Key Concepts and Ideas
The Body Alteration Hypothesis
The central and most controversial thesis of David Lifton's "Best Evidence" revolves around what he terms the "body alteration hypothesis." Lifton proposes that President Kennedy's body was surgically altered between the time of his death at Parkland Hospital in Dallas and the official autopsy at Bethesda Naval Hospital in Maryland. This audacious theory suggests that conspirators intercepted the president's body during its transportation to manipulate the medical evidence, thereby concealing the true nature of the assassination and the actual number and trajectory of shots fired.
Lifton's hypothesis emerged from his meticulous analysis of stark contradictions between the observations of Dallas doctors who treated Kennedy immediately after the shooting and the findings recorded by pathologists at Bethesda. The Dallas physicians consistently described a large exit wound in the rear of the president's head, while the Bethesda autopsy documented entrance wounds in the back of the head. This discrepancy forms the foundation of Lifton's argument that the body must have been altered to change the apparent direction from which shots were fired, thereby supporting the lone gunman theory over evidence suggesting shots from the front.
The implications of this hypothesis are staggering. If accurate, it would indicate a conspiracy involving elements within the government with access to the president's body, military facilities, and the ability to coordinate a complex operation within hours of the assassination. Lifton supports his theory with detailed timelines showing unexplained gaps in the custody chain of Kennedy's body and testimonies from witnesses who observed discrepancies in the condition and arrival circumstances of the casket at Bethesda.
The "Best Evidence" Principle
Lifton's title "Best Evidence" refers to a fundamental principle in legal proceedings: the best evidence of what happened in the Kennedy assassination should be the president's body itself. In legal terminology, "best evidence" means the original, most direct proof of a fact—in this case, the physical wounds on Kennedy's body should provide definitive answers about the number of shooters and their locations. However, Lifton's devastating conclusion is that if the body was altered, then what should have been the best evidence became, paradoxically, the worst evidence—a deliberately constructed false trail.
This concept extends beyond the physical body to include autopsy photographs and X-rays, which should serve as permanent, objective records of the president's injuries. Lifton meticulously documents how these materials became subject to questions of authenticity, chain of custody problems, and access restrictions that prevented independent verification for years. He argues that the very evidence meant to resolve controversies about the assassination instead became the source of deeper mysteries.
The author demonstrates how this principle played out in practice through the experiences of researchers and investigators who sought access to autopsy materials. The government's inconsistent policies regarding these materials—sometimes claiming they were too sensitive for public viewing, other times questioning their completeness or authenticity—reinforced Lifton's suspicions that the best evidence had been compromised. His analysis reveals a pattern where the most direct physical evidence was either unavailable, contradictory, or presented under circumstances that raised questions about its integrity.
Medical Evidence Contradictions
A substantial portion of Lifton's investigation focuses on irreconcilable contradictions between medical observations made in Dallas versus those recorded at Bethesda. The Dallas physicians, who treated Kennedy in a desperate attempt to save his life, had no reason to misrepresent what they saw. They described specific wounds with remarkable consistency: a small entrance wound in the throat and a massive exit wound in the right rear of the skull, suggesting a shot from the front right. Dr. Malcolm Perry, who performed a tracheostomy, initially described the throat wound as an entrance wound before later testimonies became more ambiguous.
Conversely, the Bethesda autopsy, conducted by pathologists with less forensic experience than typically required for such a critical examination, documented different wounds. The autopsy report placed entrance wounds in the back of the head and in the upper back, with the throat wound attributed to the tracheostomy procedure. These findings supported the trajectory of shots coming from behind, consistent with Lee Harvey Oswald's position in the Texas School Book Depository.
Lifton presents detailed comparisons of these medical descriptions, including diagrams and testimony excerpts that highlight the impossibility of reconciling these two sets of observations if they describe the same unaltered body. He documents how Dallas doctors, when later confronted with autopsy findings, expressed confusion and maintained their original observations. This medical evidence contradiction becomes the empirical foundation upon which Lifton builds his body alteration theory, arguing that no amount of different viewing angles or medical interpretation can explain such fundamental discrepancies in wound location and characteristics.
Chain of Custody Issues
Lifton's investigation reveals significant problems with the chain of custody for President Kennedy's body—gaps and inconsistencies that he argues provided opportunities for the alleged alteration. The official narrative states that Kennedy's body was placed in an ornate bronze ceremonial casket at Parkland Hospital and remained in that casket until arrival at Bethesda Naval Hospital. However, Lifton uncovers witness testimony suggesting a more complex and suspicious sequence of events.
Key to this analysis is the testimony of several individuals who reported seeing the president's body arrive at Bethesda in a different casket than the one that left Dallas—a plain shipping casket rather than the ornate ceremonial one. Additionally, witnesses reported that the body arrived earlier than the official timeline indicated and that it was in a different type of body bag than expected. Dennis David, a Navy petty officer at Bethesda, provided testimony about helping to carry a plain shipping casket into the morgue before the official casket arrival, a claim that, if accurate, suggests the body traveled by a different route than the one accompanying the Kennedy family.
Lifton meticulously reconstructs timelines and flight paths, identifying a critical window of several hours during which the body's location cannot be definitively accounted for. He proposes that the body was removed from the ceremonial casket during the flight from Dallas or immediately after landing, taken to a separate location for surgical alteration, and then delivered to Bethesda ahead of the official casket's arrival. These chain of custody issues, supported by witness testimonies that were largely ignored or dismissed by official investigations, form a crucial element of Lifton's argument that opportunity existed for the conspiracy he proposes.
The Role of the Secret Service and Military
Throughout "Best Evidence," Lifton examines the unusual and sometimes suspicious behavior of Secret Service agents and military personnel in the hours following the assassination. He documents instances where Secret Service agents took actions that deviated from standard protocols, particularly regarding the handling of evidence and the president's body. At Parkland Hospital, Secret Service agents confronted Dallas medical examiner Dr. Earl Rose, who insisted that Texas law required an autopsy to be performed in Dallas where the death occurred. The agents physically forced their way out of the hospital with the president's body, effectively removing critical evidence from the jurisdiction where the crime took place.
Lifton argues that this confrontation, while often attributed to the Secret Service's desire to return the president to Washington quickly, may have served another purpose: removing the body from Dallas authorities who would have conducted an independent autopsy beyond the control of potential conspirators. The choice to conduct the autopsy at a military facility—Bethesda Naval Hospital—rather than at a civilian institution with more experienced forensic pathologists also raises questions that Lifton explores in depth.
The author further investigates the military's role in controlling access to autopsy materials, photographs, and X-rays for years after the assassination. He documents a pattern of military and Secret Service personnel being present at critical moments: during the autopsy itself, controlling who could observe or participate; during the transportation of the body; and later, in managing access to photographic evidence. Lifton suggests this pattern indicates these organizations were not merely following security protocols but actively managing evidence in support of a predetermined narrative. The presence of high-ranking military officers at the autopsy who gave orders to the pathologists further suggests, in Lifton's analysis, that the medical examination was being directed by individuals with interests beyond simply determining the cause of death.
Photographic and X-ray Evidence Anomalies
Lifton dedicates considerable attention to analyzing the authenticity and handling of autopsy photographs and X-rays, which should provide objective documentation of the president's wounds. His investigation reveals a troubling history of these materials, including questions about whether the photographs and X-rays in the official record actually depict Kennedy's body as it appeared during the autopsy. Several individuals present at the autopsy, including medical personnel and FBI agents, later stated that the photographs in the official collection did not match their recollections of what they witnessed.
The author documents the strange journey of these materials after the autopsy. Rather than being immediately secured as critical evidence in a federal investigation, the autopsy photographs and X-rays were given to Robert Kennedy's personal representative and later stored in the Kennedy family's control. This unusual arrangement kept the materials from investigators and researchers for years, preventing independent analysis during the critical period when memories were fresh and witnesses were available. When the materials were finally transferred to the National Archives in 1966, they came with restrictions that limited access to qualified researchers.
Lifton presents technical analysis suggesting alterations or inconsistencies in the photographic record. He discusses missing photographs that were reportedly taken during the autopsy but never appeared in the official collection, suggesting selective editing of the visual record. Expert opinions regarding the X-rays also revealed anomalies, including areas of unusual density and characteristics inconsistent with authentic radiographs. These photographic and radiographic anomalies support Lifton's broader thesis that the medical evidence was manipulated to conceal the true nature of Kennedy's wounds and, by extension, the actual circumstances of his assassination.
The Timing and Logistics of Conspiracy
One of the most compelling aspects of Lifton's work is his detailed reconstruction of the timing and logistics that would have been required for the conspiracy he proposes. Critics of conspiracy theories often point to the complexity and number of participants that would be required, arguing that such plots are implausible. Lifton confronts this objection directly by demonstrating that the body alteration he proposes, while audacious, was logistically feasible within the known timeline.
Lifton identifies a critical window of approximately six to eight hours between Kennedy's death and the beginning of the official autopsy at Bethesda. During this period, the president's body was supposedly in transit from Dallas to Washington, but Lifton's research suggests portions of this time are unaccounted for in the official record. He proposes that the body could have been taken to a nearby military facility, possibly even on the Dallas-Fort Worth area's extensive military installations, where a prepared surgical team could have performed the alterations necessary to change the apparent trajectory of shots.
The author outlines what would have been required: a skilled surgical team capable of working quickly, access to appropriate facilities, coordination with those controlling the body's transportation, and participants willing to maintain absolute secrecy. While this might seem far-fetched, Lifton argues that within the context of Cold War military operations, where compartmentalized missions and "need to know" protocols were standard, such an operation could have been organized and executed by a relatively small group. He suggests that many participants might not have fully understood the purpose of their actions, believing they were following legitimate orders in the interest of national security. This analysis of logistics serves to make Lifton's hypothesis more plausible by demonstrating that it did not require the massive, unwieldy conspiracy that critics often invoke to dismiss alternative theories of the assassination.