There can be no doubt that the JFK assassination controversy is likely one of the most debated events of the 20th century, especially with the debate of Lee Harvey Oswald’s guilt or innocence. Now those who want to believe that the Warren Report was correct and that Oswald acted alone are well and good, and perfectly understandable. Many conspiracy theorists, especially the more infamous like Robert Groden, have often tended to use and/or talk about outdated/discredited evidence or in some cases, unreliable sources to support conspiracy (think like “Babushka Oliver Lady” or Judyth Vary Baker), that it’s fairly easy to see why by the 50th anniversary of the event, the 59% who polled that thought there was a conspiracy were the lowest recorded figure in 5 decades (though public opinion is not really an important thing in the long run). However, there is one conspiracy theory that has not been proved or disproved either way and it concerns the unidentified “Prayer Man” filmed by James Darnell and Dave Wiegman (I hasten to add this is not to be confused with the Billy Lovelady/“Doorway man” controversy in whic Billy Lovelady was mistaken for Oswald in the Ike Altgens photo; Lovelady is in front of Prayer Man in Wiegman and is seen leaving the steps in Darnell while Prayer Man still stands). the Prayer Man research really emerged in 2013 with Sean Murphy who suggested Oswald was on the front steps during the assassination and may have been seen in a storage room, not far from the main entrance. The storage room element has been proposed by several researchers beforehand as well as the argument that the second-floor lunchroom encounter (the first official sighting of Oswald by Officer Marion Baker and TSBD boss Roy Truly) was a fabrication required to nail Oswald. Now, let’s ignore the arguments used (namely that the lunchroom encounter didn’t happen) and instead let’s just focus on the films themselves. One will have to admit, that the film are the important physical evidence, because in the possibility of original copies being found or restored which could be able to give good looks at the faces in the doorway, the identification of Prayer Man (be it LHO or someone else) would essentially rely on the film and put an end this debate. I have read both books which was made on the subject and Sean Murphy used (dare a hardened anti-JFK conspiracy theorist say it) a process of elimination as to who it cannot be- we know the movements claimed by TSBD staff, so we are able to know who PM possibly cannot be. Eventually, Murphy was left with only Oswald. In spite of arguments that PM might be someone else, no other theory has been conclusively reached. Personally, I think Sean put a pretty strong case together. Is it Oswald? I don't know. But I believe it cannot be denied Murphy made an unbiased, careful argument that it COULD be. Hence, why the “PM” theory could be argued as earning a place of attention. It is not the purpose of the discussion to "prove" the theory that Oswald was in fact “prayer man”, since there is currently not enough evidence available to establish the identity of the man filmed standing on the steps by Darnell/Wiegman. Instead, the purpose of this talk section is merely to alert “legitimate” researchers to the significance of the theory and on considering if such a theory would warrant a mention to attention, if not right now, at least, in the near-future, especially if more attention was paid to the theory or in the event of the recovery of the original films, particularly as in March 2025, Anna Paulina Luna said, during a congressional hearing for the further release of documents related to the assassination that efforts were underway to release a film taken by Dave Wiegman Jr. of NBC capturing the unidentified "prayer man" filmed during the assassination, theorized by some to have been Lee Harvey Oswald.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Jones |first1=Kipp |title=House Republican Claims NBC News Is Covering for JFK's Real Killer: Oswald 'Couldn't Have Been the Shooter' |url=https://www.mediaite.com/tv/house-republican-claims-nbc-news-is-covering-for-jfks-real-killer-oswald-couldnt-have-been-the-shooter/ |access-date=March 29, 2025 |work=[[Mediaite]] |date=March 29, 2025 |language=en}}</ref> . To repeat a statement made early in this section, it has not been the aim of the present author to 'prove' that Oswald was the man on the steps; indeed, the author's sole purpose has been to suggest if “PRAYER MAN” could warrant a mention as a serious place of research especially for those open minded, if not AT the present moment. Even though the above reasons do not hold up to close scrutiny, it would not be fair to conclude the discussion without considering reasons that, just maybe, *Oswald* might have have been the figure. There still needs to be some definitive proof (preferably restored film-related) or even some follow-through on trying to ID the figure, before the tone of the article can reflect this assumption. I know it is not the job of Peterachan or its editors to support or promote any particular point of view. Without hard smoking gun, public consensus is irrelevant. In short, it doesn't matter what people think. It matters what the films may or may not be able to show, and so far, the case for “Prayer man” is still open.