JONESTOWN

[Dealey Joe]

Jonestown was the informal name for the Peoples Temple Agricultural Project, an intentional community in northwestern Guyana formed by the Peoples Temple led by Jim Jones. It became internationally notorious when, on November 18, 1978, 918 people died in the settlement as well as in a nearby airstrip and in Georgetown, Guyana's capital. The name of the settlement became synonymous with the incidents at those locations.A total of 909 Temple members died in Jonestown, all but two from apparent cyanide poisoning, in an event termed "revolutionary suicide" by Jones and some members on an audio tape of the event and in prior discussions. The poisonings in Jonestown followed the murder of five others by Temple members at a nearby Port Kaituma airstrip. The victims included United States Congressman Leo Ryan, the first member of Congress assassinated in the line of duty in the history of the United States. Four other Temple members died in Georgetown at Jones' command.To the extent the actions in Jonestown were viewed as a mass murder, it is the largest such event in modern history and resulted in the largest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of September 11, 2001.The Peoples Temple was formed in Indianapolis, Indiana, during the mid-1950s.[2] It purported to practice what it called "apostolic socialism".[3][4] In doing so, the Temple preached to established members that "those who remained drugged with the opiate of religion had to be brought to enlightenment — socialism."[5][6]After Jones received considerable criticism in Indiana for his integrationist views, the Temple moved to Redwood Valley, California in 1965.[7][8]In the early 1970s, the Peoples Temple opened other branches in California, including in Los Angeles and San Francisco. In the mid-1970s, the Temple moved its headquarters to San Francisco.[9]After the Temple's move to San Francisco, it became more politically active. After Peoples Temple participation proved instrumental in the mayoral election victory of George Moscone in 1975, Moscone appointed Jones as the Chairman of the San Francisco Housing Authority Commission.[10] Unlike other figures considered as cult leaders, Jones enjoyed public support and contact with some of the highest level politicians in the United States. For example, Jones met with Vice Presidential Candidate Walter Mondale and Rosalynn Carter several times.[11] Governor Jerry Brown, Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally, and Assemblyman Willie Brown, among others, attended a large testimonial dinner in honor of Jones in September 1976.In the fall of 1973, after critical newspaper articles by Lester Kinsolving and the defection of eight Temple members (the "Gang of Eight"), Jones and Temple member Timothy Stoen prepared an "immediate action" contingency plan for responding to a police or media crackdown.[13] The plan listed various options, including fleeing to Canada or to a "Caribbean missionary post", such as Barbados or Trinidad.[13] For its "Caribbean missionary post", the Temple quickly chose Guyana.[13] The Temple then researched Guyana's economy and extradition treaties with the United States.[13] In October 1973, the directors of the Peoples Temple passed a resolution to establish an agricultural mission there.[13]The Temple chose Guyana, in part, because of its socialist politics, which were also moving further to the left during the selection process.[13][14] Former Temple member Tim Carter stated that the reasons for choosing Guyana were the Temple's view of creeping fascism, the perceived dominance of multinational corporations on the government, and perceived racism in the U.S. government.[15] Carter said the Temple concluded that Guyana, a predominantly Indian, English-speaking socialist country, would afford black members of the Temple a peaceful place to live.[15] Later, Guyanese Prime Minister Forbes Burnham stated that what may have attracted Jones was that "he wanted to use cooperatives as the basis for the establishment of socialism, and maybe his idea of setting up a commune meshed with that."[14] Jones also thought it was important that Guyana's leadership consisted of several black leaders and that the country was small and poor enough for Jones to easily obtain influence and official protection.[13]In 1974, after Jones and Temple members traveled to an area of Northwest Guyana with Guyanese officials, the Temple and Guyanese officials negotiated a lease of over 3,800 acres (15.4 km²) of jungle land from the Guyanese government.[16] The site was isolated, with soil of poor fertility, even by Guyanese standards.[17] The nearest body of water was seven miles (11 km) away by muddy roads.500 members began the construction of Jonestown. The Temple encouraged some of its members to move to Jonestown,[16] which was formally named the "Peoples Temple Agricultural Project".[18] Jones saw Jonestown as both a "socialist paradise" and a "sanctuary" from media scrutiny.[19] In 1976, Guyana finally approved the lease it had negotiated (retroactive to April 1974) with the Temple for the over 3,000 acres (12 km2) of land in Northwest Guyana on which Jonestown was located.[20]In 1974, Guyanese government officials granted the Temple permission to import certain items "duty free."[17] Later payoffs to Guyanese customs officials helped safeguard shipments of firearms and drugs through Guyanese customs.[21] The relatively large number of immigrants to Guyana overwhelmed the Guyanese government's small but stringent immigration infrastructure in a country where most people wanted to leave.[22] Jones reached an agreement to guarantee that Guyana would permit Temple members' mass migration. To do so, he stated that Temple members were "skilled and progressive", showed off an envelope he claimed had $500,000 and stated that he would invest most of the church's assets in Guyana.[22] Guyanese immigration procedures were also compromised to inhibit the departure of Temple defectors and curtail the visas of Temple opponents.[23]Guyanese Prime Minister Forbes BurnhamJones purported to establish Jonestown as a benevolent communist community, stating: "I believe we’re the purest communists there are."[24] Marceline Jones described Jonestown as "dedicated to live for socialism, total economic and racial and social equality. We are here living communally."[24] Jones wanted to construct a model community and claimed that Prime Minister Burnham "couldn’t rave enough about us, uh, the wonderful things we do, the project, the model of socialism."[25] In that regard, like the restrictive emigration policies of the Soviet Union, Cuba, North Korea and other communist republics, Jones did not permit members to leave Jonestown.[26]The Temple's house in GeorgetownThe Temple established offices in Georgetown and conducted numerous meetings with Burnham and other Guyanese officials.[27] In 1976, Temple member Michael Prokes requested that Guyana's Prime Minister Forbes Burnham receive Jones as a foreign dignitary along with other "high ranking U.S. officials."[28] Jones traveled to Guyana with California Lieutenant Governor Mervyn Dymally to meet with Burnham and Foreign Affairs Minister Fred Willis.[28] In that meeting, Dymally agreed to pass on the message to the U.S. State Department that socialist Guyana wanted to keep an open door to cooperation with the United States.[28] Dymally followed up that meeting with a letter to Burnham stating that Jones was "one of the finest human beings" and that Dymally was "tremendously impressed" by his visit to Jonestown.[28]Temple members took pains to stress their loyalty to Burnham's Peoples National Congress Party.[29] One Temple member, Paula Adams, was involved in a romantic relationship with Guyana's Ambassador to the United States, Laurence "Bonny" Mann. Jones bragged about other Temple members he referred to as "public relations women" giving all for the cause in Jonestown.[30][31] Viola Burnham, the Guyanese Prime Minister's wife, was also a strong advocate of the Temple.[14]Later, Burnham stated that Guyana allowed the Temple to operate in the manner it did on the references of Mondale, Rosalynn Carter, and San Francisco Mayor George Moscone.[32] Burnham also said that, when Deputy Minister Ptolemy Reid traveled to Washington in September 1977 to sign the Panama Canal Treaties, Mondale asked him "How's Jim?", which indicated to Reid that Mondale had a personal interest in Jones' well being.In the summer of 1977, Jones and several hundred Temple members moved to Jonestown to escape building pressure from San Francisco media investigations.[33] Jones left the same night that an editor at New West magazine read Jones an article to be published by Marshall Kilduff detailing allegations by former Temple members.[33][34] Jonestown's population was just under 1,000 at its peak in 1978.Many members of the Peoples Temple believed that Guyana would be, as Jones promised, a paradise, or a utopia.[35] After the mass migration, Jonestown became overcrowded.[36]After Jones arrived, Jonestown life significantly changed.[36] Entertaining movies from Georgetown that the pioneers had watched were eliminated in favor of propaganda shorts on Soviet life provided by the Soviet embassy and documentaries on problems such as elderly life in the U.S. and returning Vietnam veterans' adjustment to civilian life.[36] Bureaucratic requirements after Jones' arrival sapped labor resources for other needs.[36] Buildings fell into disrepair and weeds encroached on fields.[36] School study and night time lectures for adults turned to Jones' discussions about revolution and enemies, with lessons focusing on Soviet alliances, Jones' crises and the purported "mercenaries" of Timothy Stoen.[36]For the first several months, Temple members worked six days a week, from approximately 6:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., with an hour for lunch.[37] In mid-1978, after Jim Jones' health deteriorated and Marcy Jones began managing more of Jonestown's operations, the work week was reduced to eight hours a day for five days a week.[15]Troolie CottagesAfter the day's work ended, Temple members would attend several hours of activities in a pavilion structure, including classes in socialism.[38] Jones described this study as like that of the North Korean system of eight hours of daily work followed by eight hours of study.[39][40] This also comported with the Temple's practice of gradually subjecting its followers to sophisticated mind control and behavior-modification techniques borrowed from post-revolutionary People's Republic of China and North Korea.[41] Jones would often read news and commentary, including some from Radio Moscow and Radio Havana,[42] though concerning the Sino-Soviet split he often criticized Chinese foreign policy initiatives he (and often the Soviet Government) viewed as anti-Soviet.[43]"Discussion" around the topics raised often took the form of Jones interrogating individual followers about the implications and subtexts of a given item, or delivering lengthy and often confused monologues on how his people should 'read' the events. In addition to Soviet documentaries, conspiracy theory movies such as Executive Action, written by Temple attorneys Mark Lane and Donald Freed, and The Parallax View (incorrectly attributed by Jones to Lane and Freed) were screened and minutely dissected by Jones as primers on the 'true nature' of the Temple's capitalist enemies.[42]Jones' recorded readings of the news were part of the constant broadcasts over Jonestown's tower speakers, such that all members could hear them throughout the day and night.[44] Jones' news readings usually portrayed the United States as a "capitalist" and "imperialist" villain, while casting "socialist" leaders, such as former North Korean dictator Kim Il-sung ("great leader of the revolution, is in the vanguard of the Korean working class"[45]), Robert Mugabe ("long known for his communist inspiration to the people of Zimbabwe… one of the revolutionary heroes"[46]) and Joseph Stalin (disturbed by people criticizing Stalin[47]), in a positive light.Jonestown radio towerJonestown's primary means of communication with the outside world was a shortwave radio.[48] All voice communications with San Francisco and Georgetown were transmitted using this radio, from mundane supply orders to confidential Temple business.[48] The FCC cited the Temple for technical violations and for using amateur frequencies for commercial purposes.[48] Because shortwave radio was Jonestown's only effective means of non-postal communication, the Temple felt that the FCC's threats to revoke its operators' licenses threatened Jonestown's existence.[49]Jonestown, being on poor soil, was not self-sufficient and had to import large quantities of commodities such as wheat.[50] Temple members lived in small communal houses, some with walls woven from Troolie palm, and ate meals which reportedly consisted of nothing more on some days than rice, beans, greens and sometimes meat sauce and eggs (more on others).[50][51] Despite theoretically having access to millions of dollars in Temple funds, Jones also lived in a tiny communal house (pictured below), though fewer people lived there than in other communal houses.[51] His house reportedly held a small refrigerator, containing, at times, eggs, meat, fruit, salads and soft drinks.[51] Medical problems, such as severe diarrhea and high fevers, struck half the community in February 1978.Although Jonestown contained no dedicated prison and no form of capital punishment, various forms of punishment were used against members considered to be serious disciplinary problems. Methods included imprisonment in a 6 x 4 x 3-foot (1.8 x 1.2 x 0.9m) plywood box and forcing children to spend a night at the bottom of a well, sometimes upside-down.[2] For some members who attempted to escape, drugs such as Thorazine, sodium pentathol, chloral hydrate, Demerol and Valium were administered in an "extended care unit."[52] Armed guards patrolled the area day and night to enforce Jonestown's rules. Some local Guyanese, including a police official, related stories about harsh beatings and a "torture hole", the well into which the children were placed when they were perceived to have misbehaved.[53][54]Children generally surrendered to communal care, addressed Jones as "Dad" and some at times were only allowed to see their real parents briefly at night. Jones was called "Father" or "Dad" by the adults as well.[55] The community had a nursery at which 33 infants were born.[56]Up to $65,000 in monthly welfare payments from government organizations in the United States to Jonestown residents were signed over to the Temple.[57] In 1978, officials from the United States Embassy in Guyana interviewed Social Security recipients on multiple occasions to make sure they were not being held against their will.[58] None of the 75 people interviewed by the Embassy stated that they were being held against their will, were forced to sign over welfare checks, or wanted to leave Jonestown.[58][59]The Temple's wealth was estimated in late 1978 to be approximately $26 million.Jones made frequent addresses to Temple members regarding Jonestown's safety, including statements that the CIA and other intelligence agencies were conspiring with "capitalist pigs" to destroy Jonestown and harm its members.[46][61][62] After work, when purported emergencies arose, the Temple sometimes conducted what Jones referred to as "White Nights".[63] During such events, Jones would sometimes give the Jonestown members four choices: (1) attempt to flee to the Soviet Union; (2) commit "revolutionary suicide"; (3) stay in Jonestown and fight the purported attackers or (4) flee into the jungle.[64]On at least two occasions during White Nights, after a "revolutionary suicide" vote was reached, a simulated mass suicide was rehearsed. Peoples Temple defector Deborah Layton described the event in an affidavit:"Everyone, including the children, was told to line up. As we passed through the line, we were given a small glass of red liquid to drink. We were told that the liquid contained poison and that we would die within 45 minutes. We all did as we were told. When the time came when we should have dropped dead, Rev. Jones explained that the poison was not real and that we had just been through a loyalty test. He warned us that the time was not far off when it would become necessary for us to die by our own hands."[65]The Temple had received monthly half-pound shipments of cyanide since 1976 after Jones obtained a jeweler's license to buy the chemical, purportedly to clean gold.On November 1, 1978, Congressman Leo Ryan, who represented a district in Northern California, announced that he would visit Jonestown.[91] Ryan was friends with the father of Bob Houston, whose mutilated body was found near train tracks on October 5, 1976, three days after a taped telephone conversation with Houston's ex-wife in which leaving the Temple was discussed.[92] Over the following months Ryan's interest was further aroused by the complaints of the Concerned Relatives represented by Timothy Stoen and the allegations following the defection of Deborah Layton.[92]On November 14, 1978, Ryan flew to Georgetown, Guyana (150 miles (240 km) from Jonestown), along with a team of 18 people consisting of government officials, media representatives and some members of the Concerned Relatives.[93] The group included Congressman Ryan; Ryan's legal adviser, Jackie Speier (now a Congresswoman); Neville Annibourne, representing Guyana's Ministry of Information; Richard Dwyer, Deputy Chief of Mission of the U.S. Embassy to Guyana; Tim Reiterman, San Francisco Examiner reporter; Don Harris, NBC reporter; Greg Robinson, San Francisco Examiner photographer; Steve Sung, NBC audio technician; Bob Flick, NBC producer; Charles Krause, Washington Post reporter; Ron Javers, San Francisco Chronicle reporter; Bob Brown, NBC video operator; and Concerned Relatives representatives, including Tim and Grace Stoen, Steve and Anthony Katsaris, Beverly Oliver, Jim Cobb, Sherwin Harris, and Carolyn Houston Boyd.[94]The Peoples Temple's lawyers, Mark Lane and Charles Garry, initially refused to allow Ryan's party access to Jonestown.By late morning on Friday, November 17, Lane and Garry informed Jones that Ryan would likely leave for Jonestown at 2:30 pm, regardless of Jones' schedule or willingness.[96] Ryan's party did so at roughly that time, accompanied by Lane and Garry, and came to Port Kaituma airstrip, 6 miles (10 km) from Jonestown, some hours later.[97] Because of aircraft seating limitations, only four of the Concerned Relatives were allowed to accompany the Ryan delegation on its flight into Jonestown.[98] Only Ryan and three others were initially accepted into Jonestown, but the rest of Ryan's group was allowed in after sunset.[99] It was later reported (and verified by audiotapes recovered by investigators) that Jones had run rehearsals on how to convince Ryan's delegation that everyone was happy and in good spirits.[100]That night, the Ryan delegation attended a reception in the pavilion.[101] While the party received a friendly reception, Jones said he felt like a dying man and ranted about government conspiracies and martyrdom as he decried attacks by the press and his enemies.[56] Two Peoples Temple members, Vernon Gosney and Monica Bagby, made the first move for defection that night. In the pavilion, Gosney passed a note to Don Harris (mistaking him for Ryan), reading "Dear Congressman, Vernon Gosney and Monica Bagby. Please help us get out of Jonestown."[102]Road to JonestownThat night Ryan, Speier, Dwyer, and Annibourne stayed in Jonestown.[103] Other members of the Ryan delegation, including the press corps and members of Concerned Relatives, were told that they had to find other accommodations, and so they went to Port Kaituma and stayed at a small café.[103]In the early morning of November 18, eleven Temple members sensed danger enough to walk out of the colony toward train tracks to take a train to Matthew's Ridge, which is located in the opposite direction from the airstrip at Port Kaituma.[104][105] Those defectors included members of the Evans family and the Wilson family (the family of Jonestown's head of security, Joe Wilson).[104][106][107][108] When reporters and Concerned Relatives arrived in Jonestown later that day, Jim Jones' wife Marceline gave them a tour of the settlement.[109]Entrance to JonestownThat afternoon, two families stepped forward and asked to be escorted out of Jonestown by the Ryan delegation.[110] They were the Parks and the Bogue families, along with Christopher O'Neal and Harold Cordell, who were partners of women in the two families.[104][110][111] When Jones' adopted son Johnny attempted to talk Jerry Parks out of leaving, Parks told him "No way, it's nothing but a communist prison camp."[112]Jones gave the two families, along with Gosney and Bagby, permission to leave.[113] Under the Pavilion, Don Harris of NBC handed Jones the note written by Vernon Gosney while other reporters huddled around Jones.[114] Jones told those reporters that, like others who left the community, the defectors would "lie" and destroy Jonestown.[114]After a sudden violent rainstorm started, some emotional scenes developed between family members.[115] Al Simon, an American Indian member of the Peoples Temple, attempted to take two of his children to Ryan to process the requisite paperwork for transfer back to the United States.[115] Al's wife, Bonnie, summoned on the loudspeakers by Temple staff, loudly denounced her husband.[115] Al pleaded in vain with Bonnie to return to the U.S., but Bonnie rejected his suggestions.While most of the Ryan delegation began to depart on a large dump truck to the Port Kaituma airstrip, Congressman Ryan and Dwyer stayed behind in Jonestown to process any additional defectors.[117]Shortly before the dump truck departed for the airstrip, Temple loyalist Larry Layton, the brother of Deborah Layton, demanded to join the group.[117] Several defectors voiced their suspicions about his motives.[117]Don SlyShortly after the dump truck initially departed, Temple member Don Sly (nicknamed "Ujara") grabbed Ryan while wielding a knife.[118] While Congressman Ryan was unhurt after others wrestled Sly to the ground, Dwyer strongly suggested that Ryan leave Jonestown while Dwyer filed a criminal complaint against Sly.[119] Ryan did so, promising to return later to address the dispute.[120]The truck departing to the airstrip had stopped after the passengers heard of the attack on Ryan.[121] Ryan then boarded the truck and reached the airstrip later that afternoon.[121]Joe WilsonThe entourage had originally scheduled a 19-seat Twin Otter to fly them back to Georgetown. Because of the defectors departing Jonestown, the group grew in number and now an additional aircraft was required. Accordingly, the U. S. Embassy arranged for a second plane, a six-passenger Cessna.[120][122]When the entourage reached the Port Kaituma airstrip between 4:30 p.m. and 4:45 p.m., the planes were supposed to be there, but they had not appeared yet. The group had to wait, until the aircraft landed at approximately 5:10 p.m.[120] Then the boarding process began.Larry Layton was a passenger on the Cessna, the first aircraft to set up for takeoff.[123] After the Cessna had taxied to the far end of the airstrip, Layton produced a gun and started shooting at the passengers.[124] He wounded Monica Bagby and Vernon Gosney, and tried to kill Dale Parks, who disarmed him.[124]At this time, some passengers had boarded the larger Twin Otter.[125] A tractor with a trailer attached driven by members of the Temple's Red Brigade security squad approached the Otter.[125] When the tractor neared within approximately 30 feet (9.1 m) of the Otter, roughly concurrent with the shootings on the Cessna, the Red Brigade opened fire on the aircraft while at least two Red Brigade members circled the plane on foot.[120] There were perhaps nine shooters whose identities are not all certainly known, but most sources agree that Joe Wilson, Jones' head of security, Thomas Kice Sr., and Ronnie Dennis were among them.[126]A few seconds of the shooting were captured on ENG videotape by NBC cameraman Bob Brown.[127] Congressman Ryan, cameraman Bob Brown, photographer Greg Robinson, NBC reporter Don Harris and Temple defector Patricia Parks were killed in the few minutes of shooting.[127] Jackie Speier, Steve Sung, Richard Dwyer, Tim Reiterman and Anthony Katsaris were among the nine injured in and around the Twin Otter.[127] After the shootings, the Cessna's pilot, along with the pilot and copilot of the Otter, fled in the Cessna to Georgetown, leaving behind the gunfire-damaged Otter and the injured Ryan delegation members.Before leaving Jonestown for the airstrip, Congressman Ryan had told Temple attorney Charles Garry that he would issue a report that would describe Jonestown "in basically good terms."[128] Ryan stated that none of the sixty relatives Ryan had targeted for interviews wanted to leave, the 14 defectors constituted a very small portion of Jonestown's residents, that any sense of imprisonment the defectors had was likely because of peer pressure and a lack of physical transportation, and even if 200 of the 900+ wanted to leave "I'd still say you have a beautiful place here."[128] Similarly, Washington Post reporter Charles Krause stated that, on the way back to the airstrip, he was unconvinced that Jonestown was as bad as defectors had claimed because there were no signs of malnutrition or physical abuse, while many members appeared to enjoy Jonestown and only a small number of the over 900 residents elected to leave.[129]Despite Garry's report, Jones told him "I have failed."[130] Garry reiterated that Ryan would be making a positive report, but Jones maintained that "All is lost."[130]A 44-minute cassette tape (the "death tape"),[131] recorded at least part of a meeting Jones called under the pavilion in the early evening. Before the meeting, aides prepared a metal vat with Flavor Aid, poisoned with Valium, chloral hydrate, cyanide,[132] and Phenergan.[133]When the assembly gathered, referring to the Ryan delegation's air travel back to Georgetown, Jones told the gathering "one of the people on that plane is gonna shoot the pilot, I know that. I didn't plan it but I know it's going to happen. They're gonna shoot that pilot and down comes the plane into the jungle and we had better not have any of our children left when it's over, because they'll parachute in here on us."[131] Parroting Jones' prior statements that hostile forces would convert captured children to Fascism, one temple member states: "The ones that they take captured, they're gonna just let them grow up and be dummies."[131]On the death tape, Jones urged Temple members to commit "revolutionary suicide".[131] Such "revolutionary suicide" had been planned by the Temple before and, according to Jonestown defectors, its theory was "you can go down in history, saying you chose your own way to go, and it is your commitment to refuse capitalism and in support of socialism."[134]Jim McElvaneChristine MillerTemple member Christine Miller argued that the Temple should alternatively attempt an airlift to Russia.[131] Jim McElvane, a former therapist who had arrived in Jonestown only two days earlier, assisted Jones by arguing against Miller's resistance to suicide, stating "Let's make it a beautiful day" (followed by applause from Temple members) and later citing possible reincarnation.[131] After several exchanges in which Jones argued that a Soviet exodus would not be possible, along with reactions by other temple members hostile to Miller, Miller backed down.[131] However, Miller may have ceased dissenting when Jones confirmed at one point that "the Congressman has been murdered" after members of his "Red Brigade" squad returned from the airstrip after shooting Ryan.[citation needed]After the airstrip shooters arrived back in Jonestown, Tim Carter, a Vietnam war veteran, recalled the shooters having the "thousand-yard stare" of weary soldiers.[135]After Jones confirmed that "the Congressman's dead" no dissent occurs on the death tape.[131] Directly after this, referring to his Red Brigade security squad that shot Ryan, Jones stated, "But the Red Brigade's the only one that made any sense anyway" and, "Red Brigade showed them justice."[131] In addition to Jim McElvane, several other temple members gave speeches praising Jones and his decision for the community to commit suicide, even after Jones stopped appreciating this praise and begged for the process to go faster.[131]According to escaped Temple member Odell Rhodes, first to take the poison were Ruletta Paul and her one-year-old infant.[136] A syringe with its needle removed was used to squirt poison into the infant's mouth and then Paul squirted another syringe into her own mouth.[136] Stanley Clayton also saw mothers with their babies first approach the table containing the poison.[137] Clayton said that Jones approached people to encourage them to drink the poison and that, after adults saw the poison begin to take effect, "they showed a reluctance to die."[137]The poison caused death within around five minutes.[138] After consuming the poison, according to Rhodes, people were then escorted away down a wooden walkway leading outside the Pavilion.[136] It is not clear if some initially thought the exercise was another "White Night" rehearsal. Rhodes reported being in close contact with dying children.[136]In response to reactions of seeing the poison take effect on others, Jones counseled, "Die with a degree of dignity. Lay down your life with dignity; don't lay down with tears and agony." He also said, "I tell you, I don't care how many screams you hear, I don't care how many anguished cries...death is a million times preferable to ten more days of this life. If you knew what was ahead of you – if you knew what was ahead of you, you'd be glad to be stepping over tonight."[131] However, survivor Odell Rhodes stated that while the poison was squirted in some children's mouths, there was no panic or emotional outburst and people looked like they were "in a trance".[139] His statement is questionable, as screaming children are audible throughout the "death tape."[131]Jones was found dead lying next to his chair between two other bodies, his head cushioned by a pillow.[140] His death was caused by a gunshot wound to his left temple that Guyanese coroner Cyrill Mootoo stated was consistent with a self-inflicted gun wound.[141]The events at Jonestown constituted the greatest single losses of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the incidents of September 11, 2001.

[kenmurray]

Jonestown: The Life And Death Of The Peoples Temple:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=io5rMKIjTVo

[kenmurray]

What The Media Won't Tell You: Jim Jones Was A CIA Operative Conducting Mind Control:http://www.whale.to/b/jonestown1.html

[kenmurray]

The Black Hole Of Guyana:http://ratical.org/ratville/JFK/JohnJud ... stown.html

[kenmurray]

The Great Mae Brussell was saying that Jonestown was a CIA Mind Control Experiment 3 weeks after it happened! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHLYYqF ... gjB00wUP.S. If you have problem with links, just right click and hit new tab!

[kenmurray]

Jim Hougan On The Jonestown Massacre:https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/midnig ... ws-podcast

[kenmurray]

Seconds From Disaster Jonestown Cult Suicide:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heWXXrbwvdY

[bobspez2]

Once people give up their common sense and adopt a cult mentality, sacrificing reality for fantasy, reality always wins in the end. Whether it was Germany or Japan in WWII, or Ruby Ridge or Jonestown, it all ends in defeat and death.kenmurray wrote:Seconds From Disaster Jonestown Cult Suicide:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=heWXXrbwvdY