Talk:Mortal Error

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[edit] Settlement

Have the terms of Hickey's 1998 settlement with the publishers been disclosed? Any information at all? Andrewa 12:06, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

Not as far as I can tell. The last thing I heard was that the guy who came up with the theory died a few years ago. - Thanks, Hoshie 13:38, 30 November 2006 (UTC)
It would be interesting to know... not that it would prove anything other than that some lawyers played some of their games. http://www.assassinationresearch.com/v1n1/griffith1.html confirms Donahue's death, but gives no details and contains some surprising statements. eg For one thing, it fails to explain many indications that President Kennedy was killed by a conspiracy. Meninger goes to great pains to point out that Donahue offers no opinion either way as to conspiracy theories, his theory is just about the ballistics evidence. eg Second, Donahue relied heavily on the SBT, which was the only way Donahue could explain Connally's wounds. That's not what the book says at all. IMO this widely-quoted critique would have little credibility with anyone who had actually read the book. Andrewa 19:53, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

Current article reads In 1998, Hickey settled with the publishers of Mortal Error, which to me sounds as if the publishers paid Hickey. But in fact we don't know whether any money changed hands, and if so in which direction... it could have been the publisher recovering their costs.

IANAL, but ISTM that there's no evidence that Hickey ever intended the claims in the book, including the claim that he fired the head shot, to be tested in court. His lawyers and other advisers (particularly the Secret Service) should have known that the claim was being filed late. Now they can say "we did sue, but it was dismissed on a technicality", which sounds like they had a case... but did they? Andrewa 13:18, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

I've added on undisclosed terms to the sentence in question... I think that's important to note. Andrewa 00:08, 11 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] More misinformation

http://web.archive.org/web/20021218033643/people.fix.no/pudding/burton/kennedy/friendly.html reads in part JFK did not die from an assassin�s bullet, but as the result of an accident when a Secret Service agent�s gun went off by mistake and shattered the president�s skull, killing the respected Kennedy outright. Oops!

That's a sensational claim, but it's one that Mortal Error is very careful not to make. Rather, Meninger reports Donahue's conclusion that the other shots (whether fired by Oswald or not) had already mortally wounded Kennedy before the head shot. Andrewa 09:46, 1 December 2006 (UTC)

Yep, it seems you are correct here. Your memory jives with the book. When I found this article, I can see why Hickey sued. It made him look really bad. - Thanks, Hoshie 12:37, 2 December 2006 (UTC)
But that's just the point... Hickey didn't sue the people who did imply he killed Kennedy. Hickey sued the publisher of a book that (despite the title) explicitly says that he didn't. His action, which, unlike the settlement, has been published, makes interesting reading too. Andrewa 23:55, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Removed text

This link requires account creation and login, albeit for free, but you are required to provide an email address at least. I counsel against having such links on principle. Andrewa 13:05, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree. I found the link via archive.org; by passing the wall. 24.25.42.125 21:22, 12 December 2006 (UTC)
Great stuff! Great link. Andrewa 06:38, 13 December 2006 (UTC)