At the conclusion of the lengthy preliminary proceedings, Ruby entered the jury conference room at 2:23 p.m. and was informed that the Commission was prepared to fulfill its commitment to offer him a polygraph examination, but was not requesting the test.[A17-27] On behalf of the Commission, Assistant Counsel Specter warned Ruby that anything he said could be used against him.[A17-28] Chief Defense Counsel Fowler advised Ruby of his objections to the examination.[A17-29] Ruby then stated that he wanted the polygraph examination conducted and that he wanted the results released to the public as promptly as possible.[A17-30] Special Agent Bell P. Herndon, polygraph operator of the FBI, obtained a written “consent to interview with polygraph” signed by Jack Ruby.[A17-31] Herndon then proceeded to administer the polygraph examination by breaking the questions up into series which were ordinarily nine questions in length and consisted of relevant interrogatories and control questions.[A17-32]
ADMINISTRATION OF THE TEST
During the course of the polygraph examination Jack Ruby answered the relevant questions as follows:
Q. Did you know Oswald before November 22, 1963?
A. No.[A17-33]
Q. Did you assist Oswald in the assassination?
A. No.[A17-34]
Q. Are you now a member of the Communist Party?
A. No.[A17-35]
Q. Have you ever been a member of the Communist Party?
A. No.[A17-36]
Q. Are you now a member of any group that advocates the violent overthrow of the United States Government?
A. No.[A17-37]
Q. Have you ever been a member of any group that advocates violent overthrow of the United States Government?
A. No.[A17-38]
Q. Between the assassination and the shooting, did anybody you know tell you they knew Oswald?
A. No.[A17-39]
Q. Aside from anything you said to George Senator on Sunday morning, did you ever tell anyone else that you intended to shoot Oswald?
A. No.[A17-40]
Q. Did you shoot Oswald in order to silence him?
A. No.[A17-41]
Q. Did you first decide to shoot Oswald on Friday night?
A. No.[A17-42]
Q. Did you first decide to shoot Oswald on Saturday morning?
A. No.[A17-43]
Q. Did you first decide to shoot Oswald on Saturday night?
A. No.[A17-44]
Q. Did you first decide to shoot Oswald on Sunday morning?
A. Yes.[A17-45]
Q. Were you on the sidewalk at the time Lieutenant Pierce’s car stopped on the ramp exit?
A. Yes.[A17-46]
Q. Did you enter the jail by walking through an alleyway?
A. No.[A17-47]
Q. Did you walk past the guard at the time Lieutenant Pierce’s car was parked on the ramp exit?
A. Yes.[A17-48]
Q. Did you talk with any Dallas police officers on Sunday, November 24, prior to the shooting of Oswald?
A. No.[A17-49]
Q. Did you see the armored car before it entered the basement?
A. No.[A17-50]
Q. Did you enter the police department through a door at the rear of the east side of the jail?
A. No.[A17-51]
Q. After talking to Little Lynn did you hear any announcement that Oswald was about to be moved?
A. No.[A17-52]
Q. Before you left your apartment Sunday morning, did anyone tell you the armored car was on the way to the police department?
A. No.[A17-53]
Q. Did you get a Wall Street Journal at the Southwestern Drug Store during the week before the assassination?
A. No.[A17-54]
Q. Do you have any knowledge of a Wall Street Journal addressed to Mr. J. E. Bradshaw?
A. No.[A17-55]
Q. To your knowledge, did any of your friends or did you telephone the FBI in Dallas between 2 or 3 a.m. Sunday morning?
A. No.[A17-56]
Q. Did you or any of your friends to your knowledge telephone the sheriff’s office between 2 or 3 a.m. Sunday morning?
A. No.[A17-57]
Q. Did you go to the Dallas police station at any time on Friday, November 22, 1963, before you went to the synagogue?
A. No.[A17-58]
Q. Did you go to the synagogue that Friday night?
A. Yes.[A17-59]
Q. Did you see Oswald in the Dallas jail on Friday night?
A. Yes.[A17-60]
Q. Did you have a gun with you when you went to the Friday midnight press conference at the jail?
A. No.[A17-61]
Q. Is everything you told the Warren Commission the entire truth?
A. Yes.[A17-62]
Q. Have you ever knowingly attended any meetings of the Communist Party or any other group that advocates violent overthrow of the Government?
A. No.[A17-63]
Q. Is any member of your immediate family or any close friend, a member of the Communist Party?
A. No.[A17-64]
Q. Is any member of your immediate family or any close friend a member of any group that advocates the violent overthrow of the Government?
A. No.[A17-65]
Q. Did any close friend or any member of your immediate family ever attend a meeting of the Communist Party?
A. No.[A17-66]
Q. Did any close friend or any member of your immediate family ever attend a meeting of any group that advocates the violent overthrow of the Government?
A. No.[A17-67]
Q. Did you ever meet Oswald at your post office box?
A. No.[A17-68]
Q. Did you use your post office mailbox to do any business with Mexico or Cuba?
A. No.[A17-69]
Q. Did you do business with Castro-Cuba?
A. No.[A17-70]
Q. Was your trip to Cuba solely for pleasure?
A. Yes.[A17-71]
Q. Have you now told us the truth concerning why you carried $2,200 in cash on you?
A. Yes.[A17-72]
Q. Did any foreign influence cause you to shoot Oswald?
A. No.[A17-73]
Q. Did you shoot Oswald because of any influence of the underworld?
A. No.[A17-74]
Q. Did you shoot Oswald because of a labor union influence?
A. No.[A17-75]
Q. Did any long-distance telephone calls which you made before the assassination of the President have anything to do with the assassination?
A. No.[A17-76]
Q. Did any of your long-distance telephone calls concern the shooting of Oswald?
A. No.[A17-77]
Q. Did you shoot Oswald in order to save Mrs. Kennedy the ordeal of a trial?
A. Yes.[A17-78]
Q. Did you know the Tippit that was killed?
A. No.[A17-79]
Q. Did you tell the truth about relaying the message to Ray Brantley to get McWillie a few guns?
A. Yes.[A17-80]
Q. Did you go to the assembly room on Friday night to get the telephone number of KLIF?
A. Yes.[A17-81]
Q. Did you ever meet with Oswald and Officer Tippit at your club?
A. No.[A17-82]
Q. Were you at the Parkland Hospital at any time on Friday?
A. No.[A17-83]
Q. Did you say anything when you shot Oswald other than what you’ve testified about?
A. No.[A17-84]
Q. Have members of your family been physically harmed because of what you did?
A. No.[A17-85]
Q. Do you think members of your family are now in danger because of what you did?
(No response.)[A17-86]
Q. Is Mr. Fowler in danger because he is defending you?
(No response.)[A17-87]
Q. Did “Blackie” Hanson speak to you just before you shot Oswald?
A. No.[A17-88]
INTERPRETATION OF THE TEST
A polygraph examination is designed to detect physiological responses to stimuli in a carefully controlled interrogation. Such responses may accompany and indicate deception.[A17-89] The polygraph instrument derives its name from the Greek derivative “poly” meaning many and the word “graph” meaning writings.[A17-90] The polygraph chart writings consist of three separate markings placed on a graph reflecting three separate physiological reactions.[A17-91] A rubber tube is placed around the subject’s chest to record his breathing pattern on a pneumograph.[A17-92] That device records the respiratory ratio of inhalation and exhalation strokes.[A17-93] The second component is called a galvanic skin response which consists of electrodes placed on the examinee’s fingers, through which a small amount of electrical current is passed to the skin.[A17-94] The galvanometer records the minute changes in electrical skin response.[A17-95] The third component consists of a cardiograph which is a tracing obtained by attaching a pneumatic cuff around the left arm in a manner very similar to an apparatus which takes blood pressure.[A17-96] When the cuff is inflated, that device records relative blood pressures or change in the heart rate.[A17-97]
From those testing devices, it is possible to measure psychological or emotional stress.[A17-98] This testing device is the product of observation by psychologists and physiologists who noted certain physiological responses when people lie.[A17-99] In about 1920 law enforcement officials with psychological and physiological training initiated the development of the instrument to serve as an investigative aid.[A17-100]
The polygraph may record responses indicative of deception, but it must be carefully interpreted.[A17-101] The relevant questions, as to which the interrogator is seeking to determine whether the subject is falsifying, are compared with control questions where the examiner obtains a known indication of deception or some expected emotional response.[A17-102] In evaluating the polygraph, due consideration must be given to the fact that a physiological response may be caused by factors other than deception, such as fear, anxiety, nervousness, dislike, and other emotions.[A17-103] There are no valid statistics as to the reliability of the polygraph.[A17-104] FBI Agent Herndon testified that, notwithstanding the absence of percentage indicators of reliability, an informed judgment may be obtained from a well-qualified examiner on the indications of deception in a normal person under appropriate standards of administration.[A17-105]
Ordinarily during a polygraph examination only the examiner and the examinee are present.[A17-106] It is the practice of the FBI, however, to have a second agent present to take notes.[A17-107] It is normally undesirable to have other people present during the polygraph examination because the examinee may react emotionally to them.[A17-108] Because of the numerous interested parties involved in Ruby’s polygraph examination, there were present individuals representing the Commission and the Dallas district attorney, as well as two defense counsel, two FBI agents, the chief jailer, the psychiatrist, and the court reporter, although the assistant district attorney and one defense counsel left when Ruby was actually responding to questions while the instrument was activated.[A17-109] Ruby was placed in a position where there was a minimum of distraction for him during the test.[A17-110] He faced a wall and could not see anyone except possibly through secondary vision from the side.[A17-111] Agent Herndon expressed the opinion that Ruby was not affected by the presence of the people in the room.[A17-112]
Answer by Ruby to certain irrelevant control questions suggested an attempt to deceive on those questions. For example, Ruby answered “No” to the question “While in the service did you receive any disciplinary action?”[A17-113] His reaction suggested deception in his answer.[A17-114] Similarly, Ruby’s negative answer to the query “Did you ever over-charge a customer?” was suggestive of deception.[A17-115] Ruby further showed an emotional response to other control questions such as “Have you ever been known by another name”[A17-116] “Are you married?”[A17-117] “Have you ever served time in jail?” [A17-118] “Are your parents alive?”[A17-119] “Other than what you told me, did you ever hit anyone with any kind of a weapon?”[A17-120] Herndon concluded that the absence of any physiological response on the relevant questions indicated that there was no deception.[A17-121]