The Plot to Kill King: The Truth Behind the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

by William F. Pepper

Bestselling author, James Earl Ray’s defense attorney, and, later, lawyer for the King family William Pepper reveals who actually killed MLK.

William Pepper was James Earl Ray’s lawyer in the trial for the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., and even after Ray’s conviction and death, Pepper continues to adamantly argue Ray’s innocence. This myth-shattering exposé is a revised, updated, and heavily expanded volume of Pepper’s original bestselling and critically acclaimed book Orders to Kill, with twenty-six years of additional research included. The result reveals dramatic new details of the night of the murder, the trial, and why Ray was chosen to take the fall for an evil conspiracy—a government-sanctioned assassination of our nation’s greatest leader. The plan, according to Pepper, was for a team of United States Army Special Forces snipers to kill King, but just as they were taking aim, a backup civilian assassin pulled the trigger.

In The Plot to Kill King, Pepper shares the evidence and testimonies that prove that Ray was a fall guy chosen by those who viewed King as a dangerous revolutionary. His findings make the book one of the most important of our time—the uncensored story of the murder of an American hero that contains disturbing revelations about the obscure inner-workings of our government and how it continues, even today, to obscure the truth.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Arcade imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in history--books about World War II, the Third Reich, Hitler and his henchmen, the JFK assassination, conspiracies, the American Civil War, the American Revolution, gladiators, Vikings, ancient Rome, medieval times, the old West, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, True Crime, Politics, Race, Audiobook, Historical

768 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2016

About the author

Attorney who is mostly known for his efforts to prove the innocence of James Earl Ray & Sirhan Sirhan.

Pepper is involved in Human Rights Law. He has written opinions on the German Border Guards case and more recently an opinion on the application of international law in the Spanish prosecution of individuals relating to war crimes committed post 9/11.

For a time he convened the International Human Rights Seminar at Oxford University, during which time individuals such as Hugo Chavez, the President of Venezuela, accepted invitations to address the seminar. He lives primarily in the United States.

Reviews

[Violet wells · Rating 4 out of 5]

The term conspiracy theory of course has pejorative connotations. Interestingly though it's only ever used in relation to shady events which take place in western democracies. On mainstream media the reportage of political murders in dictatorship countries deploys none of the same scepticism. I remember when the Russian double agent was attacked in the UK our then prime minister, Teresa May announced she had no doubt Russian military intelligence was involved. She said the attack had clearly been approved at a more senior level. So essentially it's fine to believe in conspiracy theories as long as they don't occur in your own or a politically allied country.

There was a Hollywood film on TV the other night - Shooter - about US government forces carrying out an assassination and setting up a patsy to take the rap. It was a clumsy implausible film on almost every level. However, the concept of the patsy is fascinating. The finding and grooming of some hapless individual and then deploying almost omniscient hidden forces to take over his life. It truly is the stuff of nightmares. James Earl Ray's life would be a compelling narrative for a novel or film. However, whenever Hollywood depicts this scenario the innocent victim always makes it through because we're told ultimately the good guys are always more powerful than the bad guys. I suspect this is baloney. Which is why the American president is little more than a kind of game show host. To all intents and purposes it looks like he's running the show but in truth all the real power is wielded off-stage. Which perhaps goes some way to explaining why Trump always appears so immaturely insecure. He wants to be Putin but doesn't have anywhere near the power of Putin. It also explains why Obama, a super intelligent and well-meaning man, achieved next to nothing in terms of real social or political change. Democracy in most countries is largely dressing; in America where there are so many obscenely rich individuals and corporations, especially so. In America it's like the choice is between Republican and Republican lite. The likes of Hilary Clinton, Joe Biden or Obama aren't going to take those guys on. JFK tried, Robert Kennedy planned to and we all know what happened to them. Whatever you think you might know about those assassinations there's more than enough doubt to make them a plausible threat for any individual running for president.

William Pepper has been investigating the King assassination for 40 years; he was also James Earl Ray's lawyer in a trial created for television when he was found not guilty. I've watched give him a talk on a Youtube video and he seems like a good man, a nice man, a sincere man who reminded me of my old art teacher. There's certainly nothing cranky about him. He essentially argues it was King's growing commitment to ending the war in Vietnam that made him "an enemy of the state" and got him killed. President Johnson once famously said when he was told to end the Vietnam war that he couldn't because too many powerful people were making lots of money from it. That said Dr King was also about to lead a march to Washington with a thousand of the poorest civilians and establish a tent village there.

On the night before he was killed Dr King gave one of his most famous speeches in which he seemed to know he was a marked man.
Well, I don't know what will happen now; we've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop. Like anybody, I would like to live a long life-longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now.
I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over, and I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the Promised Land. And so I'm happy tonight; I'm not worried about anything; I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord.

What quickly becomes apparent is that official history is often determined by who the authorities in place at the time choose to believe. Therefore, right at the beginning of the King investigation it was decided to believe someone called Charlie Stephens who saw a man fitting Ray's description hurriedly making down the stairs of the rooming house opposite the motel where King was shot. His testimony led to the otherwise baseless belief that the single fatal shot was fired from the bathroom of the rooming house. There were at least four people, including a New York Times journalist, who saw a man in some bushes overlooking the balcony, and also including a taxi driver who got a clear sight of a man emerge from the bushes, jump down from a wall and get into a waiting Memphis police car. This man was found murdered the next morning. The other witnesses were ignored. The man who was believed, it turned out, was so drunk another taxi driver had refused to give him a ride not long before the shot was fired. Then the next morning the bushes were razed to the ground on the orders of the Memphis police - effectively destroying a very plausible crime scene. So four very credible witnesses are ignored; an utterly unreliable witness is believed.

There follow numerous other testimonies contradicting various elements of the official version of events, all of whom Pepper interviews personally. To begin with Pepper is focused on demonstrating Ray's innocence and he does an admirable job. He then begins to turn investigator. Having done a convincing job of outlining what didn't happen he now sets himself the more difficult task of demonstrating what did happen. It should be said that a lot of the evidence he gathers on this score is less convincing, usually because he has only one source. But he's working alone without any help and in the circumstances does a highly laudable job. We hear from the sniper in the rogue military unit known as Alpha 184 who maintains there were two sniper units positioned on high buildings the day of the assassination. The shot itself, we learn, was fired by a local forces team - consisting of Memphis cops and mafia individuals. We hear from a photographer working for the military who was part of a two man team on another overlooking rooftop. He says he has a photograph of the assassin and it wasn't Ray. Pepper is thwarted in his attempts to get hold of a copy of the photo. Eventually, Pepper will meet the man he believes pulled the trigger, a Memphis cop who he names, though without conclusive proof.

By now you're asking yourself lots of questions about the relationship between oral testimony and truth. How much oral testimony do we need for something to become true? No matter how much oral testimony there is it won't become "fact" until it's officially recognised. History, we all know, is written by the victors. Different truths only see the light of day when politics change. Politics in America haven't changed which is why people are presently taking to the streets. There are a lot of people telling a similar story here. They have no reason to lie. In fact it's dangerous for them to come out into the open and speak the truth.

To a large degree our politics determines who and what we believe. We all like to believe our government has our back. It's deeply troubling to discover this might not be true. Some core of our identity is being attacked when confronted with a heinous act done in our name. I remember how ashamed I felt during the Windrush scandal when my government arrested a number of elderly Jamaicans as illegal immigrants. Not only had they been invited to the UK they had also worked and raised families there for half a century. That something so despicable is being done in your name makes you feel dirtied and helpless. One instinct is to shove it aside, excuse it in some way, forget about it.
I began having serious problems with the author's approach when he introduced a new testimony towards the end. It's as if he's become so obsessed with King's death that he's determined to have every single detail clear in his mind, something only possible to an omnipresent deity. There's a kind of hubris at work in him now. Roy Adkins Taylor often sounded to me like some small fry individual desperate to get on the stage of history. Certain elements of his testimony begin to undermine the credibility of the story Pepper has painstakingly constructed. His father was a member of KKK, a fixer for the local mafia boss and a close associate of Hoover's sidekick, Clyde Tolson. (I recently watched a Hollywood film about Hoover and Tolson. It was essentially a kindly affectionate depiction of their loving relationship. There's no allusion to the overt fascism which was their guiding light at all times. I couldn't help imagining our response in the west if the Russians made a similar hallowing film about the head of the KGB with some pin up actor in the starring role (Leonardo di Caprio, absurdly, plays Hoover.) The first piece of information Taylor supplies is that he accompanied his father to the prison where Ray was incarcerated a year before King was killed and handed over a bag of money as a bribe to let Ray escape. This money was supplied by Hoover. But this man's testimony soon begins to get more and more farfetched. He's always incredulously on hand when some monumental frame of history takes place. He apparently overhears a phone conversation when his mum tells the Reverend Jessie Jackson to switch King's room at the motel from a safe ground floor room to an exposed balcony room. (It's true the room was switched at the last minute and apparently by someone in King's organisation.) We're also told Jackson has been a FBI informant since 1960 without any other evidence. We're also told minutes before the shot was fired Jackson looked at his watch and put something in his bag. I'm not sure why Pepper believes these two mundane gestures are evidence of guilt. Pepper seems to want to implicate all King's friends in the plot. We're told the man he was due to have dinner with knocked on his door and then quickly fled as if he too knew exactly what was about to happen; we're told the man King shared a room with, Ralph Abernathy, retreated back into the room at the last minute to put on some aftershave. I've no idea how Pepper could know this. Pepper seems to have some personal dislike of these three associates of King. Certainly, it's a grave and misguided mistake to make such bold inflammatory statements with such flimsy evidence. Pepper here is guilty of what the authorities did to Ray - convicting men on flimsy evidence. Taylor, a fifteen year old kid at the time, also now claims a role in the assassination itself. He delivers a rifle. This is about the fourth rifle in the narrative. And he claims he follows the assassin on his bike when he makes his getaway while his mother waits in a spare getaway car. The more testimony we get from Taylor the more the assassination begins to sound like some amateurish backyard affair, far removed from anything Hoover would be capable of orchestrating.

The narrative now gets still more implausible. We're told a doctor suffocated the mortally wounded Dr King with a pillow in the hospital. This on the sole evidence of the son of a hospital worker. It felt here as if Pepper was intent on discrediting his own book. Why would anyone include such hammy melodrama into a serious narrative without at least expressing some scepticism himself? Maybe it even happened but unless you have watertight evidence leave it out. There's finally the testimony of a Memphis cop at the morgue who says Ralph Abernathy had a big grin on his face when he touched the face of Dr King's corpse in the coffin. Again, it's preposterous to include this piece of gossip in the book. I'm not sure why Pepper is so determined to implicate King's friends. It's almost like he too might be working for the FBI, ultimately ridiculing what otherwise had strong elements of being a credible thesis.
The author then takes umbrage at every other account of the assassination and the complicity of the mainstream media in supporting the official version. But he begins repeating himself. This book needed a better editor. I understand Pepper has grown accustomed to the world not listening to him and why his instinct would be to keep ramming home the same evidence but it doesn't make for a professional book. I felt like he was shouting at me. His tone was over-emotional. He convinced me Ray didn't kill Dr Martin Luther King. (King's wife and children don't believe it either and they met Ray; neither did they find him in any way racist which was the explanation of his motive for killing Dr King. It has to be said however that Ray's story isn't entirely credible. Though not as complex as Oswald, he isn't a straightforward individual. Neither is it entirely clear why he originally pleaded guilty - something to do with money and his brother.) The author didn't though convince me King's death happened the way he has it. There's never only one version of any truth which is why when Trump accuses the media of spreading fake news he's not lying, he's telling one version of the truth. This book doesn't prove without reasonable doubt that this was a state sponsored assassination. Though the likelihood of this being the case in my mind is at about 98%. Especially when you think Robert Kennedy was killed a couple of months later supposedly by another wholly unconvincing lone nutjob. It's suspicious that all three of these loners (four if you factor in John Lennon's killer) targeted individuals intent on ending the Vietnam war which was making huge amounts of money for some very powerful people. Mainstream media has shown no interest in investigating the significant flaws in the official explanations of any of the three American assassinations in the 1960s which were watershed moments in American history. Nor the flaws in the official 9/11 report come to that. In the UK we learned how the so-called liberal left wing media aren't in reality as left-wing as they purport to be when they were faced with the possibility of Jeremy Corbyn becoming prime minister and joined the right wing press in setting out to discredit him. Democracy is fine as long as it changes nothing. It's an understandable credo, a wholly rational response to the volatile and catastrophic politics of the 1930s.
Ultimately, this is the kind of book that makes you feel most of us are nobody people in a world run by a few very rich and powerful individuals. And it's only when people come together as a unified voice for change that we acquire power as demonstrated in Belorussia and in America at the moment with the black lives matter marches, both of which replicate and honour what Dr Martin Luther King fought for with such inspiring dignity and eloquence.

[Max Tomlinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A powerful and disturbing look at one of our country’s darkest events.

I began The Plot to Kill King with a certain amount of skepticism but heard the author interviewed on the radio and thought it worth reading. By the midpoint of the book the depth of research and investigative reporting swayed me to think otherwise and by the end of TPTKK, although I was not utterly convinced as to every aspect of the conspiracy (the St. Joseph’s Hospital section was not as well supported IMO) there was no doubt in my mind that MLK’s murder was not the effort of the hapless James Earl Ray, but a plotted assassination by multiple levels of government, the military, organized crime, and various law enforcement agencies. I shudder to think of how many people were involved that we don’t know about. Also disturbing are the implications of Jesse Jackson in the MLK murder, and connections of the one of the characters to Jack Ruby.

Next time you take comfort in the fact that you don’t live in some third world country where threats to the powers that be are dealt with by death squads, read this book. Why the MLK assassination has not been reinvestigated is mystifying and shameful to a country that claims to be a leader in democracy and free speech. Every American should read this book.

[Tomy Wilkerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was prompted to read this book after reading Coretta Scott King's autobiography. She mentioned how she was convinced that James Earl Ray was not her husband's killer and that there was a bigger conspiracy at work. Pepper dedicated nearly 40 years investigating this. The results are dizzying and spellbinding.

I listened on audible, but I think it's worth buying a hardcopy for the sake of his summary of his findings alone.

[Socraticgadfly · Rating 1 out of 5]

No, I haven't actually read the book.

But, from the blurbs, I can tell it's a conspiracy theory lie.

So sue me.

Edit: Oh, lawyers who use the "Esq." at the end of their names I expect in advance to be full of high-grade bullshit and no disappointment there.

[Ruthie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Bill Pepper was James Earl Ray’s attorney for his appeals, and so he does the defense attorney’s job of throwing every strand of spaghetti at the wall, even if each noodle is a different size and shape. He doesn’t present a coherent alternate theory of the murder of MLK. Each witness he presents is less and less credible. Everyone saw a different car. Everyone saw a different person with a different weapon. Most of the evidence he presents is hearsay. Pepper and his associates are constantly leaving documents where they get burglarized, and they are always burning their sources. I was truly astonished at how convinced he seemed to be by people who were quite unbelievable. Some of the documents he includes in the appendices are ridiculous forgeries. It’s hard to reconcile his outrageous performance as a lawyer with his correct principles of morality and justice for MLK.

In the end, has there ever been a wider and more insidious conspiracy than white supremacy? It’s clear that MLK was vilified during his life by the government and the mainstream media. The way they have “preserved” the crime scene as a museum feels sickeningly like the trophy of a serial killer.

Despite the preponderance of poor quality evidence in this book, as well as poor editing, misspellings and misattributions of important names, Pepper does manage to cast doubt on aspects of the official narrative. It seems clear that MLK’s assassin was standing in some bushes under the rooming house, and not in the house itself.

Ray’s movements in the months leading up to and following the murder defy explanation. The man had resources at his disposal that are hard to come up with as a “lone nut”. You really do need a bit of assistance to be an international fugitive as successful as he was. For an absolute zero-charisma dullard like Ray, who couldn’t even pull off being a pimp, it must have been agonizing to singlehandedly acquire and assume the identities of so many retired Canadian mounted police and military intelligence contractors.

I’m angry after reading this book. I feel that everyone failed to protect Martin Luther King, his friends included. Most of all, his friend Bill Pepper has done a pretty crappy job of challenging the inconsistencies in the official coverup of MLK’s murder.

[Dee Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Audible.com 13 hours 53 min. Narrated by Noah Michael Levine (A)

I really want to give this book 5 stars because, if the reader can suspend prejudices about conspiracy theories, one might just find enlightenment about Bill Pepper's conviction that James Earl Ray was innocent of killing Dr. Martin Luther King.
This is the third book lawyer William Pepper has written on the subject of Dr. King's assassination and his final book. He is now 83 years old and and has outlived most the people responsible for King's death and the travesty of justice in the false conviction of James Earl Ray for the deed. Yes, the book is repetitious, but the writer includes much closely related information that won't be found elsewhere.
It is good to know that Coretta Scott King and her children found hope through the work of this determined lawyer after their courageous husband and father was murdered. They had no peace with the conviction of a patsy while the real planners and killers went free. The King's were convinced of James Rays innocence. If he wasn't the killer, who was and why? This book takes the reader through the quest of one man's lifetime mission of fining the answer. Along the way, the author learns much more than he ever expected!
This is one case where the audio book is probably better than the hard copy.

[Pete daPixie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having previously read Pepper's 'Act of State', which I rated as a five star probe into the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., far more incisive and truthful than other publications that I have read on this subject. Like the jury in the King family civil case against Loyd Jowers & others, I did not take long to reach my verdict on the evidence presented in this case.
'The Plot to Kill King' is William F. Pepper's third and final book that completes almost forty years of his investigations and his defence of the patsy, James Earl Ray. As the sub-title states, this book presents as near to the truth behind the assassination that we are ever likely to attain. The paperback version was published in 2018.
The only reason that I could not reach five stars this time was due to my previous reading of 'Act of State'. Yes, this book does contain investigative data that has been sourced since Pepper's previous publication, but most of 'TPTKK' repeats facts that I have been previously aware of. The author provides a comprehensive history of his involvement with King, both before and after his killing in Memphis in 1968. In a book that comprises over seven hundred pages, the details of the plot and Pepper's discoveries are covered in the first three hundred, and these pages contain a fair amount of repetition. The latter four hundred pages hold the fifteen appendices A-O.
For anyone with little knowledge of this tragic case from the 1960's, this book is highly recommended, and will blow away the outright falsities and lies propagated through mass media and the rubbish published by the likes of Posner, Sides, Hancock/Wexler.
Plaudits to Skyhorse Publishing for bringing this mammoth work to the public.

[Holly Sorensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most interesting read in my deep dive into the conspiracy that MLK was not killed by James Earl Ray, but rather he was killed by a a planned and plotted assination by deep within multiple agencies. I do not believe this idea is a conspiracy theory. There are way too many witness testimonies to think otherwise. This book, written by the attorney for James Earl Ray, puts forth all of the evidence and testimonies in great detail. It is nothing short of fascinating if you are into diving deep into getting to the truth about hugely important events in American history.

[Aurora · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another book that makes you wanna pack your bags and just start walking outta here!

[B.L. Blankenship · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is absolutely outstanding & thorough. It absolves James Earl Ray and goes through enormous lengths to do so & incriminates a vast array of persons - either directly or speculatively.

[Æ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve read enough books to be convinced that the CIA assassinated JFK as retribution for his refusal to conduct a full-on invasion of Cuba after the Bay of Pigs debacle and otherwise displeasing the powers that be. But I think it’s not unreasonable to be skeptical of the conspiracy theory. There’s not enough declassified evidence to satisfy the ardent supporters & maintainers of the status quo. Maybe when more is released, the history can be more thoroughly reevaluated that would prevent corporate media from being able to continually deny reality.

Comparably, the conspiracy to assassinate MLK by the FBI and Memphis Police Department is SO UNDENIABLY TRUE, that no rational person could possibly refute the MOUNTAIN of evidence. It is night and day.

The author has spent decades conducting interviews and calling for new trials on this assassination. His investigation is incredibly thorough. Throughout it, he has been stymied by federal officials stalking him, bullying his witnesses, and refusing to cooperate in any way.

“Skeptics” often use the semantic satiation phrase “if it were a conspiracy, then hundreds of people would have to be in on it! Surely someone would have talked by now.” But what’s clear is that people have talked! At least 70 different people have gone on the record in a court of law arguing that the official story about the assassination is false. These are people who were there at the day, who’ve overheard conversations by police, who spoke to witnesses that end up getting mysteriously killed, even people involved have admitted their involvement. It is truly baffling how thorough the author’s investigation is.

In 1999, the author and the King family filed a Civil case against

70+ people have come forward to speak on the record in a civil trial in 1999 that proved James Earl Ray was an unwitting patsy and a conspiracy orchestrated by the FBI in cooperation with the Memphis Police Department and US Army Intelligence. Why didn’t you ever hear about this trial?

“Some seventy witnesses and thirty days later, a jury took fifty-nine minutes to find for the King family and against Loyd Jowers and agents of the government of the United States, the state of Tennessee, and the city of Memphis. Jowers’s liability was assessed at 30 percent, while the government’s liability was put at 70 percent. The extraordinary array of verbal testimonial and documentary evidence is set out in detail in my second book An Act of State. Suffice it to say, the roles and link between the Mafia, the military, local law enforcement, and government officials became crystal clear.”

Where was the media for this trial?

“The media camera, like the media itself, would come and go. They were nearly always absent, with the notable and sole exception of local anchorman Wendell Stacey, who almost lost his job at the time over his insistence that he attend every day. He was eventually fired but won a wrongful dismissal action and was rehired.”

*Truth to fucking power* indeed.

The author not only thoroughly debunks the US government’s official story with mountains of evidence, but even annihilates other authors who wrote books that reinforced the government’s official story, pointing out all of the blatant ignoring of contrary evidence, distortion of the evidence they do use, and outright fabrication.

It is inherently dishonest and disingenuous to argue that we can support the official government story when information is still classified more than half a century later. No one in good conscience can argue the US is a “free democracy” when so much critical information about what the US Government does on its own soil to its own citizenry is hidden away for decades “for our protection.” That is, at its very core, bullshit.

While I DO NOT subscribe to a majority of conspiracy theories, I DO think that the current system of document classification, as well as the overt ties mainstream corporate media has with federal agencies, and the actual, undeniable, proven conspiracies conducted by the federal government (MK Ultra, COINTELPRO, Iran-Contra) give enough credibility to those who do not immediately accept the official stories provided by US government officials.

The US government has failed to provide its people with enough reason to trust their word. Though I think plenty of the conspiratorially minded take it too far. But that’s not surprising given how much insane shit the US government has actually, demonstrably, undeniably done over the last 100 years.

The Jesse Jackson involvement was the most shocking revelation to me. I had no idea he was involved. It is clear as day that he wanted the fame and notoriety for himself, so he made a deal with the devil to get it. What did South Park say about him again?

Anyway…

The author goes in depth about how corporate media has continually stymied any substantive reporting on his decades-long investigation, cancelling his appearances, refusing to publish his books, refusing to report on the revelations, always either siding with the government’s flimsy story or ignoring him outright.

“By 1967 the CIA was spending 1.5 billion dollars a year without any effective fiscal control over individual expenditures on operations. Covert domestic activities and operations were paid for by “unvouchered funds” (expenditures without purchase orders or receipts). As a result of the 1949 Central Intelligence Act, Director Helms had the authority to spend money “without regard to the provisions of law and regulations relating to the expenditure of government funds.” Helms’s signature on any check, no matter how large, drawn on any CIA bank account, was deemed to be sufficient. Interagency cooperation, particularly with the army and/or the State Department, was frequently necessary and this was accomplished through the establishment of Special Operations Groups (SOG) created for particular projects or missions. SOG activity inside the United States against “Willie” (blacks and dissidents) was not publicized or known.”

We know these people funded fascists in Europe and South America. We know these people orchestrated political assassinations across the globe. We know these people ran guns and drugs in order to get more unaccountable funding. And I’m expected to believe a word they say about “no involvement?” Gimme a break

“On June 16, 1978, while at the United Nations to talk with members and staff of the UN Special Assembly on Disarmament, [Daniel] Ellsberg [leaker of the pentagon papers] became quite friendly with [Brady] Tyson [then an aide to UN ambassador Andrew Young]. […]
In the affidavit Ellsberg stated, “I asked Tyson whether he thought there had been a conspiracy and who he thought might have done it. He said very flatly to me, ‘We know there was a conspiracy and we know who did it.’ … I asked him who it was, if he would feel free to say, and he said again in a way that was very surprising to me in its lack of equivocation or reservation, ‘It was a group of off-duty and retired FBI officers working under the personal direction of J. Edgar Hoover.’ He said further that this was a group working secretly and known to almost no one else in the FBI. This group Tyson said included ‘a sharpshooter,’ who had actually done the shooting.””

Would you look at that, someone DID talk! Why would somebody with rock solid credibility, the guy who leaked the pentagon papers, not let this revelation become international news? The House Select Committee On Assassinations in the 1990’s didn’t seem to care. WEIRD. After the affidavit was brought to the committee’s attention, the author and his cohorts addressed the media: “Abernathy, in his offhand manner, informed them that, yes, we had had a very productive meeting with the staff and leadership of the committee, we hoped that they would go on and complete their work, and we had given them certain information implicating the FBI in the killing of Dr. King. I was amazed that none of the press picked this up: there was virtually no response.” WEIRD.

“At this point, it appears entirely reasonable, in light of this sordid history, of disinformation with collaboration between mainstream media and the government, to conclude that the more we learn about contemporary publishing and news reporting in the United States, the more accurate does it appear was Carl Bernstein’s conclusion in Rolling Stone in October 1977 about the extraordinary degree of influence and control over—and actual working presence in all aspects of print, audio, and visual media by the intelligence community and its assigned agents. The willingness of corporate media to collaborate and the consolidation of that collaboration has, for the most part, made it impossible for a free and independent press to operate in this Republic.”

The corporate media doesn’t care about the truth. They are not there to speak truth to power. Quite the opposite, they’re there to make you THINK they’re speaking truth to power so you don’t think critically beyond what they show you.

The author became the lawyer of James Earl Ray. He, along with the King family, wanted to have an actual trial for Ray. The corporate media doesn’t want this because the US government doesn’t want this. So…

“The media continually sought to undermine the strength of the family’s commitment to a trial. Distortions abounded. Take the New York Times coverage on February 21 of our motion to test the alleged murder weapon. Drummond Ayres Jr. reported Mrs. King’s testimony:

>Mrs. King, speaking after years of silence about Mr. Ray’s legal maneuvering, took the stand this morning, and acknowledging the incongruity of her appearance on his behalf and behest, said, “We call for the trial that never happened.”

This was a gross distortion of what she actually said, which was: “We call for the trial that never happened…. If we fail to seize this fading opportunity for justice to be served, the tragedy will be compounded by the failure of the legal system.” Nowhere in her statement did she refer in any way to James being pressed to tell anything.”

Not only is the crime clear, but the cover-up was clear from the beginning. The crime scene was immediately tampered with when the bushes (where the real shooter was located) got cut down the MORNING AFTER the shooting. A taxi driver who saw the real shooter running from the scene was murdered. Witnesses were harassed to prevent them from coming forward.The author was being followed by the FBI while he was trying to meet with witnesses. “I would learn later from a mutual street acquaintance that an FBI contact was trying to locate where I was staying. Now, why would they be doing that?“ HUH. WEIRD.

I could go on, but I’ve said all I need to say and it would be beating a dead horse. Read this book if you want to know what really happened to MLK. Every single argument he makes is backed up with logic, reason, and mounds of evidence.

[Frances · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hard information to accept, not because it is unbelievable, but because it it totally believable. How naive we have been...

[Jith · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important book from the King's family lawyer. I wish this was more thoroughly edited, included more infographics and references. Despite a clear tone, there is a lot of repetition, no referencing (other than to his own appendices) and, although understandable considering the nature of the crime and commitment to the cause, overly emotional/pleading at times, that ironically detracts from a sense of authority. I prefer Jim Garrison's style, as an investigating prosecutor turned author, for example. You can be incredulous, entirely disheartened, even, but this shouldn't fall into sermonizing or self-pity.

Whatever you believe- its screamingly telling how little coverage his efforts receive(d) in the MSM.

[Lucila Rodriguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is scary stuff. A very well researched book, with detailed information about the assassination of Martin Luther King. Lots of information. The author interviewed many, many witnesses and people who wAs involved, o knew people involved in the murder. All of gave about the same information, the same names. Saw or heard the same. Different from the official story. And all those involved, from the lowest of the low, to it seems, the top of the government. Scary!!! And unfair.

[Derek Kreider · Rating 4 out of 5]

There was so much about the King killing which was questionable to begin with, but Pepper blows that wide open and makes the obvious become undeniable. What I love about this book is that the author is usually up front as to where he's filling in gaps and where he's citing what is known (or what is implicitly true if witness testimony is accurate). There is a lot of this case you can research and verify from other sources, that even if the author were fabricating other information or if he was wrong about some of the gaps he filled in, you know two things: 1) Ray almost certainly didn't kill King - and if he did, it wasn't alone, and 2) there was a bigger conspiracy going on with the government, and maybe the mafia.

We already know from a number of public documents that the FBI tapped King, viewed him as a threat, and tried to get him to commit suicide (thanks COINTELPRO!). Why wouldn't they help him bite the bullet after he refused to do it himself?

[Steve · Rating 2 out of 5]

This tells the story of the 1999 civil trial the Pepper prosecuted against Loyd Jowers and "other unknown co-conspirators" on behalf of the King Family to try to get the truth about Martin Luther King Jr's death in the public eye. The conspiracy that this book puts forward is vast and widespread involving the army, FBI, mafia, King's confidants and a variety of individuals and organizations with many witnesses disappearing and/or coming forward years later. This book seems like more of a defense of James Earl Ray (which requires a reasonable doubt) than anything else, and while it is very passionate it gets way to repetitive to be too persuasive, but it serves to get Pepper's theories out there which is his main goal. I received a free copy of this book through Goodreads First Reads giveaways.

[Alex Frame · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pepper lays out compelling evidence that clears James Earl Ray of assassinating Martin Luther King.
He implicates the FBI and CIA in orchestrating and covering the murder up.
Pepper, a lawyer who knew King personally and is still alive today, interviewed many witnesses to the events leading up to and after the crime.
Most serious students of this assassination will agree there was a conspiracy and cover up of the crime as King's influence on black Americans and his growing anti Vietnam war stance was becoming a danger to them , so after some tragic incidents in Memphis they created an upheaval amongst the black sanitation workers that resulted in his attendance in Memphis where he would try to placate the issue.
As a result, they were able to plan his successful assassination.

[Travious Mitchell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have much to say about this book. I was left quite disappointed because it felt as though the entire book we were chasing wind. I counted five different scenarios in which Dr. King was assassinated. It’s filled with inconsistencies and contradictions and parts of it seemed as though the author was out to seek credit and recognition for all of his work. There seemed to be many conspiracies compiled into one big one and at times it was difficult to follow. Regardless of who did what or who was or was not really involved, Dr. King was assassinated by a coward and he deserved better

[jonah · Rating 4 out of 5]

an excellent and thorough review of the evidence surrounding the death of martin luther king jr. readable and precise with understanding of the wider historical concept. addresses myths and challenges alternate views to reflect the true nature of the conspiracy. reiterates key points which can be repetitive but keeps you aware of important facts

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was good, insightful.
I almost didn’t listen to the book because of the prologue. The author spends a good portion of the prologue and parts of the book, mentioning how he was not consulted for a documentary or a different book in regards to dr. Martin Kurt her king jr. the author whines about this numerous times throughout the book.

[Jason Scoggins · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best, most comprehensive work and best sourcing to The Case of Dr King's murder. He makes heavy assertions and follows them up with quality lead. Completely changes the weak given narrative we've been dreadfully spoon-fed our entire lives. There's reason to believe the correlations made here by Dr Pepper.

[Joseph Donigian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really intriguing book

I did not know much a Martin Luther King Jr., but I read this book and it seems really unlikely that James Earl Ray was anything other than a party manipulated by J. Edgar Hoover and some mysterious character named Raul.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I can tell the author went really in depth when doing his research in preparation for the book. It was a really interesting read, I enjoyed it. I learned more about the MLK assassination from this book than I have ever learned before.

[Erick Njenga · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh. Didn't enjoy it. Very blurry line between fact and conspiracy theory.

[Gina Levert · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very involved to the point that I��ve started skipping...but still very interesting.

[Mel Hansen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Food for thought.

[Verlton Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Provides information about James Earl Ray that was never revealed by the police and the government. Also brings to question the role of key government officials.

[Zakithi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eye opening read.

[Kirk Tipton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, the author backed up all his claims with very detailed information.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Conspiracy theory. FBI, mob, military, mayor, KKK, doctors, Masons, other black leaders, prison warden, police, firemen and probably many others — print media conspired to frame James Earl Ray.