Justice
Department rejects King conspiracy theory
by Eric Ture Muhammad
WASHINGTON�Initially met with shock and
appall, the sentiment regarding the U.S. Justice Department
announcement June 9, that it found no evidence of a conspiracy
behind the 1968 assassination of civil rights leader Rev. Martin
Luther King, Jr., is now generally perceived as meaningless. Last
December, a Memphis, Tenn., jury in the civil case of the King
family vs. Loyd Jowers found the murder of Dr. King was, in fact,
the result of a conspiracy, not the act of a lone gunman.
The Justice Department�s nearly 18-month
investigation stemmed from a request by the King family, which
doubted the guilt of James Earl Ray, who, until his prison death
in 1998, proclaimed his innocence. Without trial, Mr. Ray was
convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the April 4, 1968
assassination of Dr. King.
"This investigation of these most recent
allegations, as well as several exhaustive previous official
investigations, found no reliable evidence that Dr. King was
killed by conspirators who framed James Earl Ray," the
department said in its 138-page report. The Justice Department
rejected allegations by Mr. Jowers (who died last month) of being
paid to arrange Dr. King�s murder, as well as the testimony of a
former FBI agent.
The report also dismissed the alleged
involvement of a mysterious man named Raoul.
"If the government admitted involvement in
the assassination of Dr. King, it would strike a thunderous blow
to the United States� global credibility and in the American
psyche," commented Rev. Jesse L. Jackson, Sr. "After
all, a government that cannot apologize for the enslavement of
Africans and African Americans, or offer reparations to their
descendants for the institution of slavery, cannot admit
complicity in Dr. King�s assassination," he said.
Head investigator Barry Kowalski told
reporters, "We are convinced of our conclusion beyond a
reasonable doubt. We found no credible information to support
allegations of a conspiracy to kill Dr. King involving Jowers,
Raoul, the Mafia, Memphis police officers, figures involved in the
Kennedy assassination, federal agents, U.S. military personnel or
African-American ministers close to Dr. King,�� he said.
"Let�s remember that the Civil Rights
Division of the Justice Department is run by a person, who was
(Pres. Clinton�s) fifth choice," said activist Steve Cokely,
whose investigative team toured Memphis in March offering new
findings in the King assassination to the still highly traumatized
city. "Had Lani Guinier, Clinton�s initial choice, been in
that position, we would have had a much more thorough
investigation of the King assassination. It is evident that the
National Security Council and the president have established that
the truth in regards to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther
King is a threat to national security and stability."
A son of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., said
his family plans no further action to try to uncover a conspiracy
in his father�s 1968 assassination, but they reject Justice
Department�s finding.
"We are disappointed, but this is
certainly not something we did not expect," said Martin
Luther King III. During an Atlanta news conference on Jun 9, Mr.
King said the family had sought an independent investigation,
"because we do not believe that in such a politically
sensitive matter the government is capable of investigating
itself." He maintained that his family stands by the Memphis
civil jury�s ruling that Memphis bar owner Loyd Jowers and
"others, including government agencies" conspired to
assassinate his father.
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