吉姆·加里森

吉姆·加里森（1921年11月20日—1992年10月21日）是前美国路易斯安那州新奥尔良检察官（1961～73年），美国民主党党员，因调查肯尼迪遇刺案而知名。

吉姆·加里森出生于艾奥瓦州的丹尼森，童年全家搬到新奥尔良定居。第二次世界大战期间曾于美国国民警卫队服役。1949年获得杜兰大学法律学位。吉姆·加里森于1962年起担任新奥尔良地方检察官（District Attorney），翌年美国总统约翰·菲茨杰拉德·肯尼迪于得克萨斯州达拉斯遇刺身亡。

1966年，加里森得到消息，一个名叫戴维·费里的人可能涉嫌刺杀肯尼迪。加里森经过一系列调查，于1969年逮捕了新奥尔良商人克莱·萧尔（Clay Shaw）。对肖的指控的关键证人是一个叫佩里鲁索的人，鲁索说李·哈维·奥斯华，费里和肖曾一起密谈暗杀，还说到了“交叉射击”。然而庭审不到一小时陪审团就一致认定克莱·肖无罪。

鲁索的证词经Andrew Sciambra的备忘录证明是在药物和催眠下说出的，而先前的一份供词没有这种内容，而加里森在他的书《追踪凶手》中说鲁索从一开始就说出这一内容。加里森还在电视节目上展示了被称为“三个流浪汉”的案发后达拉斯警方拘捕的扒火车人员的照片，说他们是参与者。加里森也是第一个向公众展示唯一拍下肯尼迪中枪画面的泽普鲁德影片的人。

1991年上映的美国影片《刺杀肯尼迪》（JFK）叙述的就是吉姆·加里森调查遇刺案的经过。

James Carothers Garrison (born Earling Carothers Garrison; November 20, 1921 – October 21, 1992) was the District Attorney of Orleans Parish, Louisiana, from 1962 to 1973 and later a state appellate court judge. A member of the Democratic Party, he is best known for his investigations into the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the prosecution of New Orleans businessman Clay Shaw to that effect in 1969, which ended in Shaw's acquittal. Garrison believed the assassination was the result of a conspiracy involving the CIA, FBI, The Pentagon (United States Department of Defense), the Mafia and other organizations. He wrote three published books, one of which became a prime source for Oliver Stone's film JFK in 1991, in which Garrison was portrayed by Kevin Costner, while Garrison himself made a cameo appearance as Earl Warren.

Early life and career

Garrison was born in Denison, Iowa, in 1921. He was the first child and only son of Earling R. Garrison and Jane Anne Robinson, who divorced before his sixth birthday. His mother moved Jim and his sister from Iowa to New Orleans. He attended Alcée Fortier High School, class of 1939. He served in the U.S. Army Air Forces in France and Germany during World War II, having enlisted a year before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. Among Garrison's duties was to fly very low-altitude surveillance planes, nicknamed "grasshoppers". The dangerous flights were meant to spot artillery targets and had high fatality rates. His artillery unit was one of the first to arrive for the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp.

After the war, he attended Tulane University Law School, graduating with a Bachelor of Laws degree in 1949. He later went back for a Master of Civil Laws degree. After working briefly for the prestigious New Orleans law firm of Deutsch, Kerrigan & Stiles, he opted to join the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in the Pacific Northwest, where he was stationed in the Seattle and Tacoma offices.

In the prelude to the Korean War, Garrison enlisted in the National Guard, and then applied in 1951 for active Army duty. However, because of his recurring nightmares of past missions, he was dismissed by the Army in October 1951. Remaining in the Guard—when it became apparent he suffered from what was then called "battle fatigue" due to his numerous high-risk grasshopper flights in WWII—led one Army doctor to conclude that Garrison had a "severe and disabling psychoneurosis" which "interfered with his social and professional adjustment to a marked degree. He was considered totally incapacitated from the standpoint of military duty and moderately incapacitated in civilian adaptability." Yet, when his record was reviewed further by the U.S. Army Surgeon General, he "found him to be physically qualified for federal recognition in the national army."

District attorney

Upon returning again to civilian life, Garrison worked in several different trial lawyer positions before being appointed as an assistant district attorney in New Orleans. He served in that role from 1955 to early 1958, and developed a reputation as a flamboyant, colorful figure in the city. He made his first run for public office in 1958, losing the election for City Assessor. In 1960, he lost another race, this time for a Criminal Court Judge seat, but by then he had been appointed Assistant City Attorney, a part-time job paying a nominal salary. From the City Attorney's office, he had a close view of the incumbent District Attorney Richard Dowling and did not approve of the latter's conduct. In 1961, Garrison entered the race for New Orleans DA. In the five-man Democratic primary, he came in a surprise second place to Dowling. Garrison benefitted from what was considered a strong performance in a televised debate. In the runoff election, Garrison scored an upset win by 6,000 votes. Handicapped by a lack of major political backing, he had saved his meager campaign funds for an effective TV advertising blitz against Dowling in the final weeks.