SHAW, Clay

Clay Laverne Shaw was a prominent New Orleans businessman and civic leader who became the central figure in District Attorney Jim Garrison's controversial investigation into the JFK assassination. Born in Kentwood, Louisiana, in 1913, Shaw served as managing director of the International Trade Mart in New Orleans from 1946 to 1965, establishing himself as a respected figure in the city's business community.

Shaw's involvement in the assassination controversy began in 1967 when Garrison identified him as part of an alleged conspiracy involving anti-Castro Cuban exiles, CIA operatives, and New Orleans figures including David Ferrie and Lee Harvey Oswald. Garrison claimed Shaw had met with conspirators to plan Kennedy's murder, using the alias "Clay Bertrand."

The prosecution's case relied heavily on the testimony of Perry Raymond Russo, who claimed to have witnessed Shaw, Ferrie, and Oswald discussing assassination plans at a party in 1963. However, Russo's testimony proved problematic, as he had initially made no mention of Shaw and only identified him after being subjected to hypnosis and sodium pentothal by Garrison's team.

Shaw's 1969 trial attracted national attention as the only criminal prosecution related to the Kennedy assassination conspiracy theories. The defense demonstrated numerous problems with the prosecution's evidence, including Garrison's failure to establish that Shaw had ever used the "Clay Bertrand" alias or had any connection to Oswald or Ferrie.

The jury deliberated for less than an hour before returning a unanimous not guilty verdict on March 1, 1969. Shaw subsequently sued Garrison for false arrest and malicious prosecution, though these cases were ultimately unsuccessful. The trial's outcome effectively discredited Garrison's conspiracy theories and investigative methods.

Shaw died of lung cancer in New Orleans in 1974. Subsequent investigations, including the House Select Committee on Assassinations, found no credible evidence linking Shaw to any JFK assassination conspiracy. His case remains significant as an example of prosecutorial overreach in conspiracy-related investigations.