The Transcription of the King Family Press Conference on the
Coretta Scott King: There is abundant evidence of a major high level conspiracy
in the assassination of my husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. And the civil
court's unanimous verdict has validated our belief. I wholeheartedly applaud
the verdict of the jury and I feel that justice has been well served in their
deliberations. This verdict is not only a great victory for my family, but
also a great victory for America. It is a great victory for truth itself.
It is important to know that this was a SWIFT verdict, delivered after about
an hour of jury deliberation. The jury was clearly convinced by the extensive
evidence that was presented during the trial that, in addition to Mr. Jowers,
the conspiracy of the Mafia, local, state and federal government agencies,
were deeply involved in the assassination of my husband. The jury also affirmed
overwhelming evidence that identified someone else, not James Earl Ray, as
the shooter, and that Mr. Ray was set up to take the blame. I want to make
it clear that my family has no interest in retribution. Instead, our sole
concern has been that the full truth of the assassination has been revealed
and adjudicated in a court of law. As we pursued this case, some wondered
why we would spend the time and energy addressing such a painful part of
the past. For both our family and the nation, the short answer is that we
had to get involved because the system did not work. Those who are responsible
for the assassination were not held to account for their involvement. This
verdict, therefore, is a great victory for justice and truth. It has been
a difficult and painful experience to revisit this tragedy, but we felt we
had an obligation to do everything in our power to seek the truth. Not only
for the peace of mind of our family but to also bring closure and healing
to the nation. We have done what we can to reveal the truth, and we now urge
you as members of the media, and we call upon elected officials, and other
persons of influence to do what they can to share the revelation of this
case to the widest possible audience. I know that this has been a difficult
case for everyone involved. I thank the jury and Judge Swearington for their
commitment to reach a just verdict, I want to also thank our attorneys, Dr.
William Pepper and his associates for their hard work and tireless dedication
in bringing this case to justice. Dr. Pepper has put many years of his life,
as well as his financial resources, into this case. He has made significant
personal sacrifices to pursue the search for the truth about my husband's
assassination.
I want to thank my son Dexter, who showed great courage and perseverance
and who took a lot of unmerited and personal attacks so we could get to the
truth about the assassination. And I want to thank my other children, Yolanda,
Martin and Bernice who have kept the faith, refused to become embittered
and have remained steadfast in their efforts to pursue the truth of their
father's assassination. My husband once said, "The moral arc of the universe
is long, but it bends toward justice." Today, almost 32 years after my husband
and the father of my four children was assassinated, I feel that the jury's
verdict clearly affirms this principle. With this faith, we can begin the
21st century and the new millennium with a new spirit of hope and healing.
Dexter King: I would just like to say that this is such a heavy moment for
me. Yet while my heart is heavy, and this is a bittersweet occasion, bitter
because we are dealing with tragedy, a tragedy that occurred some 32 years
ago, but, yet today, we are still dealing with it. It is sweet because finally
we know what happened. Sweet because this family has been vindicated, sweet
because we can say that we are truly free at last. We can now move on with
our lives. I want to give a real thanks to my mother, for her leadership
and her tireless effort in carrying this burden all this time. You know we
as children at that time were so young that we did not really understand
what was going on. To my siblings, who have been here and been steadfast,
to my aunt, we as a family have been unified around this effort. We finally
got what we have been asking for, the opportunity to present evidence that
we always felt would bring the truth out in a court of law. To have had 12
individual jurors to bear what we have been saying, that if the American
public were allowed to really hear, they too would conclude what has now
been concluded by those 12. I want to make a special thanks to Dr. William
Pepper, for really if it were not for his efforts, we would not have known
about this. We really would not have gotten involved. We can say that because
of the evidence and information obtained in Memphis we believe that this
case is over. This is a period in the chapter. We constantly hear reports,
which troubles me, that this verdict creates more questions than answers.
That is totally false. Anyone who sat in on almost four weeks of testimony,
with over seventy witnesses, credible witnesses I might add, from several
judges to other very credible witnesses, would know that the truth is here.
The question now is, "What will you do with that?" We as a family have done
our part. We have carried this mantle for as long as we can carry it. We
know what happened. It is on public record. The transcripts will be available;
we will make them available on the Web at some point. Any serious researcher
who wants to know what happened can find out.
And I just want to state for the record for once and for all, that those
of you in the media who may innocently be reporting that inaccuracy, you
know, because you may be legitimately ignorant about the facts, I want to
clear that up now. Those of you who may be a part of the media manipulation,
you to can hear this. The word that always comes forth first, that James
Earl Ray confessed, is not true. He never confessed. He pleabargained. Any
of you that understand the legal process understand that plea bargain is
not the same as a confession. Why? Essentially it is put forth in an effort
to get a lenient sentence. Also, it is an admission to having committed the
crime. The second thing, is that this verdict was not, as has been reported,
a conspiracy that said others were involved other than James Earl Ray. That
is not what that jury voted on. I want to be clear about that. They clearly
voted on evidence that stated that James Earl Ray was not the shooter, that
he was set up, that he was an unknown patsy. That Lloyd Jowers, along with
his coconspirators, that the jury also concluded involved state, local and
federal agencies. I want to be clear about that, because you keep hearing
duplicitous reports. I also want to put to rest for once and for all, that
no one is qualified to speak on this case except the people who were there,
the jurors, the family and, of course, the legal team. Just because someone
says they marched with Dr. King does not make them an authority on this subject,
whether they are political conduits or government publicists who continue
to recycle these lies and continue to discredit this family. This is what
happened to my father. There is a very distinct process or protocol that
happens when there is an issue of national security. First, there is an attempt
to discredit ones credibility. Second, there is harassment. And finally,
if that does not work, termination or elimination. That is what happened
to our loved one, because he challenged the establishment. He spoke out against
the war in Vietnam. He talked about dealing with poverty, by taking poor
people to Washington. There was also an interest in the political process.
He became too powerful. Let us not forget, as my mother said, that it was
the failure of the system to do the right thing by its citizens, who first
and foremost caused and created a Martin Luther King Jr. and others to get
out on the front line and be beaten, brutalized and even killed. And now,
it is the failure of the system to do the right thing, which is now to find
out who killed this man. Because they themselves will have to show bloody
hands. So it is left up to our efforts as private citizens, as he was a private
citizen who had to seek other means through private regress. We thank God
for democracy. There is still in America a system, even with all of its
shortcomings, that in some cases justice can be achieved. So we believe that
this verdict speaks to that last bastion of this democracy. Where 12 independent
people could hear something and that you and I am also given the opportunity
to hear and to know. So in that regard we celebrate.
Finally, we know that because this has occurred after 32 years, we can finally
move on with our lives. We don't care what the justice department does. This
is another misnomer. We did not do this to force their hand. I doubt seriously
that they will indict themselves, for who polices the police? That is up
to the American public. We, [the King family] have done our part. Those of
you, if you find it in your hearts to get the "powers that be" to officialize
what 12 independent people have already done, that is your business. We know
what happened. This is the period at the end of the sentence. Please, after
today, we do not want questions like; "do you believe that James Earl Ray
killed your father?" I have been hearing that all of my life. No, I don't.
This is the end of it. Thank you.
Martin Luther King, III: First I want to say, well done brother, well said.
On behalf of all of the persons who worked with my father and as the spokesperson
of the organization that he cofounded, SCLC, I don't think that I can say
much more than what my brother Dexter has said, and what my mother has said.
Certainly this has been a very, very long time coming. It essentially says
that the truth can in fact come through. It essentially says that if you
keep working forward, sometimes for some, even in the twilight, that one
day you will reach the conclusion of truth. This could not have happened
without a lot of people. I too, want to thank Dr. Pepper and his team, who
have been working on this for almost 20 plus years. I too, must thank my
brother, who basically sat us down and had the courage to encourage us to
take on this issue that we knew was going to be a process of maybe, attempting
to discredit this family. Some people have said that we are crazy. Some have
stated that we were trying to do other things. The only thing we have ever
tried to do was to seek that which is true. So while this is in a sense closing
for us, or may be the end of a chapter for us, it might be just the beginning
for others, as my brother Dexter has stated and my mother has stated.
We are very pleased this day. I hope that this will give others encouragement
to always seek that which is true. Thank you.
Bernice King: I guess I will speak, for I have never spoken before regarding
the assassination of my father. I was only 3 yearsold. You may remember me
as the one in my mother's lap at the funeral. I don't have much to say, because
in a real sense I recall words that were spoken when the decision came down
from the Supreme Court, regarding the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.
The words spoken were that "God had spoken" from the Supreme Court. I think
that God has spoken from 12 independent jurors in Memphis, Tennessee concerning
my father's assassination. As somewhat the spiritual leader for this family,
because I am an ordained Christian Minister, I have to truly give praise
to God for what has happened. We cannot know that God is not a liar. He has
spoken his word that I will never leave you, not forsake you, that I will
be with you until the end of the earth. So I praise God for what may happen.
I thank God for my family. My family praises God for Attorney William Pepper,
for his diligent and tireless efforts. There is a word in scripture that
says do not be weary in what you are doing, for in due season you will reap
if you faint not. Today, we have reaped a harvest, not only for us alone,
but also for this nation. And I believe that ultimately God is going to speak
even more truth in regards to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.,
because as we said from the beginning, even though we needed a sense of peace
and satisfaction to have the record set straight, the reality is that it
is not who killed Martin Luther King, Jr., but as we go forth into the new
millennium, as a nation, but what killed Martin Luther King, Jr. Because
whenever we get to what killed Martin Luther King, Jr., then we will deal
with the various injustices that we face as a nation and ultimately as a
nation that leads this world. So I thank God for what has happened. I thank
the American people for their voices that have been relentless in this pursuit
in various ways. Even to those who have not been able to speak at this point,
I thank God for their prayers.
WILLIAM PEPPER: Ladies and Gentlemen, this great republic has throughout
it's
history, has been afraid to face the issues that Martin Luther King tried
to
confront at the end of his life. Dexter King said quite frankly, that
Martin King opposed the war in Vietnam, and sought to bring the poor to
Washington to rally for their cause in the halls of Congress. They took up
tents in the shadow of the Washington Memorial to remind the lawmakers that
forces of power in this land that do exist, and they have rights which were
being denied to them.
Because he took on those forces, powerful economic forces that dominated
politics in this land, they killed him. He was killed because he could not
be stopped. He was killed because they feared that half a million people
would rise in revolution in the capitol of this country, and do what Mr.
Jefferson said needed to be done every 20 years, to cleanse this land. This
land has not been cleansed. This nation has not faced the problems that
Martin Luther King, Jr. died trying to face and confront. They still exist
today, the forces of evil, the powerful economic forces that dominate the
government of this land and make money on war and deprive the poor of what
is
their right, their birthright. They still abound and they rule.
The jury heard the background of Dr. King's crust. They understood,
finally, the reason why he was stained. He was not a civil rights leader
when he was stained. He was an international figure of great stature. He
had a moral banner that he was waving and it was heard and seen all over
the
land. Here and in Europe, Southeast Asia. He had that kind of compelling
presence. He was a danger and a threat to the status quo. So he was
eliminated.
What the jury also heard, from all of those witnesses for almost four
weeks, was that he was assassinated because of the removal of the all police
protection when he was in the city of Memphis. Even Black Firemen were taken
away. His body guard staff were removed. Attack forces were moved back. On
and on it went. And then the Mafia involvement with Jowers was put forth
in
excruciating detail of how this was planned and who was behind this.
The man who controlled James Earl Ray was identified by independent
witnesses from spreads of photographs they had seen. Like a British
journalist showed a photograph of this man to his daughter and she said
anybody could get this photo of my father identifying him heading others.
A
Portuguese journalist met with the family and was told how the government
of
the United States was protecting this man. Now, in their homes protecting
their phones. Who is this person? Who is this person that the government
continues to protect? Against what kind of assault?
Then the proof goes into the broader conspiracy. The fact that had you
known that there were photographers on the roof of the fire station. Had
you
known that two army photographers were on the roof of the fire station
photographing everything. Two cameras, one on the balcony and one whisking
around the driveway and into the brush area. Did you know ladies and
gentlemen that the assassination was photographed? That there were
photographs buried in the archives at the Department of Defense? No you did
not know. And you know why you did not know? Because there was no police
investigation in this case. No house to house investigation. Neighbors as
late as two weeks later stated "they never knocked on my door, now let me
tell you what I saw." And she takes the stand and she tells what she saw.
She tells that she saw a fireman tell the police that the shot came from
those bushes there, and the police ignored him. Seeing a man run from an
alley and get into a car and is whipped away right in front of the police.
And the police not bothering at all to stop him. No, no, no, you did not
know about any of this did you? They didn't talk to the Captain who ran the
fire station. No one talked to that man in thirty years. He put the
photographers up there. He took the stand and stated, "yeah I put them up
there. They showed me credentials saying they wanted to take pictures."
Where are those pictures? That proof has existed for all of these years.
It's there. It has been buried.
The tragedy of the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. is a tragedy for
this family here. This family in my view is America's first family because
of their struggle and for what they have stood for, going back for
generations, going back to 1917, the first world war period, this family
was
under surveillance by military intelligence back then. Up to the present
time they have been feared. So that is a tragedy for this family. It is a
tragedy for this nation and to the world that this man was taken from us
when
he was.
The third tragedy was the failure of representative democracy to deal
with this as a political act. This type of act which was covered up. How
was it covered up? Well, the jury heard evidence as to how it was covered
up
for 31 years. And ladies and gentlemen, the evidence they heard ranged from
murder, murder of a poor innocent cab driver who was putting luggage into
a
taxi cab in the driveway of the Loraine Motel and who saw the shooter come
down over the wall, run down Mulberry Street and get into a waiting Memphis
Police traffic car to be driven away. He told his dispatcher, "Oh, they got
the killer. I saw him being driven away in a Memphis Police Department
traffic car." What happened to that poor taxi cab driver? He was
interviewed by the police that night and they found his body the next
morning. NO record of that death exists. NO record exists. If we had not
found people whom he had told that story, who heard him on the very night
we
would have never known about this.
Then we have to go to the directories and find out who was his wife and
who he was. To see his listings in the directories in 66 and 67, and then
in
68, see "Betty" his widow. He is dead, he is gone and he is history. So it
goes from murder, down through bribery. James Earl Ray was offered large
sums of money on two occasions: when he was in prison and a pardon if he
would plead guilty. He did not do it.
There was evidence of attempted assassination of James when he was in
prison. Evidence was produced of how they tried to get rid of James, how
they tried to kill him when he was in prison. We went all through all of
that. Then ladies and gentlemen, the media. Because this could not have
been covered up without the help of the media. This is not a condemnation
of the good works of journalists who come and write stories and put them
through to your editors and watch them publish, or television cameramen who
do your jobs as you are supposed to do it. It has to do with forces that
ultimately decide what gets on the air, what gets in print and what the slant
is. So we put Bill Shat who is one of the leading experts on media this
information and propaganda used by government on the stand, and he explained
in detail how governments have done this historically and how they have done
it down to the present time. He explained how they took this family on when
they decided they were going to come out for a trial for James Earl Ray.
And
how they took Martin King on when he came out against the war in Vietnam.
And remember, when Dr. King came out against that war, it made everyone come
out against him. The media attacked him like there was no tomorrow. Just
like the media attacked his family like there is no tomorrow when they did
what was right. It is the job of the media to disclose. Not the job to
hide. This has been covered up, it has been hidden all of these years. Now
the jury has spoken. And what did the verdict say? And they are going to
be
trotted out and here comes the spins, "Oh the Judge was asleep during a lot
of the trial and he didn't hear a lot of the evidence. Oh there was a lot
of hearsay there." Not mentioning the admissions against interest are
omitted if there is hearsay.
One thing after another like this by people who have never seen him, who
have never heard him, who are not interested in the efforts, but who have
got
a locked in position that says that there was a lone assassin and that is
always the way it is going to be. Well let us hope that together we can
somehow make a step so that we can end this nonsense. We can end this
nonsense. We can end this cover up. We can say for once and for all that
a
jury has spoken. They heard everything. If there is any decency left in
this system, it is the fact that you can get 12 people who can hear what
other people have to say, they can review documents, there are about 50
exhibits that they were able to review, and they can make up their own minds.
The defense tried several times to have the case dismissed. The Judge
refused. So it did go to a jury and that jury has spoken. Let's hope this
is a forum, which we can say, is healing. We have reached the truth. The
family is satisfied. What the government does, the government can do. The
government may do now what it has never done before. If they want to take
it
up now, let them take it up. The real, real ongoing, almost criminal aspect
of the case that still exists, is the fact that this family privately had
to
do what the government has not done and would not do. Make no mistake about
it, all the evidence that was heard in that court over the course of the
last
30 days has been available for 32 years. It has been there right in front
of
them. All they had to do was look, ask questions, believe credible people
who were willing to talk to them, and not further go away because there were
black shop owners and they didn't know what they heard when he heard the
man
say, shoot the son of a B when he comes on the balcony. He didn't know
and he didn't understand that. This was a businessman from Somerville.
In the traditional history of the country, where a person who was a
friend and a colleague of a victim, only for one year, the last year of his
life, but during that year the friend and colleague of the victim decided
20
years later the convicted murderer of that victim. Then eventually came to
represent the family in the final quest of justice. That has been the
process that I follow. That has been the result. We have at last obtained
justice. Martin King was always fond of saying in moments of trial, that
truth crushed to earth, no matter how much it is crushed, will always rise
again. Ladies and Gentlemen, in that courtroom yesterday in Memphis,
Tennessee, finally that truth crushed to earth rose again. Today we
acknowledge that truth.
Dexter King: I want to thank all of you for being so patient and for coming
out to cover this. At this moment, we have now ended our formal statements
and would now like to open it up for questions.
Answer to Question by Dexter King: What should happen next as you have heard,
we really have no control over. I don't mean to sound rash or insensitive,
but we really don't care at this time. As my father used to say, in healthy
selfinterest, this family is now hoping to cleanse and to heal and move.
Closure. This is it for us. We are here to say that we feel that we can
move on from here.
Answer to Question by Dexter King: No, no, Mr. Jowers did name names. That
is another misnomer. Why is there so much misinformation. The only thing
I
can say is that if anybody wants to really take time they should read these
transcripts. Ironically, I happen to get a call from Mr. Jowers on my way
over here on my cell phone. He called to basically say that he wanted the
family to know and to express to you, Mother Dear, that he never wanted nor
intended any harm to us and that he is glad this is off of his chest. He
is
glad the jury ruled the way they did. He said that his attorney does not
even know that I am talking to you, and I don't care. I don't have much
longer and I don't care what is going to happen to me now. He is very afraid
of an indictment. That is the reason he was never willing to come forward.
Dr. Pepper kept telling him that he did not have to worry, because they do
not want the truth, so you are not going to get indicted. If they indict
you, that will throw away all the "official" story, which we now know is
not
Question: There are many people out there who feel that as long as these
conspirators remain nameless and faceless there is no true closure, and no
justice.
Dexter King: No, he named the shooter. The shooter was the Memphis Police
Department Officer, Lt. Earl Clark who he named as the killer. Once again,
beyond that you had credible witnesses that named members of a Special
Forces team who didn't have to act because the contract killer succeeded,
with plausible denial, a Mafia contracted killer.
Question: I'm sorry, my question goes to the family's feelings. There are
those who feel that as long as this greater conspiracy that has remained
faceless and nameless and until there are faces and names attached to that
conspiracy that justice will not be served. The family doesn't share that
view?
Dexter King: Well no, because we know. I guess I am not making myself clear.
There is an institutional framework on how these things happen. So if you
want to go back and do the research for those who want to know who gives
an
order. I do know certain things about the military, and the commander in
chief has to make certain commitments for certain troops to be committed
domestically. In this instance, there was denial that the troops were not
there, Special Forces were not there. But in fact, with the Captain of the
Firehouse, which Atty. Pepper had on the stand, said he put the Army Special
Ops. photographers on the roof. There was another witness that talked about
all the Army Officers, a Memphis Police Officer, an inspector who talked
about all the army brass that was there. He said that he had never seen that
much Army Brass in his office ever before. So all of this information is
there. It's just that no one has really looked. This is the most incredible
coverup of the century. I can't even believe it. It is mindboggling. But
again, if anybody wants to go do the research, and we do live in an age of
microwave society and everybody wants things like that (very quickly), but
if
anyone is serious about sitting down and going through this, they will come
up with the same conclusions as we did and 12 other people did as well.
Question: So the family doesn't necessarily want to see those people spend
time in jail?
Dexter King: No, we were never in this for a retribution of justice. We
follow the spirit of our loved one. He forgave the woman who almost took
his
life, if you recall, when he was stabbed. I personally witnessed my
grandfather forgiving the killer of his wife when I was 13 years of age.
The
only thing that this family and I have ever talked about is reconciliation.
We are a family of love. We try to walk the walk and not just talk the talk.
We are never looking to put people in jail. What we are looking to do is
cleanse the society because these ills still exist. Just as my sister stated
so eloquently, it is not who killed Martin Luther King, Jr., but what killed
him and why was he killed. He was killed because he was addressing
injustices that today still have not been addressed.
Dexter King: So once again, we want to thank each and every one of you for
coming out. We are hopeful about whatever the powers that be decide, but
that is on them. But we caution you, be wary. You will be hearing attacks
that the family is in this for money. I can tell you and I can show you the
receipts. We have spent a lot of money. And we have lost a lot of money
because of this. There is no gain. As you know, the verdict rendered a
small, nominal sum. We requested a hundred dollars because there had to be
some damages, because it was a wrongful death suit. We did that because we
were never in this for money. We spent money. We had to pay for some 70 odd
witnesses to appear and all their expenses. But you cannot put a price on
freedom. And certainly you cannot place a price on death. So the thing we
hope for is that we can move forward into this new millennium, coming into
the Christmas Season.
Question: Can you tell us something from your conversation this morning with
Mr. Jowers?
Dexter King: He simply stated that he wanted me to know, as well as my family
and my mother (he asked me about my mother), that he is sorry for all of
this. But he said that he is glad that it turned out the way it did. He
said what happens, happens. That he does not know what will happen to him
as
he gets to his age. He is still fearful as a result of all of this that he
is going to go to prison. The first time I met with him, that was the first
thing he was concerned about. He said, "I don't want to go to jail. I am
an
old man and I am so afraid." Even though the Justice Department granted him
federal immunity, he is concerned and worried about the issue of state
immunity, the state of Tennessee. We assured him that if that were the case,
we would certainly make a stand to grant immunity. We would support that
kind of thing.
Question: Did he say anything in this conversation about his role in the
assassination?
Dexter King: Well not in this conversation, but on several other occasions.
At least two occasions that I met with him. At another time he actually
called names. It was somewhat of a confessional thing, because he would call
me sometimes late into the evening just to talk. You could tell it was a
cleansing process. Why does a person who is almost, you know, terminal in
a
sense....even James Earl Ray was offered a liver transplant he would've just
said that he did it. Why would someone take that to their graves?
Especially if they had a chance to have a little more life?
Question: This is to Mr. Pepper. Was there anything that came out in the
trial that you didn't know about?
William Pepper: Lydia Cayton came forward when the trial was about to begin.
She lived just down the street from the Lorraine Motel. On the afternoon
of
the shooting, she heard the shots and grabbed her two children and ran down
to the corner, about 8 minutes after the shooting. One of her neighbors
stood with her. She was the one who saw a man run from an alley that
connected to a building of the rooming house, and get into a Chevrolet
Corvair and drive around the corner, while the police stood there on the
corner of Mulberry. She also saw a fireman screaming at the police that a
shot came from the bushes. Ms. Cayton's evidence and courage is very
important. The courage of the Fire Department Captain to come forward and
talk about putting the photographers up on the roof. These people were
concerned and frightened. That I think was significant.
The testimony of the main witness who talked to the cab driver who was
killed, Louis Ward. And the taxi driver who talked about the network
television team, who drove to the airport after they had given Mr. Jowers
a
lie detector test. This was very important. They gave Mr. Jowers a lie
detector test at one point, and you will hear that Mr. Jowers failed the
lie
detector test. They came in and told him that he failed at the end of it.
While this team was being driven to the airport, they were talking about
Jowers, and because he knew Mr. Jowers, his ear perked up. He heard the
examiner in the front seat say, "There is nothing I can do to get him to
waver." And the passengers in the back, asking, "Well how does a man retain
so much detail like that? How can he recollect that so accurately?" The
front seat passenger said in reply, "I don't know, I couldn't get him to
lie." And when a program aired, Jowers was still shown as failing the
lie detector test. That cab driver came forward. Another cab driver and
security guard, who lived another 15 years, a man called James McGraw, came
forward and he tried not to testify, but eventually he did. He said, that
a
close friend of Mr. Jowers got drunk and every time he was intoxicated over
a
period of 15 years, and they lived together, he would always go back to one
thing he did, that he, McGraw, after the assassination, was told by Jowers
to take this rifle and get rid of it. He threw it off of the
MemphisArkansas Bridge into the Mississippi River. That is where the
murder weapon has lain for 32 years. McGraw said he would never talk about
it when he was sober, always when he got drunk and the details were always
the same. Always the same. He found him credible and McGraw was very close
with Jowers. That is the kind of evidence that emerged as the trial went
on. The jury found all of this persuasive. A Head of Intelligence, The
United States Department admitted that he had no trained intelligence
officers in his office and that even they were a nuisance at one point and
time. The man who headed the Protective Unit for Dr. King was never
informed of the last visit. He stated that they were told to protect him
every time he came in early, but not the last time. The man who learned
about the change in Dr. King's ,that he was supposed to be in room 201, a
courtyard room. That was then changed to room 206, which was an exposed
balcony room.
Then there is the whole thing about the bushes…the bushes. So many
witnesses saw figures in the bushes and the shooter coming down over the
bushes and running. You know the next morning at 7 o'clock, Inspector Sam
Evans, from the Memphis Police Department pulled Maynard Styles, the
Administrator of the Public Works Department and told Mr. Styles to get a
team out there and cut those bushes down. At seven a.m., on the 5th of
April, a team is sent to cut down the bushes. Now what does that mean in
police terms? It means that you have totally devastated and changed the
scene of a crime so that it is never the same. If there are no bushes, there
can be no sniper. So that is the kind of thing that they did. This unfolded
throughout.
The most moving testimony was probably that of a former government
operative, a very credible guy of the National Security Council, who is now
dying of liver cancer. His best friend was on the sniper unit, 20 Special
Forces team there. He told how he learned about that unit and how they were
assigned and what they were to do from his buddy back in the seventies. His
testimony was riveting, even though it was on a screen, because he was dying
from liver cancer and could not attend. There is so much evidence that
emerged in the court about a whole range of activity that if I summarize
I am
going to leave something out. I encourage anyone who is interested to go
and
review the records, to digest the records and look over them, and the
exhibits that are all available. There are certain military documents and
certain names in there, even some of my working papers are available. I am
asked to remind you that if anyone wants to communicate with me by email,
you can at: wpinclawus@aol.com. So I am happy to receive any inquiries at
any time and any information at any time. We have come to the end of a long
road. I encourage you to go and put questions to whoever you want to in
government, for it is now in the hands of the government to do whatever they
will do. Hopefully, it will not be to continue covering this up. But I
would have to be skeptical of any other result. Thank you.