Judge Joe Brown, a Supposed Mysterious Death in the JFK assassination

The Not-So-Mysterious Death of Judge Joe Brown

Judge Joe Brown presided over the murder trial of Jack Ruby. Because of that rather marginal "connection" with the JFK assassination case, his death of a heart attack in 1968 earned him a place on the list of "mysterious deaths."

"But how," one might ask "is a death from a heart attack sinister?"

Of course, conspiracy theorists have an answer. Author Jim Marrs explains:

Testifying before the Church Committee in 1975, CIA technicians told of a variety of TWEP technology -- Termination With Extreme Prejudice -- that cannot be detected in a postmortem examination. (Crossfire, p. 557)
That sounds like something the CIA ought to be able to do. But did they do it with Joe Brown?

If so, we might ask why he had had previous heart attacks before the one that killed him? Did the CIA mess up, giving him heart attacks that failed to do the job, and then finally get it right?

The press reported that he had "several heart attacks before and after the Ruby trial." Indeed, the New York Times reported that he had suffered four heart attacks before the Ruby trial.

Why in the world would the CIA want to kill him even before he presided over the Ruby murder trial? Of course, maybe the first heart attacks were genuine, and the one that finally finished him off was induced by the CIA. His death certificate, however, notes coronary artery disease, and lists the cause of death as a "coronary occlusion." After his prior heart attacks, not exactly a surprise.

As is typical of all the names on the "mysterious deaths" list, there is absolutely no evidence he knew anything that would be dangerous to any conspiracy. Yes, he presided over the Ruby trial. Having seen the evidence, he knew perfectly well that Ruby shot Oswald. But that wasn't exactly a secret! What dangerous knowledge did he have?

We can engage in some speculation. But then we could equally speculate about any person who came into contact with Ruby shortly before or after the Kennedy shooting. Which is pretty much what people who push the "mystery deaths" do. Producing evidence? Not so much.

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