Brother of alleged King assassin says Ray never mentioned murder plot

Jerry Ray, brother of James Earl Ray, testified Monday in the wrongful death trial of a man who allegedly conspired to kill Martin Luther King, Jr.

				KING ASSASSINATION CONSPIRACY TRIAL
				Background Who killed Martin Luther King, Jr.? Discuss on our message board Coretta Scott King testifies 11/16/99: Special Report on the Case 11/23/99: Judge Joe Brown testifies Nov. 29 Update Nov. 29 Update (Afternoon) Nov. 30 Update (Morning) Nov. 30 Update (Evening) Dec. 1 Update (Morning) Dec. 1 Update (Evening): Dexter King testifies Dec. 2 Update Dec. 8 (The Verdict) Text of the Complaint

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (Court TV) — Jerry Ray told jurors Monday that, despite an initial confession to the 1968 murder of Martin Luther King, Jr., his brother, James Earl Ray, was not involved in the civil rights leader's assassination and had not even mentioned King's name before the killing.

Jerry Ray was testifying on behalf of King's relatives in their wrongful death suit against a man who claims he was involved in a conspiracy to kill the civil rights leader in 1968. According to the suit, Loyd Jowers, 73, was part of a plot that involved "unknown conspirators" in King's slaying. Dr. William Pepper, James Earl Ray's longtime lawyer, says a liability judgment against Jowers would validate theories that Ray was set up as part of an alleged conspiracy to kill King — theories largely discounted by law enforcement officials.

Ray pleaded guilty to King's murder in 1969 and received a 99-year sentence. However, he recanted his story several days later, claiming his original lawyers coerced his confession. Ray died in prison in 1998 after spending the past 29 years seeking a new trial but was denied seven times by state and federal courts. Jerry Ray told jurors that his brother was not involved in a conspiracy to kill King, was not a racist and was not even interested in issues pertaining to King. James Earl, a convicted thief at the time of King's death, was primarily concerned with staying out of prison, according to Jerry Ray.

"The last thing that was on his [James Earl Ray's] mind was King, the Kennedys, or any of the things involving those people," Jerry Ray said. "He did not even mention King's name. ... He was only concerned with staying out of prison."

Jerry Ray also said that his brother never mentioned any plot to kill King or any offers for James Earl's involvement in an alleged murder conspiracy. Jerry Ray added that the biggest mistake his brother ever made was confessing to King's murder. Jerry Ray said his brother was offered money to plead guilty and was told that, if he pleaded guilty, he could avoid the death penalty.

The King family claims that Jowers participated in an assassination plot that was allegedly hatched in his place of business. Jowers owned Jim's Grill, the restaurant on the ground floor of a building that included the rooming house where Ray was staying in April 1968. The two-story structure overlooked the Lorraine Motel, where King stayed during his fateful trip to Memphis. The suit is based largely on a 1993 television interview where Jowers, 73, claimed that mobsters offered him $100,000 to have King killed. Ray initially admitted firing the fatal shot from the second-floor bathroom window of the rooming house that was above Jowers' restaurant.

A friend of Jowers, J.J. Isabel also testified Monday and told jurors that Jowers suggested his link to King's killing in a prior conversation.

"I asked him, 'Loyd, did you drop the hammer on Martin Luther King?'" Isabel said, recalling their conversation about King's assassination. "He just [Jowers] kind of hesitated for a moment or two. Then he said, 'You think you know I did it. I know what I did, but I would never admit to it or tell it in a court of law.'"

Another friend of Jowers, William Hamlin, testified that Jowers told him that an assassin other than Ray gave him the still-smoking gun used to kill King. According to Hamlin, a friend of his told him that an FBI acquaintance claimed that the CIA was behind King's slaying.

Walter Fauntroy, who was part of The House Select Committee on Assassins that reopened the investigation of King's assassination in the 1970s, testified that Ray was most likely the triggerman but did not act alone. Although the committee concluded Ray was guilty, it also left open the possibility of a conspiracy theory involving Ray as the triggerman and two white supremacists who offered to finance the hit. Fauntroy also noted that the committee's investigation was hampered because it was denied access to the FBI's files on the King murder case.

Jowers' attorney agrees that there was a conspiracy to kill King. However, the defense claims that Jowers did not know King was the target when he became involved in the murder plot. Jowers also has said that Memphis police officers and the late Frank C. Liberto, a Memphis produce company operator, were also involved in the plot to kill King.

Jowers was expected to testify but has fallen seriously ill since the start of the trial. He has been hospitalized, and it is uncertain how his testimony will be handled. The presiding judge told jurors that Jowers may not be present in court for the rest of the trial.

Dexter King, one of King's sons, was expected to testify Monday, but will more likely take the stand Tuesday. He is expected to tell jurors about a conversation he had with Jowers where the defendant allegedly admitted his role in the plot to kill his father. According to Dexter King, Jowers also admitted that someone other than Ray killed the elder King.

King's family is seeking compensatory and punitive damages from Jowers and any other alleged conspirators. However, they claim the case is not about money but about a search for the truth. Dr. Pepper hopes the suit will put pressure on Attorney General Janet Reno, who ordered a federal investigation into the King assassination in August 1998 after meeting with King's widow, Coretta Scott King, and two of their children. According to Pepper, a report on the federal investigation has been overdue since last June.

— Bryan Robinson