask the death penalty on him, and then I left and I went home and then I followed it that night and giving them what evidence I had.
Mr. Rankin.
Did you have anything to do with a lawyer by the name of Tom Howard in connection with that?
Mr. Wade.
No, sir; Tom Howard had filed some kind of writ of habeas corpus, assault to murder, and I never did see him. I saw Bob Stinson, another lawyer on a corner and he said he and Robey were going to represent him, which, I don't think they did, but they said they were and so I went on home, and then when he died, we had a murder case, and we took it to the grand jury the next morning, I believe, on Monday morning and indicted him, turned it into Judge Joe Brown's court and I was there, and as the grand jury walked in he said, "When are you going to hear Ruby?"
And I said, "I already have got the indictment here," and I said, then I went right back and asked the judge to transfer it over to Judge Henry King's court or Frank Wilson's court.
Mr. Rankin.
Do you know what happened to that habeas corpus of Tom Howard's?
Mr. Wade.
No.
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