[FILE 11/14]
Complete Transcript of the Martin Luther King, Jr.
Assassination Conspiracy Trial
Volume 11
2 December 1999
1545
THE CIRCUIT COURT OF SHELBY COUNTY, TENNESSEE
THIRTIETH JUDICIAL DISTRICT AT MEMPHIS
_____________________________________________
CORETTA SCOTT KING, MARTIN
LUTHER KING, III, BERNICE KING,
DEXTER SCOTT KING and YOLANDA KING,
Plaintiffs,
Vs. Case No. 97242-4 T.D.
LOYD JOWERS and OTHER UNKNOWN
CO-CONSPIRATORS,
Defendants.
_____________________________________________
PROCEEDINGS
December 2, 1999
VOLUME XI
_____________________________________________
Before the Honorable James E. Swearengen,
Division 4, Judge presiding.
______________________________________________
DANIEL, DILLINGER, DOMINSKI, RICHBERGER & WEATHERFORD
COURT REPORTERS
22nd Floor, One Commerce Square
Memphis, Tennessee 38103
(901) 529-1999
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- APPEARANCES -
For the Plaintiffs:
MR. WILLIAM PEPPER
Attorney at Law
575 Madison Avenue, Suite 1006
New York, New York 10022
(212) 605-0515
For the Defendant:
MR. LEWIS K. GARRISON, Sr.
Attorney at Law
100 North Main Street, Suite 1025
Memphis, Tennessee 38103
(901) 527-6445
Reported by:
MS. MARGIE J. ROUTHEAUX
Registered Professional Reporter
Daniel, Dillinger, Dominski, Richberger & Weatherford
2200 One Commerce Square
Memphis, Tennessee 38103
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- INDEX -
WITNESS: PAGE NUMBER
REV. SMAUEL B. KYLES
Direct Examination
By Mr. Garrison --------------- 1551
Cross-Examination
By Mr. Pepper ----------------- 1577
Redirect Examination
By Mr. Garrison --------------- 1598
FRANK W. YOUNG
Direct Examination
By Mr. Garrison --------------- 1599
Cross-Examination
By Mr. Pepper ----------------- 1613
ELI ARKIN
Direct Examination
By Mr. Garrison --------------- 1621
Cross-Examination
By Mr. Pepper ----------------- 1635
REBECCA A. CLARK
Direct Examination
By Mr. Garrison --------------- 1641
Cross-Examination
By Mr. Pepper ----------------- 1649
JOHN DOE (By Video)
Direct Examination
By Mr. Garrison --------------- 1676
LAVADA ADDISON
Deposition read by Mr. Garrison --------------- 1707
EXHIBITS
34 --------------- 1596
35 --------------- 1601
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P R O C E E D I N G S
THE COURT: Mr. Garrison and Mr. Pepper, I'd like to see you.
MR. GARRISON: Sir?
THE COURT: Come up here.
(A bench conference was held at sidebar outside the hearing of the
jury.)
THE COURT: Bring the jury out.
THE SHERIFF: Yes, sir.
(Jury In 10:25 a.m.)
THE COURT: Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen. Before we get
started, the Court has another matter that it has to deal with.
Mr. Campbell, would you come around, please, sir.
THE COURT: Mr. Campbell, my deputy had these pictures processed,
and it appears that you did take pictures of the jurors in
violation of the Court's order.
MR. CAMPBELL: I did not realize that. It wasn't on purpose, Judge.
I tried to get Mr. King, and I guess I got everybody from the
angle I had.
THE COURT: Well, I'm hoping it was inadvertance rather than
deliberate.
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And, of course, I'm going to reflect that in my judgment. But I do
find that you're violating of the order was an act of contempt,
and I'm going to impose on you a fine in the amount of $25 which
would cover the cost of the rapid development of this film and the
cost that my deputy had to incur in gas and time for having them
developed.
MR. CAMPBELL: I understand. I'm surprised they came out very good
-- good at all.
THE COURT: All right. You can settle up with the deputy.
MR. CAMPBELL: Okay. I'll have to do it later. I ran down here with
no money at all. So I'll catch you --
THE COURT: Well, we sure would hate to have to put some handcuffs
on you.
MR. CAMPBELL: Don't do that. Don't do that. I can get it. I just
got to get to the bank. When we have a break, I'll go out and
bring it back.
THE COURT: All right. You will do it before 12 o'clock.
MR. CAMPBELL: Yes, sir. I
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would like to stay for this and --
THE COURT: Well, if you consider that more important than taking
care of this --
MR. CAMPBELL: Dr. King is more important to me.
THE COURT: You can do it like you want to. But at 12 o'clock it's
either paid or I'll send you --
MR. CAMPBELL: I'm going to sit here for a while, and then I'll go
out.
THE COURT: I'm not going to advise you on it.
MR. CAMPBELL: I got you, Judge. Thank you.
THE COURT: Mr. Garrison, are you ready to proceed?
MR. GARRISON: Yes, Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right, you may.
MR. GARRISON: Call Reverend Kyles.
REV. SAMUEL B. KYLES,
Having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as
follows:
THE WITNESS: Your Honor, may I
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just have -- reflect for the record that I was subpoenaed to come,
not of my own free will.
THE COURT: All right, sir. Let the record reflect that Reverend
Kyles is here under subpoena.
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. GARRISON:
Q. Good morning, Reverend Kyles.
A. Good morning.
Q. Let me ask you, sir, if you will tell us your full name.
A. Samuel Billy Kyles.
Q. All right. And, Reverend Kyles, you've been around Memphis a
long time, haven't you?
A. 40 years.
Q. And what presently do -- what do you do presently?
A. Pastor, Monumental Baptist Church.
Q. All right, sir. And how long have you been a pastor of that
church?
A. 40 years.
Q. All right. You were here, Reverend Kyles, during the Sanitation
Strike; were
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you, sir?
A. I was.
Q. All right. And did you have the occasion during the Sanitation
Strike back in 1968 to have some conversation or association with
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.?
A. I did.
Q. Tell us, Reverend Kyles, during that time when you first recall
having any conversation with Dr. Martin Luther King.
A. The garbage workers had been on strike, I think in February.
And I was in Miami, Florida, with a group of ministers from around
the nation. Dr. King had called a group of us down there. And I
got the word that the garbage workers had gone on strike. And I
said, just rather offhandedly, you may have to come to Memphis to
help us out on the strike. I had no idea it would go that long.
And, of course, when the strike picked up momentum, we called and
-- "we" being a group called Community On The Move For Equality --
called Dr. King about coming to Memphis to make a speech for us.
This was
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in March.
Q. Of 1968?
A. Of 1968, yes, sir. And the staff says, well, he doesn't have
time to come. We're behind schedule on the Poor People's Campaign.
But he overruled the staff and came because he thought that the
garbage strike was so important and was very akin to what he was
doing with the Poor People's campaign. So that was our beginning
conversation about the strike.
Q. Let me ask you something. Back before -- before March of 1968
had you -- had you had some association with Dr. King? Had the two
of you been together in revivals or preaching or anything like
that?
A. We were pastors together, and we were in the same convention.
He was president of the Congress -- or one of the vice presidents
of the Congress. But the meeting I mentioned in Miami was a
meeting that SCLC had called of ministers of urban communities to
see what we could do about the violence and other things happening
in the community.
Q. All right, sir.
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A. So we had a relationship before his coming to Memphis.
Q. All right, sir. Now, when Dr. King first came to Memphis --
that was in March of '68; am I correct, sir? The first time --
during the first march that they had.
A. Yes, for a speech.
Q. And were you in his presence some during the time when he first
came here?
A. I'm sorry.
Q. Were you in his presence some of the time --
A. Yes.
Q. -- when he first came here?
A. Yes. Each time he came I was involved.
Q. Let me ask you, Reverend Kyles, did you have any conversation
or any meeting with Dr. King before the first march that was held
here in Memphis?
A. Yes. That's -- he came to make the speech -- not the Mountain
Top Speech, but he made another speech when he finally came. That
-- don't hold me to dates, I just can't remember.
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Q. That's fine.
A. But I'm fairly certain it was March.
Q. All right, sir. Let me ask you, when the march was held, there
was some, I guess, violence you call it. Were you present at that
time with Dr. King?
A. Yes, sir, I was.
Q. You were in the march?
A. I was, yes.
Q. All right. Now, when he left Memphis to go back to Atlanta --
at that point did you have any conversation with him about coming
back to Memphis?
A. Yes. During the march break-up, the police had been just so
vicious and so violent. There were a number of young guys who
really started breaking out windows during the march. And rather
than isolate them, the police just waded into the crowd and
started beating anybody just randomly. I was not at the front of
the march because I was trying to give some direction in the back.
And I could hear on the police radio the officers -- I heard this
-- this sound.
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I didn't even make it to Beale Street. I was still on the street
leading up to the church. And I heard this noise. And I could hear
a sound, and I could hear the police saying: Permission to break
up the march. Permission to break up the march. The Negroes are
rioting. The Negroes are rioting.
And finally the permission was granted. And he said, permission
granted. I'm listening to this on a police radio. And then this
wave of people started coming back to the church. They started
spraying tear gas and just beating people randomly. My six-year
old daughter was sprayed in the eyes with mace by some big burly
policeman.
But they were quite vicious. And we were concerned for Dr. King's
safety. So we flagged a car down. I wasn't an eye witness to this,
but this is how I'm told it happened. They flagged a car down and
went to -- took him to the nearest motel -- hotel, which was the
Rivermont Hotel. After things had calmed down, I finally went by
the hotel. He was lying on the bed fully dressed
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and was very depressed.
Q. Is that the Rivermont Hotel?
A. Yes, the Rivermont Hotel.
Q. Yes, sir, go ahead.
A. He was very depressed. And he said, Billy, what happened? I
said, I don't know. I don't know. He said, well, we have got to
have a peaceful march in Memphis. If we don't have a peaceful
march in Memphis, we can't go to Washington. The Washington march
was not going to be a march. It was really a campaign for poor
people. He had -- he had gathered poor people from the
African-American community, from Native Americans, Appalachian,
whites.
And it was not a case of going to Washington making speeches and
leaving, but we were going to build tents and live in Washington
until this nation did something about its poor. So he said, if we
don't have a peaceful march in Memphis, we can't go to Washington.
And so we determined that -- he determined that he would come
back.
That's how all the staff happened to have been in Memphis at the
time of the
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assassination because he sent the staff in to workshop Memphis so
we could have a peaceful march.
Q. All right, sir. Now, when he came back to Memphis, which was
what, April the 3rd --
A. Yes.
Q. -- '68? Did -- were you present when he arrived in Memphis?
A. No. I did not go -- I was -- I was not at the airport. I was at
the church. He came from the airport to the church and had a press
conference there at Centenary United Methodist Church where Jim
Lawson was pastor.
Q. And I believe that plans were made at some point that he and
Reverend Abernathy and some others would dine in your home that
afternoon; am I correct, sir?
A. No, that was -- not -- not that day. The 3rd they had dinner at
another place -- at another home. Usually when you're on the road
like that and you -- you're eating hotel food all the time, it's
kind of expected that somebody locally would have a home-cooked
meal. And so someone else had it the 3rd.
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Q. On the 3rd. It was your home on the 4th.
A. The 4th, yes.
Q. All right. I've got my dates wrong. So you were on the 4th.
During the date now of the 4th of April, 1968, would you tell us
what happened that day as best you recall, what transpired between
you and what you saw Dr. King --
A. Yes. Dinner was to be served at my home at six o'clock.
Q. 6 p.m.?
A. Yes.
Q. And what time did you first talk to him that day or see him
that day?
A. It was earlier that day. I think we had a minister's meeting at
one of the churches, and then he went back to the hotel -- to the
motel -- the Lorraine Motel. He went back there to conduct some
meetings.
One of the things that he was really concerned about -- and I
think the last staff meeting that he had, he got a recommitment to
non-violence from his staff.
He said, this is a non-violent
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movement. And even if you don't embrace non-violence as a
philosophy, you have to embrace it as a tactic because we're
non-violent. Now, anybody that really can't embrace non-violence
cannot be in this movement. He was very, very clear on that.
And he was meeting during the day with several groups including
his own staff. I went over to the motel about 4 o'clock. I told he
and Ralph that dinner was at 5 because we were already running so
late. When I got to the room, knocked on the door, and they let me
in. And I said, okay, it's almost 5 o'clock. And they said, oh,
no, we called the house, dinner is not until 6, and we're not in a
hurry. And that gave me that wonderful privilege of spending the
last hour, he and Abernathy and myself, in Room 306 waiting for
the 5 o'clock hour -- or the 6 o'clock hour.
Q. Now, I know I've seen you talk about this. You said you talked
preacher talk while you were there, is that --
A. Well, the night before -- the Mountain Top Speech was so
unusual, so
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different than what we had heard. The reporters were very curious
as to what mood he was in the next day and how -- had he come off
that. The Mountain Top Speech almost didn't take place because
there were thunder storm warnings that night, and it was
thundering and lightning and raining.
And he thought there would not be many people at the temple. So he
told Abernathy, Jesse Jackson and myself and others to go over and
have the meeting. He would stay at the hotel and work on the Poor
People's campaign.
Well, when we got there, there were -- the place was nearly full
-- more than half filled. And even though it was raining and
thundering and lightning, people came. And so when Abernathy
walked in and I walked in and Jesse Jackson walked in, the people
started clapping. And Abernathy's preacher sense told him -- he
said, these people are not clapping for us, they think Martin is
behind us. Show me a phone, let me go call Martin. So he went and
called him.
He said, man, you need to get over
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here. These people have come to hear you. And we're not -- I'm not
making a speech tonight. And so he said, if you think I need to
come, I'll come. We almost missed his Mountain Top Speech. But he
did come and -- and that night he dwelt on death more than I had
ever heard him.
He talked about the time that he was stabbed in New York City. A
woman came up to him and said, are you Dr. King? He said yes. And
she stabbed him in the chest with a letter opener. And he said of
all the -- he's telling this at the meeting.
He said of all the greetings I got, the most telling came from a
young girl who wrote: Dear Dr. King, I read about your misfortune.
And the paper said that the blade was so close to your aorta that
if you had sneezed, you would have drowned in your own blood. And
she put at the bottom: I'm glad you didn't sneeze.
And he picked up on that and did a whole litany on I'm glad I
didn't sneeze. If I had sneezed I would have missed the march, I
would have -- he just listed all of the
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things he would have missed. And by that time we were on our feet,
we were crying, and there was such passion and pathos in his
voice. I mean, we just -- we didn't know what to do.
And he just said, I'm not fearing any man. I may not get to the
Promise Land with you, but you -- we as a people will get to the
Promise Land. And I thought about that. And I'm so certain that he
knew he wouldn't get there, but we couldn't stand to hear him say,
I won't get there. So he said, I may not. He softened it for us. I
may not get there with you. And it was such a powerful
presentation.
And so the press was very curious as to what mood he was in after
that. But after that, the next day, he was all right. I mean, he
was back doing what he needed to do.
Q. Let me ask you this. At that point had you been aware of
threats against Dr. King? Had you heard about it or had any
first-hand knowledge?
A. That was always the case. There were
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always threats. There were always threats.
Q. How were these threats communicated, through telephone calls,
or how did they come about?
A. I'm sure many of them were phone calls. Some of them were
written. But he -- he would say that he's not going to -- he's not
going to live in that fear. He just wouldn't let that -- and I
think part of what that speech was about at Mason Temple was
preaching through the fear of death. He preached it out of him. He
just got it out of him. He said, I'm just not fearing any man. I'm
not worried about anything.
And I'm not sure he knew that it was as imminent as it was. But he
-- he just preached through it. And then -- and lived with -- with
that fear.
Q. Now tell us, Reverend Kyles, on the day of the assassination
what happened there. Walk us through that if you can.
A. When I went to -- to get them at the motel and told them it was
time to go and they said, no, no, no, we got another hour.
So in the room, Abernathy had washed one of
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those drip-dry shirts, and he couldn't button it. So he took it
off. And he said, Ralph, you mean you're not going to wear that --
that shirt, and I washed it? He said, I can't button it.
So he took it off. And he was speaking very kindly about his
father and mother. Three preachers in the room really talking.
Ralph needed an Evangelist to preach a revival in Atlanta. And
Martin said, why don't you get Kyles? And when I was told -- I
said, what date is it? And they gave me the date. I said, well, I
will be in Columbus, Georgia, preaching for Fred Lofton, who is
now pastor here of Metropolitan. He was in Columbus.
Martin said, wait a minute. Anybody with good sense would rather
spend a week preaching in Atlanta than Columbus, Georgia.
So I said, does that mean I don't have good sense? He said, I
didn't say that. Hear what I said. Anybody with good sense would
rather spend a week preaching in Atlanta. And it was very light.
And I'm so glad it was. It was light conversation.
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He talked about what we were having for dinner. And we had
recently purchased a new home. And he said, now, if we go there
and you bought a home and can't buy furniture and -- like a friend
in Atlanta. A preacher bought a house, I won't call his name, but
we had to eat on a card table, and the kool-aid was hot and the
ham was cold. He said, if that happens at your house, I'm going to
spread it on you. So he was in a very light mood.
And we did that until about quarter to six and we walked on the
balcony. He stepped on the balcony. And he was greeting people he
had not seen. And he saw Jesse and he told Jesse -- Jesse Jackson
-- you're not dressed for dinner. He didn't have a suit on or
something. Jesse said, I didn't know a shirt and tie was a
prerequisite, I thought an appetite was and I have that.
And he spoke to Chauncy Eskridge and his -- his lawyer from
Chicago, and we stood together on the balcony. And someone said,
it's going to be cold tonight. Abernathy was still in the room
putting on shaving lotion.
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And Martin went back to the door. He didn't go in the room. He
said, Ralph, get my coat. And he came back to the balcony and was
greeting people again.
Jesse said, this is Ben Branch who is a musician from Chicago who
grew up in Memphis. And Jesse Jackson was having a conversation
with Martin and Ben Branch. Martin and I stood together greeting.
I said, come on, guys, let's go. I got about five steps and the
shot rang out. I looked back, and I saw him lying on the balcony.
One of his feet was hanging through the railing. There was a
tremendous hole in his face. There was a bigger wound under his
shirt that we couldn't see, and there was blood everywhere.
And I ran in the room, picked up the phone to call an ambulance.
The phone is operator assisted. The operator had left the switch
board. She was out in the courtyard. And when she saw that Dr.
King had been shot, she had a heart attack. And she died the next
day. She was the motel owner's wife.
And then I ran back out. The police
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were coming with their guns drawn. And I hollered to them: Call an
ambulance on your police radio. Dr. King has been shot. And they
said: Where did the shot come from? And the picture you see of
people pointing is in response to them saying "where did the shot
come from?"
Q. Where were you at this point? Were you up on the balcony?
A. I was still up on the balcony running between the room and the
balcony. When the police got there, they secured the balcony. Some
people had come up, but they wouldn't let others come up. And then
we finally got someone on the switchboard. They did call the
ambulance. I took the spread from one of the beds in the room and
covered him from his neck down. Someone put a towel to his face.
And there was just -- just -- blood was just everywhere.
Q. Reverend Kyles, did you know a young gentleman named Marrell
McCullough at that point?
A. I heard his name, but I didn't know who he was until -- I guess
when this trial
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started I knew who he was.
Q. That's the first time you ever heard his name called?
A. No. I heard his name before, but I really didn't know who he
was.
Q. Well, was he up there that day when Dr. King --
A. I'm told that he's on the photograph. I don't know. I don't
know him. I didn't know him, so I don't know.
Q. Now, when Dr. King -- when the shot was fired, are you still on
the balcony or were you going down the steps at that time?
A. No, I was still on the balcony.
Q. How many feet would you say you were away from him roughly?
A. Five.
Q. Do you remember at that time which direction you were facing?
A. The -- I was going down the right side, so that would be north.
Q. All right. So you would have been facing north looking toward
the back, I guess --
A. The back of the buildings on Main
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Street.
Q. All right. And when you heard the shot, did it sound like a
shot? Did it sound like a shot to you from a gun?
A. It's -- yes, it sounded like a shot. But I really kind of
thought it was a car back-firing until I saw people ducking.
Everybody on the ground took for cover. And then I realized it was
-- it was the shot.
Q. All right, sir. And did you look back in the direction of the
bush area of the rooming house and all -- did you look back in
that direction?
A. Yes. I did, yes.
Q. Did you see any movement of anyone in that area at all?
A. I did not.
Q. All right. And you had a clear view where you could see. Wasn't
anything obstructing your view since you were up on the balcony;
is that right?
A. Yes, I would have had a clear view. I'm sure I looked in that
direction, but I guess I was in such shock I can't -- I can't say
that.
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Q. Reverend Kyles, you've talked to, I know, many, many people and
read many things and had many conferences about this. Can I ask
you this, sir. Is it your opinion or has it been your opinion that
James Earl Ray acted alone in this case?
A. Never has. The first interview I gave after that I said I was
certain that there was a conspiracy -- that others were involved.
I thought there was enough physical evidence to point to James
Earl Ray. But all day that day of April the 4th, I heard on the
radio and all the news casts: Martin Luther King, Jr., is back in
town to lead a march. He's at the Lorraine Motel in Room 306.
And I finally mentioned that to Andy Young. I said, Andy, they're
putting Martin's room number on the radio. And he said, yes, we
need to check it. But I don't think he ever did because he was in
court down here trying to get the injunction lifted against the
march.
And I just knew that any news person who came into the -- into the
news room and
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took that off the teletype would read that copy. But somebody had
to put it in there. And that -- that was just too many details to
give in a regular news cast. So all the interviews that I've given
over the -- over the years, I've mentioned from day 1 that I
thought more people were involved than Mr. Ray.
Q. But you have no first-hand knowledge of anyone else.
A. I do not.
Q. Of course you didn't see anything else that day. Could you tell
us which direction or which -- where did the shot seem to come
from to you when you heard it? Which direction was it from the
position you were standing in?
A. As I said, I thought it was a car back-firing. So I looked over
the -- I looked over the railing when I saw people ducking. That's
when I realized it was a shot. I don't know at what point -- I
don't -- I really don't know if I'm one of the people pointing. I
don't think I am. I mean, it's just -- I was in shock. I just
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really don't know.
Q. Let me ask you, Reverend Kyles -- now, you had talked to Dr.
King about the Poor People's March which was, what, planned for
later in that year?
A. Yes.
Q. And had you planned to be a part of that campaign?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. And had Dr. King had any feedback from anyone in the
Capitol about this march that you're aware of?
A. They did not want it to happen. It was -- it was so dramatic.
It was something that had not been done before. If we had gone to
make speeches and come back, that would have been okay. But when
you talk about building tents -- a tent city, which we eventually
did, and living on the mall, that was different. That had not --
nothing like that had been done with regard to the Civil Rights
movement. And it was a very bold step.
And it had come to us that Martin was not to reach Washington with
the Poor
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People's campaign. There was no long-range plan for him even to
come to Memphis because the staff really didn't want him to come.
They didn't have time. But I think the order was that he was not
to reach Washington, so it happened --
Q. Are you aware of the speech with Senator Byrd a few days before
that he made where he was very critical of Dr. King and indicated
what would happen if the march took place, how he would tear up
the Capitol, and how it would evolve around the world?
A. I know about that speech. I heard that. And also there was a
concern that with as many soldiers being away at Vietnam that if
something broke out in Washington, it would just -- it would
exacerbate the whole thing.
Q. Do you know of any security that was around Dr. King when the
assassination occurred?
A. No, there was not. There was -- the police were there so
quickly because they were stationed -- after the march broke up,
every fire station in the black community had
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a TAC squad comprised of local police, sheriffs, national guard
and the like. And they had tanks and that whole thing. They had
all of it. And they were just -- right across from the motel is a
fire station, and they were there at that fire station.
Plus, we also found out that we were under surveillance. There
were policemen in the fire house spying on us. I don't have the
facts to this, but -- I mean, the first-hand knowledge, but I was
told that the young fellow who was assigned to do the surveillance
that day had such guilt that he became an alcoholic, that he
couldn't live with the fact that he had spied on Dr. King. And I
don't know -- subsequently I think he died. I don't know if he
took his life or what.
Q. Did he have the same security on this visit that he had on
previous visits from the police department?
A. No, because the police had been so -- they had been so vicious
at that march that the committee -- the Committee On the Move --
the umbrella group that all of us worked
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under called COME, Committee On the Move for Equality, said we
don't want the police around. We just don't want them around, and
we'll deal with them later.
The security that they would have had would have been at least two
African-American policemen that they assigned to us at our
discretion. And so it wasn't like a large contingent or something
pulled off. It simply meant the guys who would be with him as
bodyguards. But that had happened -- that had happened after that
terrible march break-up by the police.
Q. Let me ask you, Reverend Kyles, do you know -- or had word
reached Dr. King that Washington didn't want him to come up to the
Capitol and have this --
A. Oh, I'm sure it had.
Q. Did you ever have a conversation with him about it?
A. No, I didn't.
Q. After the shot was fired, the only policemen that you saw were
ones who came running up with their guns drawn; is that correct,
sir?
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A. Yes, two of them -- two policemen. Could have been three, but I
think it was two.
Q. Did you see any movement of police cars in and around the area
just down below the balcony there?
A. No, I did not.
MR. GARRISON: That's all I have. Thank you.
THE COURT: Mr. Pepper?
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MS. AKINS:
Q. Good morning, Reverend Kyles.
A. Good morning.
Q. You testified that it sounded like a car back-firing. So I'm
assuming that -- and tell me if I'm wrong. I'm assuming that the
sound came more from a downward location than an upward location;
is that correct?
A. I couldn't say. That could be true. I mean, I just thought it
was -- I didn't think it was a shot.
Q. But cars are usually on the streets somewhere; is that correct?
A. Yes.
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Q. That's true, okay. You mentioned that you were aware that there
was some surveillance on Dr. King's activities; is that correct?
A. That's true.
Q. And -- now, would it surprise you if this surveillance
consisted of video or audio surveillances? Would that surprise you
any?
A. Oh, no, it would not.
Q. Okay. Would it surprise you that every move that was made by
Dr. King was somehow being recorded?
A. No. We knew that.
Q. You knew that?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. You testified that you knew that there was a young fellow
who had -- was part of surveillance team. Was that the first --
A. I was told this, yes. I don't know him for sure. I don't know
him.
Q. You don't know him. But you testified that this person had so
much guilt that he later committed suicide.
A. No. I said he later became an
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alcoholic and he died. I don't know if he committed suicide or
not.
Q. Okay. I'm sorry. Now, would it surprise you that that young
fellow's name was Richmond -- would it be Richmond? Were you aware
of his name?
A. No, I didn't know him. I mean, we were under surveillance too.
I mean, it wasn't just the surveillance of Dr. King. The local --
local leadership was under constant surveillance by the local
police. As I said, they were just -- they were quite vicious
toward us.
Q. Now, the person that did that surveillance, he was actually
here in court. He's not dead, okay?
A. Oh, okay.
Q. He was here. He came to court and he testified. I want to give
you a copy of his report. It's Exhibit Number 22. If you would
turn to the fourth page, I believe. Well, actually, third page,
I'm sorry.
A. I'm sorry.
Q. Third page.
A. Front page?
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Q. Third page.
A. Third, okay.
Q. At the bottom, approximately the sixth paragraph, it starts at
-- let's go to "at 2:05." Do you see that?
A. Mm-hum, I see it.
Q. "At 2:05 p.m. Reverend Samuel Kyles arrived and went to Room
307, departed at 2:23 p.m. Do you -- who was in Room 307?
A. I think that room was already occupied, I think. That's where
-- I think that's the room with the big bed where Martin
ordinarily would have stayed but I think was occupied.
Q. What were you doing in Room 307?
A. I'm sorry.
Q. What were you doing in Room 307? What was going on in Room 307?
A. I don't know that that's the room I went to. It's been a good
while ago. I had a room there at the motel that we always kept for
people who -- who would come in -- VIP's who would come in. I was
one of the few people who had an American Express card. And I had
secured a room. As it turned out, his
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brother did come unannounced.
Now, whether that room was 307, I'm not sure. It might have been a
-- I think 307 was occupied by someone else, and that was the room
that -- if you go to the motel now at the museum, you will see in
307 a large king-size bed where Dr. King would have ordinarily
stayed, but I think somebody was in that room. So he and Dr.
Abernathy both stayed in 306 with two beds.
Q. Okay. Now, Dorothy Cotton -- Dorothy Cotton, do you know who
she was?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. Now, that was her room, okay?
A. I don't know. I mean, I don't know who was in that room.
Q. I'm just telling you that that was her room --
A. Oh.
Q. -- maybe to refresh your memory as to what you were doing --
A. Okay.
Q. -- in Room 307 at that time.
A. I don't remember going -- I don't know if -- I didn't go to
that room. I don't
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know -- I don't recall going to that room.
Q. Okay. I understand. It was a long time ago. That's fine. It
says you arrived at 2:05 and you left at 2:23. Do you remember --
whatever room you went to whether it -- do you remember what --
where did you go at 2:23?
A. I don't recall at all really. I really don't. I don't know if
he got the room numbers mixed up. I know there was some
conversation about my not having gone in 306 at all.
Q. And that's not what I'm talking about now. I'm talking about
earlier in the -- before the shooting, we're talking at 2 o'clock.
A. Quite frankly, I don't remember going to that room.
Q. Okay. Can you turn to the next page. Let's start from "at
approximately 5:50." It's at the very top of that. Do you see
that?
A. Yes.
Q. Would you read that?
A. "At approximately 5:50, John B.
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Smith, Milton Black, Charles Cabbage and one female colored and
approximately six or seven more of the Invaders opened the door of
their room, and I could see them gathering their belongings. They
then brought them downstairs and placed them in the trunk of a
light blue Mustang, license BF3-750. And they left the motel area
going to meet -- going west on Butler to Main.
"Immediately after the Invaders left, the Reverend Samuel Kyles
came out of Room 312 and went to the room where Martin Luther King
was living. He knocked on the door and Martin came to the door.
They said a few words between each other, and the Reverend Martin
Luther King went back into the room closing the door behind him,
and the Reverend Kyles remained on the porch."
Q. Now, this is the written statement that was recorded on -- on
that day saying that you arrived -- you went to Dr. King's room at
5 -- some time after 5:50, okay. Yet you testified that you had
been there one hour earlier.
A. That's true.
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Q. Okay. So you're saying that this report is not correct?
A. I am.
Q. Okay. You also have testified that James -- at the James Earl
Ray hearing; is that not correct?
A. I have.
Q. And on that day you said that you had been there for an hour.
A. Yes.
Q. Isn't it true that you've gotten much notoriety out of wearing
that title as being one of the people -- one of the few people who
were with King the last hour of his death (sic)?
A. No, I have not.
Q. Isn't it true that people have wanted -- old women have wanted
to just come and shake your hand just because you were there? Yes?
No? Yes? No?
A. When I said to my audiences that it was a wonderful privilege
for me to have spent the last hour of Martin's life on earth, I
did that because there is such interest in his life. And I had to
wonder
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for a very long time: Why was I there?
Q. But it was interest in his life; is that not correct?
A. Why -- that's right, in his life. Why was I there?
Q. You --
A. And I didn't quite finish.
THE COURT: You may finish.
Q. (BY MS. AKINS) Go ahead.
A. It took some time for the revelation to come. I had some
feelings I couldn't even express. It took a good while. I said, if
he hadn't been going to my home, would he have been killed? If he
hadn't have been coming to Memphis, would he have been killed? And
then God revealed to me why I was there. I was there to be a
witness. And my witness is that his life was so wonderful and so
full. That he didn't die in some foolish way. He didn't die
overdosing or a jealous lover's gun, but he died helping garbage
workers.
And so as I share that story with people, they will come up and
shake my hand. They will say, may I shake your hand because
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you knew Dr. King. I've sought no notoriety out of this. And I
just -- I think I know where that came from. I'm sorry.
Q. Okay. That's -- since you were so adamant about finishing your
statement, let's go back to my question. What is the answer to the
question?
A. Have I received notoriety from --
Q. Well, actually --
A. -- from Dr. King's death?
Q. No, that's the one you answered. The one you didn't answer was:
Wasn't it true that women -- old women have just wanted to come
and just shake your hand because of the fact that you were
present?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. That's all I asked. You were one of the organizers or the
planners of the 30th anniversary celebration of Dr. King; is that
not correct?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. And that was a big event here in Memphis?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. And was that event
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city-funded? Did you get private donations? How did that come
about?
A. Private donations.
Q. I want to -- it's going to take him some time to get that
warmed up. When you testified earlier, you testified about how Dr.
King -- I think you said that the night before his speech dealt --
kind of dealt with death -- was on the topic of death. Is that
correct?
A. I said he dealt with the whole question of the fear of death.
Q. And is it your opinion that you think he might have had some
type of premonition or that he --
A. Oh, yes, he did.
Q. That he knew that something -- didn't know when, but just knew
--
A. He always said he would never live to be forty. Not that he
didn't want to, he just thought he never would.
Q. Okay. I'm going to show you a video.
(Whereupon said video was played for the Court and Jury.)
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Reverend Kyles: "And so we will be gathering in Memphis April 3rd
through 5th. And we planned a number of activities. Some of the
activities are geared especially for the young who did not have a
chance to -- to get the feel to know what the Civil Rights
Movement actually was about. Even as they marched, now they could
have stopped in a hotel. But when you think about marching from
Memphis to Jackson or Jackson to Memphis, there weren't hotels.
"You stayed in churches. You stayed in people's homes. And -- and
that's how we got over. That's how we got through. The struggle
was a very -- was a spiritual struggle. You couldn't pay people to
do what we had to do. You couldn't pay people to stand before mad
dogs and fire hoses and billy clubs and cattle prods. It was
strictly a spiritual and moral movement.
"So we wanted that dimension to be in the pilgrimage to Memphis.
We will revisit the Mountain Top Speech site. That's the Mason's
Temple where Dr. King made his last address. Which he almost
didn't make
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because the night that we were having that rally, there were
tornado warnings, that he was behind on the Poor People's
campaign.
"And he said, you guys go on over and have the rally. I'm going to
stay at the motel and work on the Poor People's Campaign. When we
got there and Dr. Abernathy walked in and Jesse Jackson walked in
and I walked in and others, people started clapping because they
thought Martin was behind us. And so Ralph's preacher sense said
to him, this is not our crowd. And he went to the phone and called
Dr. King.
"And any of the marches that -- that -- that we had in those days,
you had the opportunity to bring the children and bring the family
and march with us. And when I finished sharing with them the last
hour of Dr. King's life ... but that gave me the wonderful
privilege of spending the last hour on earth. Three preachers in a
room -- Abernathy, King and Kyles. And we spent that last hour
together in Room 306 at the Lorraine Motel.
"The press is always curious and
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writers -- what went on? What did you talk about? I say, we just
talked preacher talk. What preachers talk about when they get
together, revivals and all the like. About a quarter of six we
walked on the balcony, and he was talking to people in the
courtyard. He stood here, and I stood there. Only as I moved away
so he could have a clear shot, the shot rang out.
"I turned around and it had knocked him back on the balcony. This
tremendous hole was in his face, and all of this was torn out
under his shirt. We couldn't see that. The bullet mushroomed and
tore all of his insides out. He was bleeding profusely. I ran in
the room, picked up the phone and tried to get the operator. The
phone was operator-assisted.
"I said, answer the phone, answer the phone. And no one answered
the phone because the operator left the phone -- switchboard and
came out in the courtyard. When she saw what happened, she had a
heart attack on the spot. So there was no one on the phone. I came
back out and hollered to
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the police: Call an ambulance on your police radio. They were
coming with their guns drawn saying, where did the shot come from?
The picture you see pointing is in answer to the police saying,
‘Where did the shot come from?’ And the point is in
the direction of the rooming house.
"And, of course, he finally came -- the ambulance finally came. I
kept shaking my head trying to wake up because I thought I was
having a nightmare. But I was -- I was not having a nightmare. It
was real. I took the spread from bed and covered him from his neck
down. Somebody put a towel to his face. And I had to wonder,
Reverend Campbell, a long time, of all the places I could have
been, all the places that Martin could have been, why was I there,
why was it at that moment?
"And I had to find out, through living, God revealed to me that I
was there to be a witness -- a witness that Martin Luther King,
Jr., didn't die in some foolish way. He didn't O.D. He wasn't
robbing somebody, wasn't running from the scene of a
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crime. But he came to Memphis to help garbage workers -- the least
of these. And so we commemorate the life and times.
"I started telling you about the Louisville trip. 80-year old lady
came up on the stage. I said, no, ma'am, I'll come down there. She
says, no, I want to come up. 30 years later she came up. And she
was shaking with her program in her hand. And she said, I have
never in my life -- I'm 87 years old. I have never asked the mayor
for an autograph. But because you had your hand in Dr. King's
hand, I want your autograph. 30 years later.
"And so we commemorate this great American. Join us in Memphis,
April 3rd through 5th. The first SCLC meeting after Dr. King's
death was in Room 306. Reverend Jim Orange was right there in that
meeting. Thank you again, Mr. Mayor, we appreciate what you're
doing" --
The Mayor: "Thank you, sir."
Rev. Kyles: -- "in support of all these people who are here."
(End of videotape portion.)
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Q. (BY MS. AKINS) Now, that was you at the 30th anniversary of --
well, discussing the 30th anniversary.
A. That's correct.
Q. And in that you again stated that you were -- had been with
King the last hour of his death (sic); is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. Now, can you tell us any reason why Lieutenant Richmond would
want to lie about the whereabouts -- what you was doing at that
time?
A. I just think he made a mistake. I think the whole idea of him
spying was just -- he just -- it was too much for him. If that's
the young man you're talking about. I don't know him. I never met
him. But I was -- I was -- the information just came to me. I just
think he was in error. I think he was newly on the force too at
that time.
Q. So you think he was in error when he said that you arrived at
2:05, left at 2:30, then subsequently arrived and went to Room
312, then left Room 312 at 10 after 5 -- all
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of the activities involving you he made a mistake on?
A. He could have made it on others too, I don't know. I'm not --
I'm really not following what we're trying to do here. I mean, I
don't know. I came as a witness for this man because I was
subpoenaed. Now it sounds like I'm on trial or something. I don't
understand this.
Q. Reverend Kyles, I represent the plaintiff, and this is
cross-examination time. That's what I'm doing, okay. Just bear
with me. I only have just really one more question to ask you. And
-- concerning -- well, actually, I guess two more. You've heard
the tape and your account of the events. What is your feeling
about that?
A. I'm sorry.
Q. You've heard the tape and your recount -- or your account of
the events that occurred.
A. The amazing thing to me again is that people are so interested
in his life 30 years after his death. If that gives me notoriety
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because I share that -- they want to hear it. I mean, I don't -- I
don't know what -- I don't know what to say.
Q. No. I mean, what is your opinion concerning the tape? That was
you.
A. Yes, I was in Jackson, Mississippi. 30th celebration -- 30-year
celebration of the assassination of Dr. King.
And I shared that information at a press conference on the steps
of the mayor's -- of City Hall in Jackson, Mississippi.
Q. And that was the recording of -- that occurred in Jackson?
A. Yes.
MS. AKINS: Okay. Your Honor, I would like to move this as -- into
evidence, the video tape.
THE COURT: Any objection?
MS. AKINS: Now, one more question.
MR. GARRISON: The report of
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Officer Richmond?
THE COURT: No, the tape.
MR. GARRISON: I don't have any objection.
THE COURT: All right.
(Whereupon said videotape was marked as Exhibit Number 34.)
Q. (BY MS. AKINS) When you gave an account of what occurred, you
mentioned "he." And I want to know who "he" was. Can you replay
that section, please.
(Whereupon a portion of the videotape was replayed for the Court
and Jury.)
Rev. Kyles: "What preachers talk about when they get together,
revivals and all the like. About a quarter of 6 we walked on the
balcony, and he was talking to people in the courtyard. He stood
here and I stood there. Only as I moved away so he could have a
clear shot, the shot rang out."
(End of videotape portion.)
Q. (BY MS. AKINS) Who was "he"? You said, "only as I moved away,
so he could have a clear shot." And I want to know who "he"
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was. Who was the person that you moved away to give him a clear
shot?
A. In the conversation I was talking about James Earl Ray.
Q. Okay. One second. Just to make sure there's no confusion, you
moved away so James Earl Ray could get a clear shot?
A. Only as I moved away. I don't think he wanted to risk shooting
the wrong person, whoever shot him.
Q. Okay.
A. And since we both were standing there, we're both
African-American men, he wanted to be sure that he hit the right
-- the problem we had, we thought if he had kept shooting he could
wipe out the whole staff because they were all exposed -- all of
us were exposed.
Q. So you're moving away so that he could --
A. My moving away had to do with going to get in the car to go to
my house for dinner. That's what my moving away had to do with.
MS. AKINS: Okay. I have no
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further questions.
REDIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. GARRISON:
Q. Reverend Kyles, let me ask you this, sir. In referring to this
statement that was just seen, you said, "so he could get a shot."
You're referring to James Earl Ray, that was your --
A. Yes.
Q. -- thinking, wasn't it?
A. That's who I was referring to, yes.
MR. GARRISON: That's all. Thank you, sir.
THE COURT: Anything further?
All right. Reverend Kyles, you may stand down, and you can remain
in the courtroom or you're free to leave.
THE WITNESS: Thank you.
(Witness excused.)
THE COURT: Let's take a short break.
(Brief break taken.)
THE COURT: Mr. Garrison, are you ready?
MR. GARRISON: Yes, sir.
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THE COURT: Bring the jury.
THE SHERIFF: Yes, sir.
(Jury in 11:48 a.m.)
THE COURT: Mr. Campbell.
MR. CAMPBELL: Yes, sir.
THE COURT: Did you give him those other pictures?
THE SHERIFF: I'm going to do it.
THE COURT: All right. We're ready to proceed.
MR. GARRISON: Call Mr. Warren Young.
FRANK WARREN YOUNG,
Having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as
follows:
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. GARRISON:
Q. Tell us your full name, please, sir.
A. It's Frank Warren Young.
Q. And, Mr. Young, where are you employed, sir?
A. Shelby County Criminal Clerks's Office.
Q. Mr. William Key, who was here
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earlier, is a criminal court clerk?
A. Yes, sir, he is.
Q. And you work in that office?
A. I do, yes, sir.
Q. Pursuant to a subpoena did you bring certain records to the
court today?
A. Yes, sir, I did.
Q. And would you explain to the Court and the Jury what those
records consist of.
A. It's a transcript of Mr. Ray's guilty plea that was entered in
Judge Battle's court on March the 10th, 1969.
Q. All right, sir. And I provided with you a copy. And would you
tell His Honor and Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury if the copy I
provided you -- is it a replica, a direct copy, of the one that
what you have in the Court.
A. I've looked at it and, yes, sir, it is.
MR. GARRISON: I'd like to have that marked as an exhibit to his
testimony at this time.
THE COURT: Any objection?
MR. PEPPER: No objection.
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(Whereupon said document was marked as Trial Exhibit Number 35.)
Q. (BY MR. GARRISON) Mr. Young -- just hand it back to him. Do you
have a copy -- it says "Petition For Waiver Of Trial And Request
For Acceptance Of Plea Of Guilty." Do you have that copy, sir?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And that's signed by you. It has the signature of the
defendant, James Earl Ray. All right, sir. Now, let me ask you if
you will turn over then to the part that says "Voir Dire Of
Defendant On Waiver And Order." Do you see that?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Would you read what you see there and down there through the
next page and the end of the first three pages?
A. I will. Yes, sir. This is Judge Battle: "James Earl Ray, stand.
Have your lawyers explained all your rights to you and do you
understand that?"
The defendant answered: "Yes."
Judge Battle: "Do you know that you have a right to a trial by
jury on the charge
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of Murder in the First Degree against you, the punishment for
Murder in the First Degree ranging from death by electrocution to
any time over 20 years? The burden of proof is on the State of
Tennessee to prove you guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and to a
moral certainty, and the decision of the Jury must be unanimous
both as to guilt and punishment.
"In the event of a jury's verdict against you, you would have the
right to file a Motion for a New Trial addressed to the trial
judge. In the event of an adverse ruling against you on your
Motion for a New Trial, you would have the right to successive
appeals to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals and the Supreme
Court of Tennessee and to file a petition for review by the
Supreme Court of the United States. Do you understand that you
have all these rights?"
The defendant answered: "Yes."
Judge Battle: "You are entering a plea of Guilty to Murder in the
First Degree as charged in the Indictment and are compromising and
settling your case on agreed
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punishment of ninety-nine years in the State Penitentiary. Is this
what you want to do?"
Defendant answered: "Yes."
Judge Battle: "Do you understand that you are waiving, which means
`giving up,' a formal trial by your Plea of Guilty although the
laws of this State require the prosecution to present certain
evidence to a jury in all cases of Pleas of Guilty to Murder in
the First Degree?
"By your plea of guilty, you're also waiving your rights to (1)
Motion for a New Trial; (2) Successive Appeals to the Supreme
Court of Criminal Appeals and the Supreme Court of Tennessee; (3)
Petition for Review by the Supreme Court of the United States.
"By your plea of guilty, you are also abandoning and waiving your
objections and exceptions to all the Motions and Petitions in
which the Court has heretofore ruled against you in whole or in
part, among them being:
"1. Motion to withdraw a plea and quash indictment.
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2. Motion to inspect evidence
3. Motion to remove lights and cameras from jail
4. Motion for private consultation with attorney
5. Petition to authorize defendant to take depositions
6. Motion to permit conference with Huie
7. Motion to permit photographs
8. Motion to designate court reporters
9. Motion to stipulate testimony.
10. Suggestion of proper name."
The defendant answered: "Yes."
Judge Battle: "Has anything besides this sentence of ninety-nine
years in the penitentiary been promised to you to get you to plead
guilty? Has anything else been promised to you by anyone?"
The defendant answered: "No."
Judge Battle: "Has any pressure of any kind by anyone in any way
been used on you to get you to plead guilty?"
Defendant answered: "No."
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Judge Battle: "Are you pleading guilty to Murder in the First
Degree in this case because you killed Dr. Martin Luther King
under such circumstances that would make you legally guilty of
Murder in the First Degree under the law as explained to you by
your lawyers?"
The defendant answered: "Yes."
Judge Battle: "Is this the Plea of Guilty to Murder in the First
Degree with agreed punishment of ninety-nine years in the State
Penitentiary, freely, voluntarily and understandingly made and
entered by you?"
The defendant answered: "Yes."
Judge Battle: "Is this plea of guilty on your part the free act of
your free will, made with your full knowledge and understanding of
its meaning and consequences?"
The defendant answered: "Yes."
Judge Battle said: "You may be seated."
Q. (BY MR. GARRISON) Then would you turn over to Page 1 of the
transcript and down where it says "this is a compromise and
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settlement," would you start reading there.
A. Where I had previously read?
Q. On Page 1 of the transcript.
A. Oh, yes, sir. "James Earl Ray, Guilty Plea," it's entitled,
Monday, March 10, 1969.
The Court: "The calendar has been transferred to Division 1. All
right. I believe the only matter we have pending before us is the
matter of James Earl Ray."
Mr. Foreman: "Would Your Honor give me just a minute?"
The Court: "Yes, sir."
Mr. Foreman: "May it please the Court, in this cause we have
prepared the defendant, and I have" --
Q. Signed.
A. -- "signed and Mr. Hugh Stanton, Sr. and Jr. will now sign a
Petition for Waiver of Trial and Request for Acceptance of Plea of
Guilty. We have an order. I believe the Clerk has this."
The Court: "This is a compromise and settlement on a plea of
guilty to murder in the first degree and an agreed settlement
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of 99 years in the penitentiary; is that true?"
Mr. Foreman: "That's the agreement, Your Honor."
The Court: "Is that the agreement? All right. I'll have to voir
dire Mr. Ray.
James Earl Ray, stand. Have you" --
Q. That's "a lawyer."
A. "Have you a lawyer to explain all your rights to you and do you
understand them?"
Answer: "Yes, sir."
The Court: "Do you know that you have a right to a trial by jury
on a charge of Murder in the First Degree against you, the
punishment for Murder in the First Degree ranging from death by
electrocution to any time over 20 years? The burden of proof is on
the State of Tennessee to prove you guilty beyond a reasonable
doubt and to a moral certainty. And the decision of the jury must
be unanimous, both as to guilt and punishment. In the event of a
jury verdict against you, you would have the right to file a
Motion for a New Trial addressed to the
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Trial Judge.
"In the event of an adverse ruling against you on your Motion for
a New Trial, you would have the right to successive appeals to the
Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals and the Supreme Court of
Tennessee and to file a Petition for Review by the Supreme Court
of the United States. Do you understand that you have all these
rights?"
Answer: "Yes, sir."
The Court: "You're entering a Plea of Guilty to Murder in the
First Degree as charged in the indictment and are compromising and
settling your case on an agreed punishment of 99 years in the
State Penitentiary. Is this what you want to do?"
Answer: "Yes, I do."
The Court: "Is this what you want to do?"
Answer: "Yes, sir."
The Court: "Do you understand you are waiving, which means giving
up, a formal trial by your Plea of Guilty although the laws of
this State require the prosecution to present certain evidence to
a jury in all
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cases on pleas of guilty to Murder in the First Degree? By your
plea of guilty, you are also waiving your right to: (1) Your
Motion for a New Trial; (2) Successive appeals to the Supreme
Court, to the Tennessee Court of Criminal Appeals and the Supreme
Court of Tennessee; and (3) Petition to Review by the Supreme
Court of the United States. By your plea of guilty, you are also
abandoning and waiving your objections and exceptions to all the
motions and petitions in which the Court has heretofore ruled
against you in whole or in part.
"Among them being: (1) Motion to Withdraw Plea and Quash
Indictment; (2) Motion to Inspect the Evidence; (3) Motion to
Remove Lights and Cameras from the Jail; (4) Motion for Private
Consultation with Attorney; (5) Petition to Authorize Defendant to
take Depositions; (6) Motion to Permit Conference with Huie; (7)
Motion to Permit Photographs; (8) Motion to Designate Court
Reporter; (9) Motion to Stipulate Testimony; (10) Suggestion of
Proper Name.
"You are waiving or giving up all
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these rights. Has anything besides this sentence of 99 years in
the State penitentiary been promised to you to get you to plead
guilty? Has anything else been promised to you by anyone?"
Answer: "No, it has not."
The Court: "Has any pressure of any kind by anyone in any way been
used on you to get you to plead guilty?"
Answer: "Now, what did you say?"
The Court: "Are you pleading guilty to Murder in the First Degree
in this case because you killed Dr. Martin Luther King under such
circumstances that it would make you legally guilty of Murder in
the First Degree under the law as explained to you by your
lawyers?"
Answer: "Yes. Legally, yes."
The Court: "Is this Plea of Guilty to Murder in the First Degree
with an agreed punishment of 99 years in the State Penitentiary
freely, voluntarily and understandingly made and entered by you?"
Answer: "Yes, sir."
The Court: "Is this plea of guilty
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on your part the free act of your free will made with your full
knowledge and understanding of its meaning and consequences?"
Answer: "Yes, sir."
The Court: "You may be seated. All right. Are you ready for a
jury?"
Q. (BY MR. GARRISON) Would you turn now to Page 9 and read
beginning with the first -- second -- "I just want to make one
more statement."
A. Yes, sir. "I just want to make one more statement to you
gentlemen" --
Q. Let me ask you first of all, who is it doing -- doing the --
A. This is General Philip Canale, Jr.
Q. All right.
A. Who was the District Attorney General at the time. "I just want
to make one more statement to you gentlemen before we proceed in
this matter. There have -- actually, in any case, there have been
rumors going all around, perhaps some of you have heard them, that
Mr. James Earl Ray was a dupe in this thing or a fall guy or a
member of a
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conspiracy to kill Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
"I want to state to you as your Attorney General that we have no
proof other than that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was killed by
James Earl Ray and James Earl Ray alone, not in concert with
anyone else.
"Our office has examined over 5,000 printed pages of investigation
work done by local police, by national police organizations and by
international law enforcement agencies. We have examined over 300
physical bits of evidence, physical exhibits. Three men in my
office, Mr. Duire, Mr. Beasley and Mr. John Carlisle, the Chief
Investigator of the Attorney General's Office -- you can't see him
over here -- have traveled thousands of miles all over this
country and the many cities and foreign countries on this
investigation, our own independent investigation.
"And I just state to you frankly that we have no evidence that
there was any conspiracy involved in this. I will state this to
you further. If at any time there is
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evidence presented -- competent evidence presented which we can
investigate and bear out that there was a conspiracy involving
this, I assure you as your Attorney General that we will take
prompt and vigorous action in searching it out and in asking that
an Indictment be returned if there are other people or if it ever
should develop that other people were involved.
"And you have my assurance on that. Not only me but the local law
enforcement officers and your national law enforcement officers. I
just wanted to give you that thought. Thank you very much."
Q. Thank you. If you will just leave the exhibit here.
A. Yes, sir.
MR. GARRISON: Thank you.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. PEPPER:
Q. Good afternoon, Mr. Young.
A. How are you, sir.
Q. Mr. Young, if you will just turn again to the first page of the
"Voir Dire of Defendant and Waiver and Order."
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A. Yes, sir.
Q. Where the judge orders Mr. Ray to stand.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you see -- and the judge then begins to address Mr. Ray.
A. Right. Yes, sir.
Q. Do you see any instance there where the judge has put Mr. Ray
under oath?
A. No, sir, I do not.
Q. Would you turn, Mr. Young, please, to Page 16?
A. All right, sir.
Q. At this point in the proceedings, the defendant, Mr. Ray, has
-- has interrupted the proceedings. And would you read what he has
said starting --
A. Is that the lower portion of the page?
Q. Yes, the last full paragraph starting at "James Earl Ray."
A. Yes. It states: "Your Honor, I would like to say something. I
don't want to change anything that I have said, but I just want to
enter one other thing. The only
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thing that I have to say is that I can't agree with Mr. Clark."
Q. Please continue.
A. Mr. Foreman: "Ramsey Clark?"
And the Court said: "Mr. who?"
Would you like for me to continue?
James Earl Ray stated: "Mr. J. Edgar Hoover, I agree with all
these stipulations, and I'm not trying to change anything."
The Court: "You don't agree with whose theories?"
James Earl Ray: "Mr. Canale's, Mr. Clark's and Mr. J. Edgar
Hoover's about the conspiracy. I don't want to add something on
that I haven't agreed to in the past."
Q. That's fine to that point. Now, would you please turn to Page
48.
A. All right, sir.
Q. This Court and Jury have heard testimony about a white Mustang
with Arkansas plates parked in this -- in the same position as
this -- this statement here. I'd like you to read, please, from
"Gentlemen, coming back
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to the overall mock-up, the State's proof" -- do you see that?
It's the fifth line down -- the end of the fifth line.
A. Yes, sir. "Gentlemen, coming back to the overall mock-up, the
State's proof would show that between 4:30 and 4:45 p.m. Mrs.
Elizabeth Copeland, who worked across the street from this area
designated as Canipe Amusement Company, observed a small white
automobile pull up and park in this general area, as designated by
the smaller car here on the mock-up, to the north of this light
pole and to the south here of Canipe Amusement Company.
"Mrs. Copeland told a Mrs. Peggy Hurley: `Peggy, your husband is
here for you.' Mrs. Hurley came to the window and looked out. She
said: `No, that's not my husband. My car is a Falcon, a white
Falcon, and this is a white Mustang."
Q. Continue.
A. "She did note a man sitting in the car. Shortly thereafter,
Mrs. Hurley's husband arrived. She got in the car and left."
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Q. That's fine. Thank you. Would you please turn over to the next
page, Page 49. This Court and Jury have heard testimony about the
condition of Mr. Stephens at the time -- a rooming house resident.
Would you, on the fourth line from the bottom, starting "at
approximately 6 p.m.," would you read from there, please.
A. "At approximately 6 p.m., Mr. Stephens heard a shot coming
apparently through this wall in the bathroom. He then got up and
went through this room, out into the corridor in time to see the
left profile of the defendant as he turned down this passageway
which leads to an opening with a stairway going down to Main
Street."
Q. Now, that's one aspect of proof that was put the forth. The
second aspect of proof continues right after that. This Court and
Jury have heard evidence with respect to the dropping of the
bundle in front of Canipe's. That's the second area of proof that
is being referred to. Would you read from there, please?
A. "Now, gentlemen, you can see here
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this mock-up. This offset area here is in front of Canipe
Amusement Company. It is reflected here on this mock-up at this
point. Mr. Guy Warren Canipe along with two customers, Bernell
Finley and Julius Graham, were in Canpie's Amusement Company when
they heard a thud in the area immediately here and up in this
little offset and, looking out, saw the back of a white man going
away from that area in a general southern direction on down Main
Street observing momentarily thereafter a white Mustang pull from
the curb heading north on Main Street, one occupant.
"This packet was subsequently guarded and found to be the rifle,
the box, the suitcase wrapped in a green spread and so forth that
has heretofore been introduced to you gentlemen through some of
the witnesses."
Q. That's -- that's fine. Would you please turn next to Page 53.
This Court and Jury has heard evidence with respect to the window
sill of the bathroom and the dent in the window sill. The State's
-- would you comment on the State's proof, please, reading exactly
what was said from "the sill of this
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window."
A. "The sill of this window in the bathroom was observed by
Inspector Zachary to have what appeared to be a fresh indentation
in it. This sill was ordered removed, was cut away, and was
subsequently sent to the FBI for comparison. And the proof will
show through expert testimony that the markings on this sill were
consistent with the machine markings as reflected on the barrel of
the 30 aught 6 rifle which has heretofore been introduced to you."
Q. Would you one more time, please, read from the line on Page 53
starting with "the markings on this sill."
A. "The markings on this sill were consistent with the machine
markings as reflected on the barrel of the 30 aught 6 rifle which
has heretofore been introduced to you."
Q. That's fine. Thank you. Would you turn to Page 56, please.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. The Court and Jury have heard evidence with respect to the 30
aught 6 rifle
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in evidence and the fact that the scope was not sighted in. If you
would back up to Page 55, last full sentence, "he changed the
scope" -- State's proof there.
A. "He changed the scope from the .243 to the .30 aught 6. And at
3 o'clock that afternoon, he delivered the 30 aught 6, which is
the same rifle that has been identified here in the courtroom to
the defendant along -- he didn't have a box with a scope on it."
MR. PEPPER: That's -- that's fine. Mr. Young, thank you very much
for laboring through this with us. No further questions.
MR. GARRISON: We have no further questions.
THE COURT: Go ahead, call your next witness.
MR. GARRISON: Eli Arkin.
ELI H. ARKIN, Jr.,
Having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as
follows:
THE COURT: You may proceed.
DIRECT EXAMINATION
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BY MR. GARRISON:
Q. Mr. Arkin, tell us your full name please, sir.
A. Eli H. Arkin, Jr.
Q. And you live here in Memphis, Tennessee?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. Where do you presently work? Where are you employed presently?
A. The Cottonwood Company.
THE COURT: Is that A R K I N?
THE WITNESS: Yes, sir.
Q. (BY MR. GARRISON) Now, let me ask you, you're formerly retired
from the Memphis Police Department; am I correct, sir?
A. I left the police department in 1976.
Q. How long were you with them?
A. 20 years.
Q. All right. And going back to the year 1967 and 1968
specifically, what division of the police department were you
working in then?
A. I was in the inspectional bureau.
Q. And so His Honor and Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury will
understand, what
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do you do in the inspectional bureau?
A. The inspectional bureau was broken into three parts:
inspections, internal affairs and intelligence.
Q. All right. And was any of these -- specifically these that you
worked in, consisted of what?
A. After I was in the bureau for a while, I was in intelligence.
Q. Were you the head of the intelligence division at the time --
A. No.
Q. -- in early '68?
A. No.
Q. Who was the -- who was the chief over the -- who was over the
intelligence division?
A. Inspector Tynes.
Q. What, Mr. Arkin, was your -- were you a lieutenant, captain?
What was your ranking?
A. I was a lieutenant.
Q. All right. Now, in early '68, you're in the Sanitation Strike.
Were you asked to take part in any type of investigation into
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the Sanitation Strike?
A. We were well involved in observing what was going on and
letting the Chief of Police know when they were going to have a
march or things of that nature.
Q. All right, sir. Who was the chief of police at that time?
A. Let's see. Chief McDonald had just left, and Chief Henry Lux.
Q. And who was the police director at that time?
A. Director Frank Holloman.
Q. Let me, Mr. Arkin, ask you this. Where was your office located
at that time, in early '68 -- March, April?
A. It was on the second floor of the police department near the
rotunda.
Q. The old police station?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. All right. Was there a time after the first march by Dr. King
in '68 -- or maybe after the march or before -- when some Army
personnel became stationed in your office?
A. Yes, sir.
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Q. Okay. Did you have any -- did you have any warning? Did you
know that they would be coming into your office?
A. I'm sorry, sir. I didn't hear you.
Q. Did you have any warning or notice that they would be coming
into your office?
A. Not until they were there.
Q. And who did they say they were? What were they supposed to do?
A. They said -- they identified themselves as Army intelligence.
Q. All right. And do you know who sent them in here?
A. No, sir, I have no idea.
Q. But they were U.S. Army intelligence?
A. According to what Inspector Tynes told us, yes, sir.
Q. And how many people were there in your office?
A. Possibly --
Q. In other words, what's the largest number at one time?
A. Possibly three or four at any one time.
Q. And what were they doing while they
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were there in your office?
A. Basically observing and taking notes.
Q. How long were they -- were they there stationed in your office?
A. Sir, I'm sorry, I can't remember.
Q. A week or two, month or two, what would you --
A. No. At some point I asked Inspector Tynes to please have them
relocated and get out of our offices.
Q. Had they -- had they just moved in and pretty much taken over
your office?
A. No, sir, they didn't take it over. They were just there
standing around and listening to what you had to say, whether you
were on the telephone or in any conversations, and taking notes at
the same time.
Q. I was going to ask you that. Were they taking notes or
recording, making any photographs or pictures or photos of
anything?
A. Not to my knowledge. Taking notes -- writing notes.
Q. Were they there every day pretty
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much?
A. For a while, yes.
Q. Did -- were they in uniform?
A. No, sir.
Q. They were not in uniform?
A. No, sir.
Q. Well, when they came in, did you have to arrange some desk
space for them, or how did that come about?
A. No, sir.
Q. How were they -- were they just standing around all day or did
they have space they worked in?
A. To my knowledge, they didn't have any desks in there at all.
They just roamed back and forth. We had a fairly large office.
Q. Did you ever have any conversation with any of those people?
A. Oh, yes, sir.
Q. But they identified themselves as U.S. Army personnel on the
telephone; am I correct, sir?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. That's what they said?
A. Yes, sir.
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Q. And they never said who sent them in here or what they were
doing?
A. They didn't tell me, no.
Q. All right. Mr. Arkin, did there come a time on April the 4th of
1968 when you used your vehicle or used a police vehicle to go
down to South Main Street?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. At what time did you go down?
A. Sir, I'm sorry, I don't remember.
Q. Well, are we looking like at mid afternoon, early morning, what
time?
A. I would suggest that probably in the afternoon.
Q. All right. And where did you go on South Main Street?
A. To the fire house at Butler and Main.
Q. Okay. And do you know who was in charge of the fire station
there at that time?
A. No, sir, I don't.
Q. Okay. What was your purpose in going down there?
A. I was going down there to talk to one of our patrolman who was
stationed there at
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that time.
Q. And what was that patrolman's name?
A. Reddoch [Redditt].
Q. All right. How long had he been down there?
A. Sir, again, I'm -- several weeks, I assume.
Q. And what was the reason you were dispatched then to talk to
him, Mr. Arkin?
A. I was sent down there to retrieve him and bring him back to the
office.
Q. Okay. And under whose orders or direction did you go down and
get him?
A. Director Holloman.
Q. Director Holloman told you to go get him?
A. Yes. Well, Director Holloman and Inspector Lux. And I don't
remember which one actually told me to.
Q. Okay. And did they tell you the reason why they wanted you to
go get this particular officer?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What was the reason given to you?
A. They said that they had information
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that possibly someone who was from the east was possibly coming
down here to assassinate a police officer -- a colored police
officer. And the assumption was made, I guess by them, that it
possibly might be Reddoch [Redditt].
Q. Okay. So we'll understand, they did not tell you that this
threat was made against Officer Reddoch [Redditt], they just said
a police officer; is that right, sir?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And Officer Reddoch [Redditt] was African-American; am I
correct, sir?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. An officer with the police department?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. And so Director Hollomon's direction to you was to go to the
South Main fire station to get Officer Reddoch [Redditt] off the
job; am I -- is that correct?
A. Yes, sir. I went to the fire house, picked up Reddoch
[Redditt], and brought him back to the police department.
Q. Did anyone go with you?
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A. No, sir.
Q. Okay. Now -- and you say it was around the middle of the
afternoon, what, 3 or 4 o'clock, in that range? Would that be a
fair or reasonable time?
A. Sir, I don't remember.
Q. But it would have been the afternoon you think?
A. Yes, sir, I believe so.
Q. All right. When you arrived at the fire station, did you see
Officer Reddoch [Redditt]?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Okay. And what communication did -- what was said between the
two of you?
A. I just basically, I'm sure -- I don't really remember word for
word.
Q. Obviously it's been a long time. But what do you remember being
said between the two of you?
A. That he was supposed to go back to the police department with
me.
Q. Okay. Did he have any comment about that?
A. Not that I know of.
Q. All right. And then did you take him
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back to the police department?
A. Yes, sir, I did.
Q. And when you returned to the Police Department with him, who
was there?
A. I'm sorry, who was --
Q. When you returned to the Police Department with Officer Reddoch
[Redditt], who was there when you took him back?
A. I brought him to our office.
Q. All right. And who was in your office when you arrived back?
A. I don't remember, sir.
Q. Was Director Holloman there?
A. I don't remember.
Q. Okay. Were any FBI personnel that you know of?
A. No, I don't think so.
Q. Any CIA representatives in the office at the time?
A. I never saw a CIA agent.
Q. Were there any Army personnel still there?
A. No, sir.
Q. Intelligence. When you took him back to the office then, what
happened after that?
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A. At some point I was called down to Director Holloman's office,
I believe, and told to take Officer Reddoch [Redditt] home.
Q. Who told you that?
A. Sir, I'm sorry, I can't remember exactly.
Q. I understand. It's been 30 years. Okay. And someone told you to
take him home. How long was that after you arrived that you were
told to take him home?
A. I don't remember exactly. I can tell you this, that when we
pulled up in front of his house, he went in the house to talk to
his wife. And during that period of time is when I heard another
officer who was stationed at the fire house or the dispatcher,
one, I'm not sure which, said that Dr. King had been shot. So it
must have been right around 6 o'clock or a little after.
Q. Okay. All right. On the way home from the police station, Mr.
Arkin, did you have any conversation with Officer Reddoch
[Redditt] about why you were taking him home instead of returning
him to duty?
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A. Yes, sir, I'm sure I did.
Q. Okay. And do you remember anything he said about -- any
statement he made about any threat or anything of that nature?
A. No, sir, I can't remember much about the conversation at all.
His main concern was that -- it was either his mother or his
wife's mother -- he didn't think that they would try and move away
from the house and go into an apartment somewhere incognito.
Q. Did you stay there with him then that afternoon or that night
or --
A. No, sir, I did not. They sent, if I'm not mistaken, a marked
squad car.
Q. Okay. And how long did they stay? Do you have any idea?
A. I have no idea, no.
Q. About the time you arrived is when you heard on the radio from
the dispatcher Dr. King had been shot?
A. Shortly after we arrived, yes, sir.
Q. Now, Mr. Arkin, are you aware of the fact that Director
Holloman says he didn't -- he never told you to go pick Officer
Reddoch [Redditt] up or didn't have any knowledge that Officer
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Reddoch [Redditt] was supposed to be picked up? Are you aware of
that?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did you conduct any type of investigation or were any part of
an investigative team that investigated the assassination of Dr.
King? Did you do anything toward the investigation of the
assassination?
A. No, sir.
Q. You said the threat was -- had came in from the east, is that
what they told you? Came in the from the east?
A. Came in from Washington D.C. from what I understand.
Q. All right. And when you arrived at the fire station, were there
any other African-American firemen or police officers at that time
there?
A. There was a police officer there, yes.
Q. Do you know who that was?
A. I believe it was -- his name was Richmond.
Q. Okay. Did he remain at the fire
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station or did he leave also?
A. He stayed there.
Q. Okay. And did you see any African-American firemen there when
you arrived?
A. No, sir, I didn't.
MR. GARRISON: That's all I have. Thank you.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. PEPPER:
Q. Good afternoon, Lieutenant. A few questions. Officer Richmond
was also on surveillance at the fire station.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Was he working under your command?
A. He was working out of the intelligence bureau, yes, sir.
Q. Did you find him to be a reliable surveillance officer?
A. I had no reason to doubt him.
Q. And when he submitted reports to you and others, did you find
those reports, as a rule, to be accurate?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Professionally prepared?
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A. Yes, sir.
Q. Because one of his reports has been put into evidence in these
proceedings, and it's quite impressive in terms of its detail. And
I would have hoped that would have been your response. Had you
ever heard of -- from the intelligence side, have you ever heard
that there were photographs taken from the fire station roof by
Psychological Operation Army photographers of the entire
assassination of Martin Luther King?
A. No, sir.
Q. That evidence has been introduced here. Have you ever heard of
that?
A. No, sir.
Q. Never? Never saw any of those photographs that were taken from
--
A. No, sir.
Q. -- the roof? Were you ever advised that the captain of that
fire station, Carthel Weeden, put those Army photographers on the
roof and put them in the vantage point for the taking of those
photographs?
A. No, sir.
Q. Would that have been something that
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perhaps Inspector Tynes would have known about and not shared?
A. I have no idea, sir.
Q. But you didn't hear about it --
A. No, sir.
Q. -- in any event. Did you in the course of April 3rd or 4th
speak with or talk to any out-of-town agents -- from whatever
source, you might not have known where they even were from -- but
individuals who you didn't know as being part of the local FBI
office or the Memphis Police Department? At any time do you recall
speaking to any of those individuals -- any persons?
A. I'm not sure I understand the question exactly.
Q. I know it's a long time ago. But do you recall speaking, in the
course of -- let's take April 4th -- with any persons who came
into town from one or another federal agency about any strategic
intelligence activities?
A. I don't believe I did. I can't remember if I did.
Q. Okay. You don't remember speaking
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with any of them. Now, lastly -- this is really just more for the
historical record than anything else. As a trained intelligence
officer, without naming -- we're not going to ask you to name any
informants.
Did you use -- as a part of the modus operandi, did you use
informants in organizations in Memphis, Tennessee?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. So you -- you ran informants and obtained -- as a way of
obtaining intelligence information.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Without naming any names, because I know that you would not
want to do that, would there have been any informants who were
close to Dr. King's organization when he was in Memphis?
A. I'm not sure I know what you mean by "close to Dr. King's
organization."
Q. Well, people who would have been in contact with Dr. King or
members of his organization, SCLC, or people who were aligned with
them in support of the sanitation workers, would you have had any
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informants in those organizations?
A. We had an informant in a local group called the Invaders.
Q. Yes. And that man's name is public, so that's -- that's Mr.
McCullough, is that right, Mr. Marrell McCullough?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. All right. But would you have had any sort of deeper cover --
not interested in the names -- but any deeper cover individuals
who would have been able to feed you information with respect to
what was going on?
A. No, sir.
Q. No -- no other ones other than --
A. Not to my knowledge.
Q. Did the FBI office have, again to your knowledge, any
informants in any of these organizations?
A. They probably did, yes.
Q. So they might have had a wider intelligence net. Did they share
that information with you?
A. Some information they did, yes.
Q. Okay. So they had informants and
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their informants they were running would have provided you with
information.
A. No.
Q. Through them I mean, through the office.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Thank you. Do you know what Mr. McCullough did when he left the
Memphis Police Department?
A. No, sir, I have no idea.
Q. Do you know what Mr. McCullough does today?
A. No, sir, I do not.
Q. You've never heard of what his occupation is or what he might
--
A. I've heard, but --
Q. What have you heard that he is doing?
A. Well, I've heard that he's in the CIA now.
Q. That he works for the CIA now.
A. But I have no proof of that.
MR. PEPPER: Not directly, but you just heard that. Okay. Nothing
further. Thank you.
MR. GARRISON: I have nothing
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else. Thank you, Mr. Arkin. You're free to go.
THE COURT: You may stand down.
THE WITNESS: Thank you, sir.
(Witness excused.)
THE COURT: It's that time again -- 2 o'clock.
(Lunch recess.)
THE COURT: All right, Mr. Garrison.
REBECCA A. CLARK,
Having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as
follows:
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. GARRISON:
Q. Ms. Clark, would you tell us your full name, please, ma'am.
A. Rebecca A. Clark.
Q. And you live here in Memphis, Ms. Clark?
A. Yes, I do.
Q. And you've lived here most of your life?
A. Since high school.
Q. All right. At one time, Ms. Clark,
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you were married to -- I believe it was Captain Earl Clark with
the Police Department; am I correct?
A. Well, actually, he started out as a patrolman and went as far
as chief inspector.
Q. Okay. Now, Ms. Clark, let me say this -- or ask you this. You
and Inspector Clark were divorced at some period; am I correct?
A. Yes.
Q. But in 1968, you were married to him then; is that right?
A. Yes, I was.
Q. During the time of the Sanitation Strike and the assassination
of Dr. King --
A. Yes, sir.
Q. -- you were married to Inspector Clark; am I correct? Okay. Let
me ask you this. We have taken your testimony before now. But
Inspector Clark had a large collection of weapons, did he?
A. Yes, he did.
Q. And he was one of the better -- I guess you call a marksman
with the police department. He had a lot of honors for that,
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didn't he?
A. Well, not just for the Police Department. He won the Tennessee
State Trap Shoot one year.
Q. Okay. And did he work on the -- at the -- for the police
department at the track where they used weapons to shoot things,
like target practice, things like that? Did he work there at one
time?
A. Yes, he worked at the pistol range.
Q. Pistol range, that's a better word for it. Do you know, Ms.
Clark, during the Sanitation Strike, was he tied up with that
where he didn't come home -- I mean, did the police department
have him pretty much in -- on duty full time where he wasn't able
to come home for some time?
A. That's correct.
Q. And on the day of April the 4th, 1968, how long had it been
since he had been home then; do you recall?
A. Probably three or four days. Might have been longer.
Q. Okay.
A. I can't remember.
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Q. Now, you were working somewhere at the time, weren't you?
A. Yes.
Q. And, in fact, you used to work for the police department. Am I
correct that at one time you were employed at the police
department yourself?
A. Yes, before we married.
Q. Right. I understand. On the day of April the 4th, 1968, do you
remember what time you came home that day?
A. Well, I got off work at 4 in the afternoon.
Q. Okay. And how long did it usually take you to drive home?
A. Probably 10 to 15 minutes.
Q. And when you arrived at your home, was your husband there?
A. No.
Q. He was not there then.
A. No.
Q. Okay. So you got home around 4:15, roughly in that range; would
that be right?
A. Right.
Q. And how long was it roughly before he
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came home?
A. I really don't remember. It wasn't right away, but -- probably
an hour or so maybe.
Q. Okay. And he came home -- did you know he was coming home then?
A. No.
Q. Okay. So he came home unexpectedly.
A. Right.
Q. And what happened when he reached your home? What happened?
A. Well, he said he came home to get some clean uniforms. And so
when he got there, he said he thought he would lie down on the
couch in the living room for a few minutes and take a nap. And
then he was going to take a bath and go back because they had been
staying up all night over at the pistol range. And so he asked me
to listen to the police radio for him.
Q. Okay.
A. So that's when I heard -- a short time later -- I don't know
how long he was asleep, maybe 30, 40 minutes -- 45. But that's
when I heard on the radio that
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Dr. King had been killed -- had been shot.
Q. Okay. Had your husband made any statement about the fact that
Dr. King was here and the Sanitation Strike was going on? Had he
made any statement -- comment to you about that?
A. About him being here?
Q. Yes, ma'am.
A. Well, everybody knew he was here.
Q. Well, had he made any comment to you about it, the fact that it
was tying up a lot of the police officers and causing a lot of
problems here with the Sanitation Strike? Did he make any
statement to you --
A. I don't recall any conversation like that.
Q. Well, on your deposition -- let me ask you -- you remember
giving your testimony before?
A. Yes.
Q. Page 25, the question: "Did you ever make -- did he ever make
any comment about Dr. King at all? Did he ever say anything about
Dr. King, right, wrong or indifferent?"
Answer: "I'm sure he did. I'm sure
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he was concerned about this being here and the Sanitation Strike
might cause a problem, which was" --
Q. Do you remember giving that answer?
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Okay.
A. But I don't recall any specific conversation that he -- you
know, I'm sure he must have commented about it.
Q. Okay. At some point you left to go get a uniform for him.
A. Yes, sir, I did. When I woke him up and told him that Dr. King
had been killed, he said, you've got to go get my uniforms out of
the cleaners before they close. And he was going to take a bath
while I was gone.
Q. Okay. And, Ms. Clark, you're aware of the fact -- you know that
there's been some testimony/allegation made that Lieutenant Clark
was at the back of the rooming house across from the Lorraine
Motel on the day that this occurred. You know that, don't you?
A. Well, at the time of the deposition I didn't know that. Matter
of fact, I didn't
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really know why I was called to give a deposition.
Q. Okay.
A. I mean, I had heard of this thing about a conspiracy but I, in
my wildest imagination, never dreamed that they thought that he
was involved or the police department was involved.
Q. Okay.
A. I found out about a week later when two -- two gentlemen from
the Justice Department called me and asked me if they could come
out and talk to me. And then that's when they told me that you all
thought that he was involved. And that was the first I had heard.
Q. Okay. Well, he had only been home for a very short time when
you left to go get his uniform, hadn't he?
A. Yes. I don't think he was asleep over 30, 45 minutes.
Q. Okay. Ms. Clark, I know we talked about this before when we
took your deposition. But isn't it true that Inspector Clark had a
rather bitter feeling toward
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African-American people? Truthfully.
A. I don't -- I wouldn't say that he had a -- bitter feelings. I
know that after his brother was killed that he probably felt some
kind of animosity for a period of time. But I know that he had a
lot of black friends that he had met through law enforcement over
the years.
Q. Okay. Let me ask you something. Now, you said that when he
reached his home that he had a police radio with him.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. What type of police radio was it?
A. It's kind of like a little walkie talkie because it was laying
on the dining room table.
Q. Okay. Now, are you sure about that?
A. Well, I could hear him.
Q. According to the information we have, they didn't have walkie
talkies back in 1968. Are you sure it was a walkie talkie?
A. It was some kind of radio.
MR. GARRISON: That's all.
CROSS-EXAMINATION
BY MR. PEPPER:
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Q. Ms. Clark, excuse me one minute, I'm just reorganizing the copy
of the deposition that we let you examine and that counsel has
just used. I know this may not be very easy for you. Thank you for
coming here this afternoon.
How many children do you have, Mrs. Clark?
A. I have two.
Q. And the first time that we met -- do you recall that afternoon?
A. Yes, I did. I didn't know who you were the second time I met
you, which was some years later, but --
Q. Okay. And were one of your children present when we spoke? Your
son?
A. I believe he was. I'm not sure.
Q. Do you know how old he was then?
A. There's about -- he's 27. It was about in '92 or 3. So --
Q. When was he born, Mrs. Clark?
A. He was born in February of '73.
Q. So he was in his early 20's at that time?
A. Right.
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Q. May I ask, are you a Christian?
A. Yes, I am.
Q. Do you believe that the sins of the father should be visited
upon the children?
A. No, I don't.
Q. And that the children should bear no blame for any sins of the
fathers?
A. I certainly believe that.
Q. Do your children believe that?
A. Yes.
Q. That's clear?
A. Sure.
Q. Okay. Now, in Mr. Clark's professional life were there things
that he did -- activities that he conducted that you knew nothing
about?
A. You mean in -- as far as police work? I'm sure.
Q. And in his personal life?
A. He may have. I don't -- I don't know.
Q. Did you know Mr. Frank Liberto?
A. Well, in my deposition you all asked me that. And the only
Frank Liberto that I had ever heard of owned a liquor store down
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in south Memphis. And the reason I remembered that name was we had
gone down there one night, and this black gentleman came in with
high heels and a dress on. And back then, that was kind of odd to
me, so that's the only reason I recall that incident. But that's
the only Frank Liberto I've ever heard of.
Q. You've never heard of Frank Liberto who owned and ran a
warehouse -- a produce warehouse called Scott Street Market?
A. No. I've seen that name over there because I've been to Scott
Street Market lots of times. And I've seen the name, but I didn't
know the man.
Q. You didn't know him?
A. No.
Q. Did you not know of his -- your husband's relationship with --
A. No.
Q. -- this man?
A. No.
Q. Did you know of your husband's relationship with Mr. Loyd
Jowers, the defendant in this action?
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A. No, I didn't.
Q. But your husband used to go, according to testimony and
evidence in this case, hunting with Mr. Jowers. You didn't know he
went hunting with Mr. Jowers?
A. No. I've never heard that name mentioned with him going
hunting. And I know a lot of people that he went hunting with.
Q. All right. And you never heard about him going hunting with Mr.
Jowers?
A. No, sir.
Q. Or of his -- his close relationship with Mr. Jowers?
A. No, sir.
Q. And you never heard him -- he never mentioned Mr. Frank Liberto
to you?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did he ever mentioned Inspector John Barger?
A. I remember him.
Q. You remember that name?
A. Yes.
Q. Inspector Eddie Zachary?
A. I remember him.
Q. But not Mr. Liberto and not
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Mr. Jowers?
A. No.
Q. If, Mrs. Clark -- if what evidence has been placed into this
Court by -- in fact, by the defendants in these proceedings. If
that evidence is true and your husband was involved in the
assassination of Martin Luther King, how do you -- how would you
feel about that?
A. That's impossible.
Q. You can't imagine that?
A. Well, I know not. I know he was there.
Q. You know he wasn't --
A. And there's not any possibility as far as I'm --
Q. There's not any possibility?
A. No, sir.
Q. What time did you get home from work again on the 4th of April?
A. I get off at 4.
Q. You got home about 4:15?
A. About 4:15.
Q. All right.
A. Now, what time he got there, I do not
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remember. It's been a long time ago.
Q. In your deposition, you indicated he got home fairly soon after
you arrived home from work. Do you know when that would have been?
A. 30, 45 minutes. Fairly soon.
Q. Fairly soon after you arrived is 30 or 45 minutes?
A. I can't remember exactly, sir.
Q. You don't remember what time he arrived?
A. No, I don't.
Q. What did you do when you got home from work that day?
A. What did I do?
Q. Mm-hum.
A. Changed clothes, probably started cleaning or something, like
everybody does when they get home, I guess. I don't know.
Q. At what point in the course of you performing your tasks did he
come into the house?
A. Sir, I don't remember what time it was.
Q. I mean, you don't know if you were
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cleaning --
A. No.
Q. -- or changing, or what it was you were doing at that time?
A. I can't remember.
Q. All right. And what car was he driving when he came home?
A. I really couldn't say. I just assumed that he was driving a
police car.
Q. Well, where would he park the car when he came in?
A. Right at the back door of the apartments.
Q. At the back door. Was there a driveway that ran up to the back
door?
A. Yes, it was.
Q. So he would have parked the car in the driveway --
A. Yes.
Q. -- near the back door. Did you look at it?
A. No.
Q. Did you look out? Did you see the car?
A. No.
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Q. Did you see him depart?
A. I don't know that I went to the back door to watch him leave.
I'm sure I said goodbye, but I don't specifically remember going
and, you know, waving.
Q. All right. Did you see him drive off?
A. I don't recall that.
Q. You don't recall seeing him drive off?
A. No, I don't.
Q. And he drove off after -- after you came back from the cleaners
with his -- his clean uniform?
A. Yes.
Q. Did he call you that afternoon before he arrived home?
A. No.
Q. He just came home.
A. Yes.
Q. Ms. Clark, on Page 54 of your deposition -- which was taken
some while earlier, in April of this year -- you were asked: "And
how long did it take you to get home?"
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You answered: "Not long. 10, 15 minutes."
The question is: "So you were probably home around 4, 4:15 or so,
something like that."
A. Right.
Q. "Yes."
"And soon after you set foot in the house did Mr. Clark call you?"
Your answer was: "Not long as I recall."
The question was: "15 -- 10, 15 minutes, something like that?"
Answer: "Well, yes."
Question: "He might have been home some time around 4:30; is that
right?"
The answer was: "I don't know to be honest. I don't really
remember. I just know that I was home from work and he wasn't
asleep very long when I heard the radio. I woke him up. He ran to
get a shower while I went to get his uniforms. That's all I
remember."
Now, in fact, Martin Luther King was killed just shy of two hours
-- two hours
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after you arrived home. What I'm trying to understand is if your
husband came in shortly after you arrived home and was only there
for 30 or 45 minutes, that still would leave almost an hour after
he left the house of unexplained time.
A. Well, as I said, I wasn't sure about the times that he got
there or how long he was there.
Q. Yes.
A. The only thing I do know was that I was listening to the radio
when they came on and said that he was shot.
Q. You were listening --
A. Because I remember about the blue -- they were talking about a
blue Mustang.
Q. A blue Mustang?
A. Yes. Something about a Mustang. I don't know whether it was
blue or not, but it was --
Q. And you heard that on a police radio --
A. Yes.
Q. -- at some point --
A. Yes.
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Q. -- that was sitting somewhere in your dining room?
A. Right.
Q. And your husband had been asleep somewhere -- in the living
room?
A. He was asleep on the couch in the living room.
Q. I'm trying to understand what happened during that hour. How
long did he sleep?
A. I don't know. I don't remember. I have to hide my own Easter
eggs. I can't remember.
Q. That's a very long time ago. That's a very long time ago. But
you understand the problem?
A. I know what you're saying, but I just can't -- you know, if I
could remember how long or when he got there -- I really don't.
Q. The problem that I'm putting to you is the possibility that
your husband did come home -- and you're telling the truth. To the
best of your recollection, you're telling the truth.
A. I know I am.
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Q. And he came home.
A. Yes.
Q. But the times indicate that not only did he come home and ask
you to go to the cleaners -- Dent Cleaners on Broad Street to get
fresh uniforms --
A. Yes.
Q. Which you did and which you brought it back and he put it on
and left. The times indicate that he left, in fact, much earlier
-- within an hour of the killing.
A. It couldn't --
Q. And that he was somewhere else during that hour.
A. He couldn't have been. He could not have been anywhere else.
Because when it came over the radio -- and I heard it. He asked me
to listen to his radio because he was going to take a short nap.
Q. That's the thing we haven't taken into account.
A. And that's what I did. And that's when I heard that he was
shot. So it couldn't have been -- so he had to have been there
longer than the hour or whatever you're
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talking about.
Q. That's what we haven't taken into account, isn't it?
A. Right. See, I can't remember --
Q. This walkie talkie --
A. -- exactly how long he was there.
Q. This walkie talkie, this radio, which as counsel has --
A. He's had one as long as I can remember.
Q. Counsel has indicated that they weren't standard issue yet --
A. They may not have --
Q. -- in the Memphis Police Department.
A. -- been standard issue, but he had one. He -- you know, at my
deposition -- at that time I thought I recalled that he was on the
TAC squad at the time, but I don't -- looking back now, I think
that he probably was just assigned to the pistol range because I
think that was too early in his career -- '68. So, you know.
Q. And he wasn't on the TAC squad, that he was assigned --
A. He may have just been assigned to the
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pistol range, and that's where they were staying. I don't -- you
know, I hadn't looked -- I hadn't looked back to see or researched
to see exactly where he was assigned. He was on the TAC squad at
one time, but whether it was that particular time or not, I -- you
know, I'm not positive.
Q. It's the walkie talkie or the radio that convinces you that he
was still there at the time because you heard it.
A. Yes.
Q. That's what you're saying?
A. Yes, sir. I woke him up, and that's when he said, you've got to
get over to the cleaners before they close to get my uniforms.
Because he came home specifically to take a bath and get some
clean uniforms because they had been gone for so many days.
Q. Ms. Clark, if the -- if these -- if these were not available at
the time, if they in fact were not standard issue or special-issue
walkie talkie communications to Memphis Central Police
Headquarters -- if this was not possible, these were not
available, what are we to believe?
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A. Why would I make that up about a police radio if I didn't hear
it?
Q. Did you discuss the assassination with Mr. Clark --
A. No.
Q. -- after it took place?
A. No.
Q. You didn't have any --
A. I don't think so.
Q. -- discussion with him at all?
A. Not that I recall. We may have mentioned it. He may have
mentioned it, or we may have mentioned it. But a specific
conversation I don't remember.
Q. Ms. Clark, the assassination of Martin Luther King, you will
agree, was a heinous, terrible act --
A. Absolutely.
Q. -- and a blot on this community?
A. Absolutely.
Q. Which has never -- from which this community has never really
fully recovered?
A. Absolutely. I do understand that.
Q. Is it possible that here this afternoon, every good intention
in the world,
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that you are trying to protect your loved children from being a
part of this whole scenario -- being dragged into this in any way?
A. Sir, I have told this story about what happened or where he was
as far back -- before there was ever any thought of conspiracy,
ever.
Q. Who has asked you about this question? Who has asked you to
tell this story?
A. I've told it to everybody. Everybody has said: Well, what was
Earl doing? Where were you? And so and so. I've told everybody at
work where -- where he was.
And, you know, this story has been told a million times. I told
you this story back in 1992 --
Q. Yes, you did.
A. -- before I ever heard of a conspiracy. So why would I have
lied then?
Q. Yes, you -- well, the reason I started my query of you about
the children was because I recalled the presence of your son at
that time and his attentiveness in the
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course of that -- of that discussion. And that's why I've asked
you the last question about the protection of the children.
A. Sir, I'm just telling the truth. I -- you know, it never
entered my mind that I'm trying to protect my children. I would if
I -- you know, I would want to protect my children.
Q. If in fact you --
A. But I am not -- I am telling the truth as far as I know the
truth as much as I remember.
Q. That's fair enough. If in fact the truth were something else,
would you tell this story? To protect your children, to insulate
them from any possible repercussions of this act, would you tell
this story?
A. No. I would never lie. I would never tell --
Q. No matter what the consequences would be?
A. No matter. I mean, their father is dead. I mean --
Q. But they're alive.
A. Pardon?
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Q. They're alive and they have lives.
A. Yes, they do. And they're making good lives.
Q. Why would --
A. And I love them dearly, but I would not lie.
Q. Why would anyone put your husband in the middle of this frame?
What reason would they have?
A. I don't have the faintest clue.
Q. Why would a Memphis taxi driver quote your husband as saying:
I'm going to kill Martin Luther King the next time he comes to
Memphis, Tennessee? Why would --
A. I don't know.
Q. -- James McCraw --
A. Why is anybody --
Q. Why would he say that about your husband?
A. -- saying all this stuff? I just don't -- you know.
Q. You don't know why people say things, of course. But that's a
problem that we have.
A. All I know is --
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Q. We don't know why --
A. All I know is I'm telling you the truth the best that I know --
the best that I know it.
Q. The truth as best you know it is you came in around 4:15, he
came in some time shortly thereafter.
A. Yes. What time, I do not know.
Q. You're not sure of that exact time. But at some point in the
course of his sleep -- and he was sleeping then maybe for an hour
and a half -- not 30 minutes, as you indicated earlier in the
deposition, but maybe he was asleep for an hour and a half.
Because he would have had to be asleep for about an hour and a
half for you to hear on the radio that Martin Luther King had been
assassinated.
A. Unless he came in later than 30 minutes.
Q. Unless he came in later.
A. See, I don't remember. But all I'm saying is that I was
listening to the radio and heard it with my own ears.
Q. When you came back from the cleaners,
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was he awake?
A. No -- yes, yes. I woke him up when I heard it. And that's when
he said, you've got to get over to the cleaners and get my
uniforms before they close.
Q. Okay. So you -- you were in the house all the time. He was
asleep. You heard it, you woke him up. He said, go to the
cleaners.
A. Yes.
Q. But he had been asleep for all this period of time, for
whatever period --
A. Yes.
Q. -- hour, hour and a half?
A. Yes.
Q. On the sofa?
A. Yes.
Q. And he then put on his uniform and reported to work. Where did
he go?
A. I have -- I assume that he was going back to the pistol range.
Q. Why would he go to the pistol range?
A. Because that's where they had been staying.
Q. He would go back to the pistol range
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when there -- the city was in turmoil -- fires and turbulence and
assassination?
A. Sir, I don't know where he was assigned. I do not know where he
-- I just assumed -- when he told me they had been staying over at
the pistol range and sleeping over there, I just assumed that he
was going back over there. I do not know where he went from there.
Q. When he left the house he was in uniform?
A. I don't specifically remember, but I'm -- feel sure he was in a
uniform because I had to go get his uniforms.
Q. And what uniform was he wearing at that time of year?
A. Well, I don't remember. I don't recall what kind of uniform. If
he was -- if he was assigned to the pistol range, he had on gray
uniforms -- gray khaki uniforms.
Q. Which uniform did you pick up, Mrs. Clark --
A. I don't remember.
Q. -- at the cleaners?
A. I don't remember which.
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Q. As he walked out the door was he --
A. In fact, you all asked me that before and I couldn't remember.
Q. That's fair enough. As he walked out the door was he in short
sleeves or did he have --
A. I do not know. I don't remember.
Q. Did he leave from the rear door or the front door?
A. The rear door.
Q. Because that's where the car was?
A. Yes.
Q. Did he normally drive a police car home?
A. Yes, lots of times.
Q. Was it an unmarked car or was it a regular Memphis police car?
A. Most of the time it was a regular car.
Q. And what color was that car?
A. Black and white, I think.
Q. It was a black and white regular -- not a traffic car but a
regular black and white car?
A. Right, far as I can remember.
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Q. And his rank at that time --
A. I don't recall.
Q. -- in 1968?
A. I want to say he was lieutenant, but I'm not sure.
Q. I see. Okay. And you don't remember whether he had short
sleeves, long sleeves --
A. No.
Q. -- a jacket or anything else on?
A. He didn't have too many short-sleeve uniforms. They had -- they
had some -- the gray uniforms when they were shooting on the
pistol team, but that's the only short sleeve ones I remember.
Q. And when you --
A. He could have been -- he could have been wearing short ones
over there at the pistol range where he worked.
Q. When you were listening to this radio sitting on your dining
room table, where were you?
A. I think I was in the kitchen.
Q. Right off the dining room?
A. Right.
Q. And he was in the living room off the
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other side?
A. Well, you go through the kitchen into the dining room and
there's the living room. It was just an apartment -- a two-bedroom
apartment. It wasn't a house.
Q. Did any investigators from the House Select Committee on
Assassinations in 1977 or '78 interview you?
A. At where? In what?
Q. The Congressional committee --
A. No.
Q. -- that looked into this case. They never interviewed you?
A. No, sir.
Q. Did any FBI investigators ever interview you?
A. No, sir. The only interviews that I ever had was when you came
and talked to me that time. And then after I gave my deposition
there were two guys from the Justice Department that called and
came out and talked to me. And that's when they told me that --
that you all thought my husband was involved.
Q. At that point in time?
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A. Yes.
MR. PEPPER: Thank you, Mrs. Clark. Nothing further, Your Honor.
MR. GARRISON: I have nothing further. You may step down.
THE COURT: You may stand down, ma'am. You can remain in the
courtroom or you're free to go.
THE WITNESS: Okay. Thank you.
(Witness excused.)
MR. GARRISON: Your Honor, at this time I'd like to read from the
deposition of a witness. For security reasons, same as the jury,
we did not want his identity known. He will be referred to as John
Doe.
This is the deposition of John Doe taken on November the 5th,
1999. And I was present for the defendant, Mr. Jowers, and Dr.
Pepper was present for the plaintiffs. And these were the
questions that were asked of this witness. Page 5:
(Whereupon the following is the deposition of John Doe that was
read into the record.)
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THE VIDEOGRAPHER: This is the videotaped deposition of Mr. John
Doe. It's being taken by the plaintiffs in the matter of King
versus Jowers in the Circuit Court of Tennessee for the Thirtieth
Judicial District at Memphis. It's being held via telephone at the
offices of Daniel, Dillinger, Dominski in Memphis, Tennessee, on
November 5, 1999, the time being approximately 4:03 p.m.
The court reporter is Kristin Peterson from Daniel, Dillinger,
Dominski. The videotape specialist is Ted Schurch with The Data
Company in Memphis.
Will counsel now please introduce themselves.
DR. PEPPER: William Pepper for the King family, plaintiffs in
these proceedings.
MR. GARRISON: I'm Lewis Garrison for defendant, Loyd Jowers.
VIDEOGRAPHER: Do you have any announcements or stipulations you'd
like to put on the record?
DR. PEPPER: None for the plaintiffs.
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MR. GARRISON: And none for the defendant.
JOHN DOE,
Having been first duly sworn, was examined and testified as
follows:
DIRECT EXAMINATION
BY MR. GARRISON:
Q. All right. We're referring to you as John Doe. As I've
indicated to you earlier, we have an agreement that we will not
reveal your identity for purposes that you and I have discussed.
Let me ask you this. In the year of 1968, were you in the Memphis
area?
A. Yes.
Q. And you, of course, know that the assassination of Dr. Martin
Luther King occurred on April 4, 1968?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay. Now, let me ask you this. You and I have talked about
this many times. Would you start -- I believe the first time that
you gave me information was along about January of 1998. Is that
about correct?
A. That's correct.
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Q. All right. Would you tell us at that point what -- what
happened, what you know and what personally you were involved and
how you know about it.
A. As regards --
Q. The very beginning of your meeting in a hotel -- Holiday Inn in
Detroit, I believe; is that correct?
A. Well, it was in -- let's see, okay. Let's -- it's Battle Creek,
Michigan.
Q. All right. Go right ahead.
A. Yeah. All right. I had known some individuals, one person in
particular was a layoff bookmaker from the Houston/Galveston area
who owned a seafood place there on the Gulf Coast. He said his
name was J.B. Bonner. And at that particular time, I was working
in the sports department at the Houston Post, and he had called
for information because -- you've got to remember that they --
that high school football was like their Super Bowl. Anyway,
that's how I got to know J.B. Now --
Q. Could you spell his last name for us -- this gentleman you are
talking about --
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J.B --
A. O N N E R.
Q. Okay. Go right ahead.
A. Okay. Now, then through him, I was in Battle Creek, Michigan,
later on in my employment to do some things there in East Lansing,
Michigan.
Q. Okay.
A. And Mr. Bonner wanted me to contact or sit down and talk to a
fellow by the name of Emil Mazey, M A Z E Y, who I learned later
is the -- was the treasurer of the United Auto Workers.
I met him there, and then we met two or three more occasions on --
and at the Red Apple Inn in Northwest Arkansas, mainly, is where
we talked, and it was at this time that it was explained to me
what Mr. Mazey wanted and what he was doing. And the idea that was
given to me was that Walter Ruther, who was president of the UAW
had been hit on pretty hard by Hubert Humphrey and L.B.J. about
Martin Luther King's sudden -- whatever he did, he came out
against the Vietnam War, and you have to remember that there was a
problem
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there between the UAW and the CIO with George Meedy [Meany].
And Meedy [Meany] and the CIO -- they were pushing for the war,
and the UAW, up until that point, had been a real supporter of the
-- let's see if I remember -- Southern Leadership Conference of
which King was involved nominally. I mean, he really didn't have
anything to do with it. But, anyway, it was put to me is there a
way to satisfy Mr. Humphrey and Mr. Johnson by making Martin
Luther King, quote-unquote, I guess, "shut up" about the Vietnam
War. And I asked him what that -- what did they mean by that.
And they said, well, by just taking him out, getting through with
it. And I had done some work in the military and things like that.
And so I said, I can do that.
And they offered four hundred thousand dollars to --
Q. Okay. Now, we got to the point where you said that they had
been offered four hundred thousand dollars maybe, and just go on
from there.
A. Okay. Now, to me, this was kind of
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an interesting proposition. This has nothing at all what to do
with race or anything like that. It was obvious that they had some
things already put in motion.
What I did was contact Jim Harmon, H A R M O N, a pilot who died
in Korea, and who's supposed to be buried in Mills City, Oregon,
but he's not, and then through Carlos Marcello in New Orleans,
Ruelsa Mellon, R U E L S A M E L L O N, who was based out of
Tegucigalpa, Honduras.
There was another lady involved. Her name was Dori, D O R I, Wyse,
W Y S E. She was from Belize, and she was in that area supposedly
to do research on antebellum homes and so forth.
The way I understood it, the Trafficante down in Tampa had gotten
a hold of Marcello and asked him if he could take care of this,
and he said, no, he couldn't.
Most of the FBI was all over him because of his J.F.K. problem,
not which was correct, and so then through that and Ruelsa, we got
-- kind of got together about the whole thing in New Orleans and
discussed it.
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Marcello was there, and he said he couldn't be involved, XYZ, but
we could use -- there was about a three-mile-long seashell-type
small runway on his property just west of the Mississippi there,
and I don't -- it's Metairie or however the Louisianans say it.
Anyway, we agreed to do this, and the idea was we knew whatever
King was doing, but Dori Wyse's job was to indicate when King
would be back at the motel. We knew the room, but -- so we could
set that up, and when he finally went out to do whatever he was
doing -- he was preaching to somebody or -- anyway, he comes back.
She calls then through to Mellon, and he contacts Harmon, who
picks me up in Tampa.
We go on up there, find the little airport, fly right up the
Mississippi on Mud Island. She picks the two of us up, Harmon --
Jim stayed at the plane. We come down to the area that was
selected. Now, I --
Q. What kind of vehicle was she driving, do you remember?
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A. Yeah. It was a sixty -- I believe a 1967 gray Corvette.
Q. Okay.
A. Not a Corvette.
Q. Corvair?
A. Corvair, yeah.
Q. All right. Chevrolet Corvair?
A. Yeah, two-door.
Q. Okay.
A. And on the side, it had on there Aztec Aerial Mapping, just
like the plane, and then -- you know, to give you a reason why you
were in there in the first place. So then we went on up there, and
she moved on around down by Mulberry there, kind of a -- kind of
just to park there, and drop them. And Raul, he went upstairs to
the window area up there. Nobody told him to go in the -- into any
kind of bathroom or closet or anything like that, but he
apparently decided that, already had his bag full of everything he
was supposed to leave.
James Earl Ray was never even there. He had left for Atlanta. I
think he spent the night in Starkville, Mississippi,
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on the way over, but he'd left about three hours before all this
even came down. He was set up for that type of thing.
And then when the actual shooting of King took place, it was
behind kind of a brushy little wall there just a couple hundred
feet away. He used a sixteen-gauge modified rifle that had been
made by a Pedro Ginton.
Q. Okay. What was it again? Tell us what it was again.
A. Ginton, G I N T O N.
Q. Okay.
A. Of Belize City.
Q. Belize City is where it was made?
A. Yeah.
Q. Okay.
A. The idea was that -- it's the kind of shot that when it hits
something, it starts to mess around. And if you move with it, it
just falls apart.
Q. The shot itself?
A. Yeah.
Q. Go ahead.
A. Okay. So then he -- the shot was
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done, and Dori comes around and picks up the shooter, and they go
on back down to Mud Island. Jim's got the plane ready, we take
off, and are flying right down the Mississippi right back down to
Marcello's place, and opened the door and throw the gun and two or
three other things out of there.
Q. Out of the plane?
A. Uh-huh, into the river.
Q. Okay.
A. Because he was flying real low, and we went on down there, and
we all left there, and went on back to Tampa.
Now, Raul, he was supposed to drop a bag of stuff that he had
managed to put together, just childish things really -- but people
believed, apparently -- into a bag, and he was supposed to drop
that upstairs someplace -- I've never been in that building -- but
he didn't. He dropped it outside the door but then went and got in
his car, which was a white Ford, you know, and then drove away
from there.
Now, he drove to New Orleans. There -- picked Ray up in Atlanta,
and then
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from there they flew on to Canada.
Q. Okay. Now, let me ask you something. Did you ever actually see
James Earl Ray?
A. No.
Q. Okay. You've been told about him?
A. Yes.
Q. All right. Sometime later, you had a chance -- you had an
assignment in South America or somewhere in Central America; am I
correct, sir?
A. Right.
Q. And you had a chance to -- in your assignment to run and meet
with the warden of the prison where Ray had been before he
escaped; is that correct?
A. Correct.
Q. Okay. Tell us about your conversations and your association
with the warden as to what you found out from that?
A. Well, the warden's name -- the best -- I know his last name,
but I think his first name was Harold -- Harold Swenson. And he
was running the Missouri State Pen, and he had spent some time in
the -- over at
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Leavenworth working in the federal pen over there. And they had
got him from there, and sent him down -- I believe it was to
Mexico where they were having some kind of prison riot and all
that.
He went down there, worked on that, and then that was settled,
apparently, and then he went back and was hired on as warden at
the Missouri State Pen.
Now, Swenson indicated that he knew of a person, the ideal for a
-- oh, he used a corny word -- patsy or something like that. And I
don't know if that came directly from Swenson's knowledge or from
other guards who worked there at Leavenworth because Ray wasn't
there. And the idea was that Swenson -- which has always amazed me
anyway -- but that he would work it out to where they'd get Ray
out of the pen on a -- on a Sunday morning, drive him out
someplace, and he'd just disappear.
I never -- the FBI -- no one ever even indicated, you know, what
the -- who the driver was other than to say he was a -- and I know
nothing about all of that little
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work.
Q. Okay.
A. All I know is that Raul picked him up, picked James Earl Ray
up, somewhere there at Jefferson City. They had set it up and had
gone on to Chicago, hung around there for a while and then went on
to Canada.
Now, this was all, of course, four or five -- well, probably more
months than that before the actual thing. But by then Ray was
pretty well doing whatever Mellon told him.
They drove around, did all kinds of stuff. It didn't cost that
much money. And then after setting him up to go buy some -- a
rifle and then another rifle, and no -- to be very frank, you
know, James Earl isn't going to win or wouldn't have won any
grants to college. He really wanted to be involved in something.
He never -- as far as I know, because I never saw him, the only --
Harmon never saw him. Dori never saw him. The only person that
dealt with him was Mellon, and that was the way we set it up. And
then,
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eventually, the way I understood it was, that the UAW people were
going to get him out of Canada and fly him to Lisbon, Portugal,
and there they were going to kill him. They were going to take
care of it there, and that would be the end of the whole thing.
Now, something went wrong in Lisbon, apparently, because Ray came,
and, you know, turns up in London or someplace, and then he's
arrested, and they drag him back and go through all of this, and
that's why you got to believe when Ray -- who is dead, you know --
said I don't know anything about this, he's -- he's telling the
truth.
Q. Okay.
A. He didn't.
Q. Let me ask you something, too. The guns that they -- were
brought in the night of the assassination, what did they have
those in?
A. Could you repeat -- I didn't --
Q. I think you had mentioned to me -- can you hear me okay?
A. Yeah.
Q. You mentioned to me before that --
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about this car that had something about some -- what did it have
on the side of it? Aztec Aerial Mapping?
A. Yeah, Aerial Mapping.
Q. Okay. Have you told me before that the guns were hidden in map
cases?
A. Right.
Q. You actually saw that?
A. Yes.
Q. All right. The four hundred thousand dollars, do you know where
it came from?
A. Yes. It came from the United Auto Workers.
Q. All right. Okay. Now, is this about everything that you know
about the case? Have you heard anything else about whatever
happened to these people that you mentioned earlier?
A. Well, I think we all know that it took two tries, but they
finally -- Ruther finally was killed in a private jet crash. They
had tried to kill him and his brother a year before when they had
flown to Washington, and all they did manage there was that the
pilot hit the landing, turning right
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at the end of the runway. So in about another year, we try it
again, and this time it worked.
I have heard -- I don't know for sure, but it could easily be
checked -- the National Transportation Board people say that the
altimeter for Ruther totally rules out -- that was the same as
backwards -- in other words, the pilot really didn't know how low
he was.
Mazey, I think, went ahead and stayed in the Union for a while,
then died. He was in World War II, I know that. And Harmon, he
began flying for Marcello or either Trafficante -- I don't know
which one -- flying stuff -- drugs and stuff through the
Carribean. Haven't heard from him in years.
I know that Dori died in Nicaragua two years ago during that
volcano they had there after that earthquake and the hurricane
situation.
Q. Did you ever hear the name of Frank Liberto mentioned by Carlos
Marcello?
A. No.
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Q. Did you ever hear the name of Loyd Jowers mentioned at any
time?
A. No.
Q. Okay. This Warden Swenson -- you -- the two of you became
pretty close on your assignment; is that correct?
A. Well, we were close enough to understand what we were doing. I
-- I felt, you know, because right off the bat that Ruther had
Swenson pretty well where he wanted him.
In fact, I think one of the -- of course, this has been a
successful thing all the way through, obviously -- but one of the
strangest stories was that -- reported in the -- hell, I forget
what the -- St. Louis, maybe Post -- that Swenson after he retired
during a New Years party, I believe, or a Christmas party had shot
himself. And the woman that had reported this lived right next
door to it all, and I never heard anything else about that. Again,
you know, I wasn't going to check it for sure, but I -- I can't
verify it, but that -- anyway, he's gone. Mazey, I think, just
died
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naturally. Humphrey, of course, we know, and L.B.J.
Q. This Warden Swenson, he had had a position in the L.B.J. or
Kennedy Administration; am I correct?
A. What he had was, he was in the -- I think they used to call it
a blind squad for the federal prison system.
Q. In fact, he was the one that directed, I believe, you to pilot
Gary Powers to Russia; am I correct?
A. Right.
MR. GARRISON: Page 38 of his deposition.
(Continuing to read from the deposition.)
Q. The airport that Marcello -- the small airstrip that Marcello
said you could use --
A. Uh-huh.
Q. -- where did you say that was located?
A. Well, it's across the river, across the Mississippi from New
Orleans. He had a huge place over there, and most of it's
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swamps.
Q. Yes.
A. But he did have this airstrip -- in fact, he had two. But this
one was the kind that you could count on getting down real quick.
This is what Jim told me -- get down, get pulled up real quick and
get out of there, you know, because the weather had been so bad
all through that particular time, all the way from Memphis -- all
the way to Tampa for that matter. And it was raining, and I don't
think he particularly wanted to land.
There was a dirt strip there that ran kind of clockwise -- excuse
me -- clockwise away from the one we used. Got there -- when we
got back there that night, they had turned on some lights around
the field, and you could see the reflection of the shells, and
were there for Jim to get the plane down. We weren't there fifteen
minutes.
Q. Right. And you flew from that airstrip of Marcello's? You took
off from there?
A. Yeah.
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MR. GARRISON: Page 57, beginning with Line 22.
(Continuing to read from the deposition.)
Q. What had he -- what was his job? What had -- what was he
supposed to have done?
A. His job was to place and put in locations -- I don't know if it
could ever be, you know, declared evidence, but put things around
that would indicate that James Earl Ray was -- had been there --
had been in that area and was responsible for whatever took place.
Q. He was to plant -- plant evidence against James?
A. Yeah.
Q. And where was James during this time?
A. He had left around -- he was supposed to, so I presume he did,
because he made it to Atlanta, but he left around 3:00.
Q. And what was -- what kind of car was Ruelsa driving?
A. He had a white -- a little white Ford.
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Q. What kind of Ford was it, do you know?
A. Oh, one of those with the -- a Mustang.
Q. So he had a Mustang?
A. They had two of them.
Q. All right.
A. James Earl.
Q. Okay. All right. Okay. If we can -- and he was in the rooming
house. He -- at some point he had been in the rooming house?
A. Ruelsa?
Q. Yeah.
A. Yeah.
Q. Was he supposed to rent a room?
A. Yeah, uh-huh. And he was supposed to leave that stuff in that
room.
Q. What was James' role there? What was James supposed to have
done?
A. All he was done is -- he went and purchased the -- something --
binoculars, I believe, or something to that effect that had his
fingerprints and stuff on them, and he came back and gave them to
Ruelsa. This is
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the way I understand it because I obviously wasn't right there.
And then he told James to go on to Atlanta and to stay at the
place that he had set up for Ray in Atlanta.
Q. Right. Okay.
A. And that's the last from -- what I understand from Ruelsa, when
I talked to him later, Ray did just exactly what he was told.
Q. So he didn't -- he got out of the area, and he did what he was
supposed to do?
A. Yeah. He wasn't -- he wasn't anywhere around there, I mean, as
far as I know.
Q. That's what you were told?
A. That's right.
Q. Yeah. That is what you understand. Now, Warden Swenson --
A. Uh-huh. What about him?
Q. You're saying you knew Warden Swenson down in Central America.
What was Warden Swenson doing down in Central America?
A. Well, I presume from what he had indicated that he was on a --
on a vacation, and he was going to look at some of the prison
operations and what have you in the
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Panama Canal Zone for the feds -- for the federal people. I saw
him at the Myan Hotel.
Q. Right. And did -- did he tell you that he had -- where did he
tell you he had met James and decided upon James as a -- to be the
patsy?
A. He said that -- I said, well, what -- is this going to be just
in and out type thing, and then he said, no, I think Ruther wants
it blamed on certain elements or people to flare things up. And I
said, well, you know, it doesn't make any difference to me really
one way or the other. And I said, how long have you known Mr.
Ruther. And he said, for quite a long time. He said, in fact, I
know him a lot better than I wish I did. That was one of his
quotes, so I -- then Raul -- Ruelsa told me that Swenson had set
this deal up for Ray to presumably cleverly escape in a red truck,
on a Sunday morning, jump off of it, and Ruelsa was going to pick
him up, which I know that did happen.
Q. How do you know that happened?
A. Because he called -- Ruelsa called me from Chicago and told me
that things had gone
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exactly as planned and that he was taking -- what did he call --
he never called him James Earl. It's Jimmy, I think, or Jim -- I'm
taking him, and we're going to drive around the country a while.
And when things get ready, I'll get back in touch. And -- but that
was the last I heard from that group until they did get back and
started trying to set up some kind of base of operations, I guess
you'd call it, in Alabama or Georgia or some place down there.
Q. Did Raul tell you what he -- Ruelsa tell you what he -- he and
James did during the time after James escaped from prison?
A. He asked me if I wanted to know, and I said no.
Q. Did he ever discuss with you how James got his identities?
A. No.
Q. Okay.
A. Are you referring to the -- the passports and that?
Q. No. The identity that he used when he traveled around the
country.
A. Oh, you mean as Willard and all
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that?
Q. No. He only used one identity, not Willard. He only used
Willard at the very end when he rented a room, but he had another
identity that he used when he traveled around the country, always.
A. Well, I guess Ruelsa set him up with it or somebody in New
Orleans. I wasn't familiar with it.
Q. Right. What was supposed to have happened to James?
A. You mean after?
Q. Yeah. After everything.
A. Okay. He was supposed to go -- after everybody had hit the
fever pitch to Lisbon, Portugal, where the UAW had a very, very
strong international union, and he was given and told a room to go
to in a hotel there. And the way I understand it, when the people
went in there to get him, he wasn't there, and I don't know how he
picked up on it or what, but the next thing, he's in England
someplace -- London.
MR. GARRISON: Page 69, beginning on Line 18.
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(Continuing to read from the deposition.)
Q. Do you believe that you were entirely on your own in this
operation?
A. With Ruther.
Q. With who?
A. Walter Ruther.
Q. With Walter Ruther. With the Union League?
A. Now, I might have misspoken just a minute when you asked me
that question. Of course, the way I understood it from Emil was
that Johnson had just lost his cool, so to speak, as they do
today, about King all of a sudden in some New York or Chicago
church coming out just raising the devil about the Vietnam War,
and Johnson told Humphrey -- the way I was told, because I wasn't
there --
Q. Yes, of course.
A. -- go tell Ruther to tell that SOB to shut his mouth. Now, the
way Emil told me, Ruther took that -- and don't forget, Ruther had
been a long time -- the UAW had really pushed the civil rights.
Q. Yes.
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A. And so he was told this by Humphrey.
Q. Yes.
A. That apparently convinced Ruther that -- that they had to do
something pretty quick. They had something set up called five
regionals.
In this particular scheme of things, there were going to be five
cities around the country where there would be this union
organizing, vote organizing kind of situation, and Memphis had
been selected to be the center of these things.
There was going to be one in New York, obviously, Detroit,
Chicago, L.A. and Memphis, and that was what Ruther was basically
trying to protect, I believe, was the fact that -- you know, his
slogan was -- I don't know if you recall this or not or read it,
but was -- and I think it was a bad choice of words -- was
community-ized and unionized.
MR. GARRISON: That's all.
THE COURT: Do you want to read from the deposition?
MR. PEPPER: Yes, sir.
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Plaintiff's don't want to tax or burden this jury any more than
absolutely necessary, but just very briefly -- this is counsel's
deposition so I'm having to just quickly go through it to find the
one paragraph. Page 56.
Your Honor, plaintiffs concluded that this deposition -- this
statement is a -- is disinformation, not to be believed, for a
variety of detail and accuracy. Without burdening the jury, the
one in particular that concerned plaintiffs is on Page 56.
Plaintiffs' counsel asked the deponent --
Question: "Was there anyone else in the brush area with you?"
Answer: "No."
Question: "And do you mind to tell us what you were wearing."
Answer: "I had on blue jeans."
Question: "Yes."
Answer: "A blue shirt, a blue jean jacket and some -- I never say
this right -- tong or thong sandals."
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Question: "Thong sandals?"
Answer: "Yes. I had been wearing them in Tampa, plus they have
pretty slick bottoms."
Could Your Honor instruct please that any mobile phones in this
courtroom be turned off.
"Yes, I had been wearing them in Tampa, plus they have pretty
slick bottoms so you don't have to worry about them."
Question: "Was the area heavily overgrown -- that brush area
there?"
Answer: "Not particularly. It just looked thumpy. I mean, it
looked like a lot of areas like that around Memphis. Right."
Question: "Do you know how roughly -- how long it took you to get
from the gated area where you came in down to the corner of the
wall?"
Answer: "Two or three minutes."
Question: "Was there any impediment that you faced as you walked
to that corner of the wall?"
Answer: "No, other than, you know, some bushes and stuff. But no
physical -- no
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wire or any fence or anything like that."
Question: "You didn't encounter a fence?"
Answer: "No."
Question: "That separated those two pieces of property?"
Answer: "No."
(End of deposition testimony.)
MR. PEPPER: Your Honor, we're putting up on the screen Plaintiffs'
Exhibit 8 which is a photograph taken after the brush area was
cleared but at the same time in 1968, within a day or so, and it
depicts, quite clearly, a fence that runs east and west separating
the two pieces of property. That's the subject of testimony here.
And in the right-hand corner, the end of the fence as it goes
straight down to the edge of the wall. So, in fact, there was
quite a serious impediment, a fence separating those two pieces of
property which this deponent claimed was not there. Nothing
further.
THE COURT: Mr. Garrison, anything you want to read?
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MR. GARRISON: Your Honor, I have a deposition of Mr. Ray which is
rather lengthy.
THE COURT: All right. Let's take a break and we'll get in a
portion of it.
(Brief break taken.)
THE COURT: All right, Mr. Garrison.
MR. GARRISON: Your Honor, we have Mr. James Earl Ray's testimony
-- it's going to be rather lengthy. It's going to take two or
three hours for that at least, and I have testimony of a witness
that's 40 pages, so it will be 30 or 40 minutes before I can
conclude with one of these.
THE COURT: Is this your way of telling us you're ready to knock
off and come back Monday?
MR. GARRISON: Sorry. I didn't say that, Your Honor. But it's going
to take quite a while to present Mr. Ray's testimony.
THE COURT: You're entitled to put on your defense. Go ahead.
MR. GARRISON: Start with this
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one?
THE COURT: However you want to shape your proof, sir.
MR. GARRISON: Your Honor, Mr. Ray's testimony is rather lengthy
and I would rather it be heard all in one day without it being
broken up.
THE COURT: All right. We'll look forward to starting next week
with that. And that will be the extent of your proof?
MR. GARRISON: There may be one other witness depending on whether
or not I can get service on the witness.
THE COURT: All right. All right. What are we going to do now?
MR. GARRISON: I'm sorry.
THE COURT: What are we doing now?
MR. GARRISON: I have one other witness that's a 40-page
deposition. If you want me to read that I'll be glad to.
THE COURT: Whichever -- as they say, whatever.
MR. GARRISON: I'm sorry, I
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didn't understand.
THE COURT: Whichever way you want to proceed.
MR. GARRISON: I can present it now. It will be rather lengthy. But
if you want me to go ahead, I'll be glad to.
THE COURT: You mean the Ray deposition?
MR. GARRISON: No, sir, it's another witness besides that. Almost
40 pages of it.
THE COURT: All right. Go ahead and do that.
MR. GARRISON: All right. This is testimony of Ms. Lavada Addison.
And I was present for Mr. Jowers and Dr. Pepper was present for
the plaintiff. These are the questions that were asked of this
witness, Lavada Addison.
THE COURT: Please spell that name.
MR. GARRISON: A D D I S O N, L A V A D A. On Page 5 beginning
with Dr. Pepper's questions.
(Reading from the deposition.)
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A. Mr. Pepper, the one thing I want to clarify, when I gave the
deposition to Mr. Ashford --
Q. The statement?
A. A statement, rather. It wasn't a deposition. He asked if I knew
Mr. Liberto's relatives, and I had met one of his nephews, but at
that time I did not recall his name, but his name is Billy, and
that I also told him that Billy had something to do with
electrical, and I told him it was the Coliseum, but it was the
Convention Center where he was working. I don't know if that
matters, but I want to clarify that.
Q. That's fine. Yes. I had discussion with Mr. Ashford at one
point about it, and he did basically summarize what you know, what
you have said, with respect to Mr. Liberto, and I gather in many
ways it was a limited -- in terms of the matters we're concerned
about, you really had very limited contact with him or very
limited conversation.
A. Right.
Q. I'd just like to move forward on
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that. Mr. Garrison may have some other questions. He can take them
up later. Could you tell us where you worked in 1967 and 1968?
A. Where I was in that period?
Q. Where you worked during that period, 1967 and 1968.
A. In Millington.
Q. What was the name of the establishment?
A. No, you are speaking of the early 1970's when I had the pizza
parlor? Lavada's.
Q. Could we just move back. Before you had the pizza parlor, you
worked during the time in Millington?
A. Millington Telephone Company.
Q. Right. How long were you there?
A. Oh, off and on probably thirty-five years or so.
Q. When did you go into the pizza parlor or the restaurant
business?
A. In 19 -- well, in 1975 I owned a florist on the same corner
where I had the pizza parlor. Then I left my husband. I
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don't know if that makes any difference. But, anyway, in 1976 is
when I divorced him, and then the latter part of 1976 is when I
opened the pizza parlor.
Q. All right. What was the address of that pizza parlor?
A. 3411 Macon.
Q. 3411 Macon?
A. Yes.
Q. All right. What sort of food did you serve there?
A. I had a hot breakfast, sausage, biscuits, homemade gravy and so
forth, then we had a hot lunch, hot plate lunch. Mostly in the
evenings it was pizza.
Q. What were the hours of business?
A. Six in the a.m. until whenever.
Q. Very long day?
A. Right.
Q. Did you serve lunch as well?
A. Yes.
Q. And did you have a dinner menu, did you serve dinner?
A. No, we just had a hot plate lunch.
Q. Just a hot plate lunch?
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A. Uh-huh. The kitchen was small. We didn't -- we just had a hot
lunch, and that was it.
Q. Now, when did you first meet Mr. Frank Liberto?
A. Probably in -- well, after I opened the pizza parlor. He didn't
come by when I had the flower shop there. He sold me produce. Then
he came by for breakfast. Then I had seen him down at the Scott
Street Market. He was what we call the tomato man there. He sold a
lot of tomatoes.
Q. Do you know the name of his company on Scott Street during that
time?
A. No. I don't remember. I just know where it was located, but I
don't remember.
Q. Would the name L & L mean anything to you, Liberto & Latch
Brothers?
A. No. You'd see the Liberto names down there, but that didn't
mean anything to me.
Q. So you met him in a business way, you bought produce from him?
A. Right.
Q. Did he deliver produce to your restaurant?
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A. Yes. Apparently he went to work early in the morning, and he
dropped my tomatoes and different things off, and he would eat
breakfast while he was there. Then after awhile he would eat and
sit around and talk for awhile like a lot of people did.
Q. All right. So he would come by early. What hour of the morning
would he come by?
A. I'm just speculating. I'm going to say somewhere around seven,
somewhere around there.
Q. Did he live nearby?
A. I don't know where he lived.
Q. When he came by early in the morning and dropped off the
produce, he had breakfast?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. Did you cook breakfast for him?
A. Yes.
Q. Did he have a regular type of breakfast that he had?
A. No. He didn't have a regular breakfast. Mr. Frank was a big
man. He was like on a bland diet most of the time. He
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would have like scrambled eggs and dry toast, coffee, occasionally
orange juice, and then I'd fix oatmeal for him.
Q. Now, when you first met him, let's put that in a time frame.
Which year would that have actually been?
A. I'm saying probably early 1977.
Q. Early 1977?
A. Yes.
Q. Okay.
A. Because he started coming by about the time I opened the
restaurant there, and that was in 1977, the early part.
Q. Could you estimate his age at that time?
A. No, I couldn't. I don't know.
Q. That's fair enough. It is very difficult in some people.
A. He didn't have a lot of wrinkles. He didn't have as many as
I've got right now. Let's put it like that.
Q. He'd come in and have breakfast, and then he would go off to
his place of business. Would you see him every day?
A. Not every day. Most every day,
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though. And sometimes he would come back for lunch. You just would
look up, and there he was. He didn't have a certain time that he
came in.
Q. He'd drop in for lunch. Did he ever drop in in the afternoon on
his way home or after the business was closed?
A. Yes.
Q. What time would that be as a rule?
A. I don't remember. But I just remember that he was smoking a
cigar when he came in and he would have like his dress clothes on.
When I say "dress clothes," he'd have a sport shirt and pants. A
lot of times when he would come in, he would have his overalls on,
bib overalls. When he had on a sport shirt, I considered that his
dress clothes.
Q. When he came in late in the afternoon when he was on his way
home, would he eat then as well?
A. No.
Q. What would he do then? Did he drink --
A. He would drink beer.
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Q. He would drink beer?
A. Uh-huh.
Q. And would he drink much beer or --
A. I don't recall. It has been so long, seventeen, eighteen years
ago.
Q. How long would he likely stay?
A. I don't remember. Just different times.
Q. All right. Where would you -- would you actually be serving
him? Would you be behind the counter serving him? How would you
interact with him?
A. Like in the early morning, if he had produce on his truck,
well, like the pizza parlor was on the corner, and the door was
here in the corner of the building, and then there was big windows
over here and big windows over here, and Mr. Frank would park his
truck right by these windows. And there was a table next to the
windows where he would watch his produce. He would sit there early
in the morning.
Q. And would you serve him?
A. Yes. But it was like a family type thing. After I served him,
you just would
DANIEL, DILLINGER, DOMINSKI, RICHBERGER, WEATHERFORD
(901) 529-1999
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sit down and talk. It was like a round table. Everyone would just
gather around at times.
Q. You gradually became involved in conversation with him when he
was around?
A. Right.
Q. You came to know him, actually?
A. Right.
Q. As a regular customer?
A. Yes.
Q. As you have many others, I'm sure. Did you have other staff
working in the restaurant at that time?
A. Yes.
Q. Who were the other staff and what did they do?
A. I had, well, the cook, and she is dead now, by the way, Emma. I
can't remember her name. Then there was Lewis Monticelli, he
worked, Nathan, my son, worked. We had a couple of waitresses,
Thelma Smith, a red-head, and there was another one, Annette
something. I can't remember her name.
Q. Now, I understand at one time, one point in the course of your
interaction with
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Mr. Liberto when he was in your restaurant, the killing of Martin
Luther King came up.
A. Yes, sir.
Q. Did it come up more than once in your presence or was it only
one time?
A. Only one time.
Q. Only one time. And do you recall when that was?
A. No, sir, I don't.
Q. The year?
A. No.
Q. What prompted the discussion?
A. I had a TV up in the front part of the pizza parlor, and we
were sitting at a table, and something came on TV about Martin
Luther King, and I don't recall what it was. But he said in a low
voice to me, he said, I had Martin Luther King killed. I said,
don't be telling me anything like that, I don't want to hear it
and I don't believe it anyway. And I got up and walked away.
That's the only time he ever mentioned it and I ever mentioned it
to him either.
(End of deposition testimony that was read into the record.)
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MR. GARRISON: That's all I have, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Do you have anything to add to that?
MR. PEPPER: None. Nothing, Your Honor.
THE COURT: All right. Next order of business.
MR. GARRISON: The only other thing I have is the testimony of Mr.
Ray, and I prefer to start it all in one day so the jury wouldn't
forget what they heard. It's rather lengthy testimony.
THE COURT: All right. Monday morning at -- what do we have? We'll
just start Monday at 10 then. Ladies and Gentlemen, we'll resume
Monday at 10 o'clock.
(Court adjourned unil Monday, December 6, 1999, at 10 o'clock
a.m.)
DANIEL, DILLINGER, DOMINSKI, RICHBERGER, WEATHERFORD
e901) 529-1999
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