Trivia

His headstone in New Orleans reads "Let justice be done though the heavens fall."

Louisiana State District Judge, 4th Circuit Court of Appeals, 1978-1991 Lost election in 1973 to Harry Connick, Sr (father of crooner Harry Connick Jr.) as New Orleans Parish District Attorney New Orleans Parish District Attorney (1961-1973)

1940 he joined the US Army as a pilot. During World War II he flew missions over France and Germany acting as a forward observer for artillery units. His unit was involved in the liberation of the Dachau Concentration Camp.

Children: Jasper, Virginia, Snapper, Elizabeth.

Persuaded to re-open his investigation into the JFK assassination by U.S. Senator Russell Long. Senator Long arranged to finance Garrison's inquiry secretly through an organization called Truth And Consequences, formed specifically for that purpose at Long's request by New Orleans oil man Joe Rault. When word leaked of the investigation, Garrison's prime suspect David Ferrie immediately died.

Earned a law degree from Tulane University.

Re-enlisted in the Army for the Korean War.

Former F.B.I. agent and District Attorney in New Orleans.

Garrison served as the District Attorney of Orleans Parish from 1962 to 1973. His jurisdiction was limited to the city of New Orleans.

Garrison earned his law degree in 1949. He spend two years in service to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), stationed at the Seattle office.

In 1961, Garrison achieved a surprise victory in the Democratic primary for district attorney. He had fewer political backers than his opponents, but he performed unusually well in a television debate. He also appeared in effective television commercials as a candidate.

In 1969, Garrison was able to to subpoena the Zapruder film from Life magazine. He was the first person to show the film to ordinary civilians instead of journalists and crime investigators.

In 1978, Garrison won a special election for the position of judge in Louisiana's 4th Circuit Court of Appeal. Re-elected several times in the same position, he died in office in October, 1992.

Garrison was buried in the Metairie Cemetery in New Orleans. It was founded in 1872, built over a race track that had went bankrupt. The cemetery was intended to become the "great Necropolis of the South" (as termed by the local press), and it has served as the final resting place for several politicians, Confederate generals, and crime bosses affiliated with the New Orleans crime family.

Early in his career as a district attorney, Garrison gained fame for cracking down on prostitution, and for authorizing several vice raids. In 1963, Garrison was convicted in a defamation trial because he had accused 8 different judges of being involved in corruption and racketeering. In 1964, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Garrison's conviction.

In 1964, Garrison was censured by the state legislature of Louisiana. He had accused every single state legislator of being corrupt, he had accused the state parole board of accepting bribes, and he had charged nine policemen with police brutality. There was insufficient evidence against any of Garrison's targets.

In 1973, Garrison was put on trial, charged with accepting bribes to protect illegal pinball machine operations. He was found not guilty, but his popularity declined. He was defeated for reelection as district attorney in that year's election.

Tape recordings from 1971 indicate that Garrison considered implicating Charles Cabell, Deputy Director of the CIA, in the supposed conspiracy in the assassination of Kennedy. The deputy director happened to be the brother of Earle Cabell, the active Dallas mayor during the assassination. Garrison suspected that both brothers were involved in the conspiracy, but he eventually lost interest in officially implicating them.

In the early 1950s, Garrison was serving with the National Guard. He was discharged as unfit for military service, because he was diagnosed as suffering from "shell shock", the era's term for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He reportedly had recurring, vivid nightmares about his bombing missions during World War II.

Is portrayed by Kevin Costner in JFK (1991).