Joan Mellen Speech at AARC Conference

[Peter Lemkin]

Understand I have no position on all this...certainly no enmity toward Darby, at all. It is strange that both Darby and Hoffmeister made positive matches with the prints given them blind [as is the correct way to do a match]. Before they made the match had NO idea of who's prints they were matching nor the importance of the case. Hoffmeister apparently 'backed out' and claimed he wanted to withdraw his match when he found out the nature of the matter at hand. Darby had a close encounter with the 'unspeakable' afterwards.

Joan claims [I have zero additional information on this] that she had someone [or knew someone who] use[d] computer matching techniques to do the match, and they failed to make a positive match. I can't evaluate this - none of us can even begin to, until her book comes out. However, I find it a bit odd that two competent and expert fingerprint experts would find a match, even a close match - then we get the reverse conclusion. There are many factors to consider which we don't know most of the details of.....that could have effected the outcomes. Obviously, much of this story has not fully been told...and all the 'answers' may not rest in Joan's book...which may raise as many new questions. We'll see. This follows a common pattern in JFK matters and consensus is not easy to come by quickly....

I assume from what Joan M. said the book may be out by the end of the year or very early part of next. Me, I'm waiting for the new dirt on LBJ!