Fletcher Prouty Eulogizes Jim Garrison

We all note and mourn the passing of that "Old Law-Man" Jim Garrison of New Orleans. Jim was the only official in this great country of ours w/the courage & fortitude to comply w/the law & the terms of his sworn oath of office to bring charges against the conspirators in the case of the death of our Pres. John F. Kennedy. Law requires that a murder be tried in the state where it occurred, & for that crime there is no statute of limitations. This remains the responsibility of the State of Texas.

Jim Garrison did his best when, as District Attorney in New Orleans, he brought charges against the man he had reason to believe was a conspirator in that crime. For this...for doing his duty, Jim was attacked from all sides, from the Fed. Govt, other state govts, the biggest guns of the media, & many members of the press. Jim was doing his duty. They maligned him, castigated him, whipped him. Still he held his head high with determination & pride.

I'm proud to say that Jim was my friend. We corresponded after he sent me the manuscript of his great book, "On the Trail of the Assassins" & had great respect for each other's work. He & I worked together with Oliver Stone and Zachary Sklar on the development of the script for the movie "JFK." For this, all of us were again attacked by the media and others.

Jim and I were born early in the era of "Communism" and we have out-lived the Cold War. We have both lived to see the end of that ideological structure that overshadowed all our lives. Jim hoped his "book will help the younger generation to understand better the political, social, & historical consequences of the assassination & the subsequent cover-up. Today we still live with those consequences...a deceptive secret government, a docile press, a pervasive cynicism and corruption." My friend Jim Garrison fought against great odds to change all that. Those of us who were with him continue that fight. The Garrison battle lives on. Jim would understand us as we say, "To Live in the Hearts We Leave Behind is Not to Die."

Fletcher Prouty