Ruby, Jack 1911-1967

RUBY, JACK 1911-1967

Murderer

A Murder Which Shocked a Nation

On the afternoon of 22 November 1963 President John F. Kennedy, riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas, was killed by an assassin. Within an hour and a half Lee Harvey Oswald was picked up by the police. The press coverage of the assassination and Oswald's arrest was immense. On 24 November Oswald was moved from the Dallas police headquarters, where he had been held, to the county jail. An army of reporters was on hand, and the transfer was broadcast live on national television. Suddenly, a bulky man named Jack Ruby stepped out of the crowd and fatally shot Oswald in the abdomen.

Jack Ruby

Ruby was a fifty-two-year-old nightclub owner who had lived in Dallas since receiving an honorable discharge from the army in 1946. In Dallas he changed his name from Rubenstein and eventually operated a strip joint called the Carousel Club.

An Erratic Personality

Ruby craved publicity and cultivated a rough-and-tumble persona. He had an emotional temperament tinged with violence. He acted as his own bouncer in his club, and he was always quick to take on anyone who made anti-Semitic remarks. He was a familiar sight around the police station and newsrooms, where he would often drop by to talk and do small favors for officers and media personnel.

A Day of Tragedy

On the day President Kennedy was assassinated, Ruby was at the offices of the Morning News drafting an advertisement for his club. When he heard of the murder he became visibly upset and changed his advertisement to a tribute to the dead president. He then returned to his club, announced that it would be closed that evening, and made a series of telephone calls to relatives and acquaintances, with whom he recounted the events of the day in an agitated manner. Later that evening he picked up some sandwiches to deliver to friends at a local radio station. On the way he stopped by the police station and arranged an interview for one of the station's personnel. He arrived in time for the midnight press conference with Oswald. It was there that he first caught sight of the accused assassin, whom he referred to as a "little weasel of a guy."

A Chance Encounter

Ruby would see Oswald one more time. On Sunday, 24 November Oswald was scheduled to be moved to the county jail. The move had been announced for 10:00 A.M., but it did not occur until about 11:20. Ruby was downtown that morning to send money to one of his showgirls. As he drove to the Western Union office, he noticed a crowd of people at the nearby police station, waiting by the ramp to the basement. He later said that after sending the money he walked over to the ramp only out of curiosity. As Ruby entered the basement, Oswald was led out. Ruby, by impulse or plan, then stepped forward, firing his gun once. He mortally wounded Oswald in front of a crowd of policemen and spectators and before a national television audience.

Belli for the Defense

Not surprisingly, the trial of Ruby for the murder of Oswald attracted immense attention and news coverage. As his attorney, Ruby chose Melvin Belli, known as "King of Torts" for his success in representing clients in personal injury suits. Belli had acquired a good knowledge of medical matters in his career, and he decided that a medical argument was the best means to defend his client. His strategy was to show that Ruby had suffered temporary insanity when he shot Oswald. However, Belli had little experience in criminal cases, and, after the verdict was in, Belli's strategy was criticized.

Questionable Decisions

The trial was conducted in Dallas in March 1964, after the judge, Joe B, Brown, refused Belli's motion for a change of venue on the grounds that the enormous media coverage and the criticism that the city had received for being hostile to the president would prevent their client from getting a fair trial. Judge Brown also allowed the prosecution to introduce testimony about statements Ruby had made to the police immediately after the shooting concerning his motivation and premeditation. Premeditation was the key to the prosecution's attempt to convict Ruby of first-degree murder, which carried the death penalty in Texas. The prosecution had to show that Ruby did not shoot Oswald on an impulse but that he had entered the basement intending to kill him. Ruby had told the police that when he had seen Oswald's sarcastic sneer at the press conference on Friday night, he had decided to kill the man if he got the chance. The fact that Ruby was carrying a pistol when he went by the police department added weight to this argument, although the defense argued that he was armed because he often carried large amounts of cash. Indeed, when he was arrested, Ruby had over two thousand dollars on his person.

A Fugue State of Mind

The defense argued that Ruby suffered from emotional instability. They suggested that he had been so upset by the assassination of President Kennedy that he had acted irrationally. He was shown to be capable of precipitous mood swings, and the defense argued that after the killing of Kennedy he had slipped into a fugue state of mind and was unable to tell right from wrong. They argued that the shooting of Oswald was the result of a quirk of fate which had placed Ruby with a gun in the same place as Oswald. However, the emphasis of the defense lawyers on Ruby's insanity may have worked against them. By spending most of their time on that argument, they neglected to build up proof to support a lesser charge if the jury found that Ruby was sane. If convicted of unpremeditated murder, Ruby would only have faced a few years in jail. But, as the case stood, once the jury was convinced Ruby was legally sane its only real alternative based upon the evidence was a verdict of first-degree murder. After deliberating less than two-and-one-half hours, the jury returned its verdict of guilty, and he was sentenced to death in the electric chair.

Bring on the Second Team

But this was not the end of Ruby's struggle. For the appeals process Belli and the other trial attorneys were replaced by William Kunstler, Elmer Gertz, and others. These attorneys claimed that Judge Brown had made several procedural errors that had denied Ruby a fair trial. They also claimed that Judge Brown had contracted to write a book on the case, possibly influencing him to push for a conviction.

A Second Chance

Eventually, the new defense team presented their argument to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. The court held that the testimony of police officers concerning Ruby's confession was inadmissible. The court also found that the trial could not be fairly held in Dallas because of the widespread publicity and strong feelings in the community. The court ordered a new trial. Meanwhile, Judge Brown had excused himself; he would not be involved in the new trial. During this long legal process Ruby remained in jail, his mental and physical health deteriorating. He seemed to be losing touch with the real world, sometimes claiming that he was the object of an anti-Semitic conspiracy. Even more serious problems arose, as the preparations for the new trial began. Ruby fell physically ill, suffering from cancer. He died on 3 January 1967 without ever being retried. Like every other aspect of the Kennedy assassination, Ruby's actions before and during the murder, his trial, and his death have provided fodder for conspiracy speculations.

Sources:

"Another Day in Dallas," Time, 83 (13 March 1964): 24-25;

"Death for Ruby/' Time, 83 (20 March 1964): 27-28;

Elmer Gertz, Moment of Madness: the People vs. Jack Ruby (Chicago: Follett, 1968);

"Like Picking a Wife," Time, 83 (28 February 1964): 53-54;

"The Man Who Killed Oswald," Time, 82 (6 December 1963): 34-35;

"A Nonentity for History," Time, 89 (13 January 1967): 16-17;

David Scheim, Contract on America: The Mafia Murders of John and Robert Kennedy (Silver Spring, Md.: Argyle, 1983).