A Wonderful Find ...

[Cliff Roberts]

Hi Joe! Thanks for your excellent report and the thorough study you made to back it up. Solid work! It hasn't changed my opinion as to whether Booth shot himself, but you showed it could be done and offered plausible evidence to support that. But to me, there's just too much ballistic and eyeball evidence to overcome the most likely conclusion that Corbett shot Booth. Don't get me wrong. I think Booth wanted to die, right there in Garrett's barn. He may once have thought of returning to Washington and defending himself, but in that burning barn, facing almost certain execution as a cowardly assassin, he wanted a more glorious death, in face to face battle like a soldier. Had Corbett not shot him, I think Booth would have come out fighting and been killed. To those who suggest that Booth wouldn't shoot himself in the head to avoid disfiguring his face, it's a valid consideration, but a clean head shot from behind the ear would likely not have affected his facial features. On the other hand, would he risk possibly surviving a neck shot, knowing he could end up crippled from the neck down and be carted to the scaffold on a litter?