JFK JBK Dallas motorcade 22Nov2013 WikiCommons
President John F. Kennedy riding in the motorcade with First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy in Dallas on Nov. 22, 1963, proceeding toward Dealey Plaza. WikiCommons

In a new poll, 59 percent of Americans believe there were multiple gunmen involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy, with just 24 percent believing Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone. Even after 50 years, the JFK assassination conspiracy continues to have a strong hold on our collective imagination.

The latest results from the AP-GfK survey revealed the majority of Americans questioned polled believed there were multiple gunmen, 24 percent believed Lee Harvey Oswald acted alone and 16 percent were unsure about what happened on Nov. 22, 1963, reports Associated Press. The JFK assassination conspiracy survey was conducted by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications and polled 1,004 adults from Apr. 11-15, 2013.

While the number may be surprising to some, the 59 percent is down from a 2003 Gallup poll that had 79 percent of participants believing in a JFK assassination conspiracy. The poll involved two sets of interviews involving 1,004 individuals although the survey did find that belief in a conspiracy declined with age. According to AP, the 24 percent who believe Oswald acted alone is the highest since 1966 when 36 percent of those survey believed in a lone gunman.

For those that believed Harvey did not act alone, the mafia were the most popular co-conspirators. According to the 2003 Gallup poll, 37 percent of those who believed multiple gunmen were involved in the assassination of JFK said the mafia were involved. The CIA were another popular choice, with 34 percent of individuals who believed in the multiple gunmen theory saying the government agency were behind the death of JFK.

Despite the Warren Commission, which was set up to review the JFK assassination as well as the death of Oswald, ruling that Oswald acted alone, many Americans believe there is more information that has yet to be revealed. There are still files that have yet to be unsealed by the CIA and many point out the flaws in the Warren Commission's investigation while the U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations concluded there was a conspiraccy to assassinate JFK.