What Ttre Media Ilidntt Tettyou

Home , Jack Kershaw, James Earl Ray, Loyd Jowers

The lfiing l?ial: What ttre Media Ilidntt TettYou

By Mike Vinson Immediately,there was chaos DATE: APRIL 4. 1968 everywhere, and it becameknown TIME: APPROXIMATELY6 PM. that the Reverend Manin Luther LOCATION: JIM,S GRILL, BE- King Jr. had been shot and was LOW BESSIE BREWER'S FLOP- mortally wounded. Before the day HOUSE,MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE wasup, rhe Memphis Policeques- Whatin theworld. is a manwho lcoks tioned Loyd Jowers and Betty lihe him doing in a rundown joint like Spates,as well as the other pauons fhis?Bessie Brewer, manager of in Jim's crill thar day.The police BessieBrewer's flophouse,quizzed were searching for a suspect, a herself. Trim, suit, well-groomed,,Iate white male in a white Musrang. 30s, nice-Ioohingfellow, he...jrut seems Neither Loyd, Beny, nor arryof the so out of plare. patrons present inJim's Grill at the "John Willard," the man said, time of King's shooting had any answe ng Mrs. Brewer's question, solid information that would aid aswell as signingthe guestregisrer the police. The police concluded assuch, a forcedsmile betrayinghis that no one in Jim's Grill was in- somber attitude. However, he had volved in King's shooting,nor did good reasonto have a somber atti- any of them have anFhing worth- tude and be putting on a fronti His while to add to the investigation. real name wasJamesEarl Ray white, However, time is a great factor in Grill to 40-years-old,a fugitive on rhe run and an es- checkon her man. Betty had a secrer, any equation, and over a period of time the capeefrom the Missouri StatePenitentiary. consideredtaboo in those days.She was the equation,for one reasonor another,tends !o Typicalfor a spring day in Tennessee,rhe mistressof LoydJowers, white, owner ofJim,s yield a product far removed from the original good temperature was cool-yet the mood hor! Grill. A percentageofboth the white and one. Since rhar histodcally fateful day, the black folks didn't corton ReverendMartin Luther King was back in to whites and blacks theorieshave abounded: James Earl Raydid it mixing. town to lead another march in favor of the Howevet "Mr. Loyd," early forties, continued,on page26 Memphis sanitation workers, the maiority was his own man, had connections,was considered, black-The previousweek's march, also ied by at leastin somecircles, somewhat of King, had resulted in a disaster:one young, a shaker and mover around Memphis, and ,black male fatally shot, and many more blacks Betty was an impressionableand healthy Af- rican-Americanfemale. beat€nand iailed. National Guardsmen on foot Somethings.just had . and in tanks were everywhere. Winos aim- to be, no matter the insult ro the Dublic. It lessly shuffled about, some, in an effort to was around 6 p.m., and Betiy had wan- enjoy their liquid vine in privacy,seeking con- dered back into the kitchen of Jim,s Grill. Strange,Loyd cealmentin the bushesthat lined the back of was nowhere in sighr. Sud- Jim's Grill, just below BessieBrewer,s flop- denly-POP! A firecracker?A b6mb? As house,located on rhe secondfloor aboveJim's though almost appearingout ofthin air, Befty Grill. witnessedJowers,via the backdoor, which led to Betty Spares, an artractive, teenage, Afri- the row of bushes at the reat of the grill, can American girl, as well as working at come into the kitchen. Loyd, appearingpale, disheveled, Seabrook Wallpaper Company, worked as a and nervous, a rifli-in his hand. waitressatJim's Grill, acrossthe street from said to Berry, Youwould.n't d.o anylhing to hurt m4 would Seabrook.About an hour earlier, Betty, so she you?I wouldn'twant to iurt you.Retty hasclaimed in the past,had goneovertoJim,s replied,, Of aurse I wouldn't, Loyd.. the King assassination,said he would consider about the truth and the truth comine out in a Ifug Gase immunity for Jowers; however, such never court oflaw so it canbe documentedior all....[ materialized. The Attomey General,s Office we know rhe truth, we can be free to go on continuedfrom page1 out ofMemphis said rhey would not consider witl our lives." Mrs. King went on to saf rhat immuniry forJowers becausethey feltJowers, her and her family's refusal to accept rhe alone; Hoover and the FBI did it; rhe CIA did story lackedmerit, and he was nothrng more prosecution's contention that Ray was rhe iq it was a triumvirate involving the U.S. gov- chana lying opponunisr artempting t6 make gunman responsiblefor ReverendKing's emment-U.S. military-Mafia; Ray,having been money offa possiblebook or movie deal. deathhad "cost them prestigeand funding for duped into the role of patsy, was unwitringly After Jowers came public, in 1993, with their altruistic projects," such as support for led to Memphis by a mysterious Latin smug- his information about the King assassination, the King-family-run King Center. Since tak- gler known only as Raoul; Ray did it for re- serious attention, too, was placed on Betty ing the stancethat Ray didn't kill Reverend ward money offered by rwo St. Louis-based Spates.She was grilled heavilyby both sides: King, and broad-mindedly enterraining rhe those who say Ray was the lone gunman; white supremacists;Jerry Ray, under the code and possibilityofa conspiracy,rhe King family has name "Raoul," nonetheless,was the shooter; those who say others were involved and Ray, been unduly criticized by a good ponion of this one said he would tell what acually hap- possibly,was an unwitting parsy.To Attomey the mainstleam media. This is yet another penedif granted immuniry... William Pepper,James Earl Ray's lead defense exampleofhow the powers that be spale no In 1993,a stanling revelationentered into counsel for approximately the last ten years measurewhen afiempting to discredita righ- of Ray's the picture: Loyd Jowers came public claim- life, Befty said that she was in Jim,s teous,yet threatening,foe. ing he was directly involved in the assassrna- Glill at the time of King's murder, and lust John McFerren, Aliican-Ame can. tesrified secondsafter the fatal shot tion of Martin Luther KingJr. Jowers, claimed was fired. wir- that on the dayofKing's assassinadonhe was that he, acting on orders from a Memphis nessed loyd Jowers enter into the kitchen, shopping at the Lib€no, Liberto, and Latch crime figure, Flank Liberto, performed the through a back door that led to rhe outside (LL&L) ProduceCompany in Memphis. While (mentioned following: handled the money appropriated to and the row of bushes earlier), there, McFeren claimed he overheardFrank kill King; handled the murder rifle; was with holding a rifle, looking nervous and dishev- Liberto, the company'spresident, conversing the killer when King was killed; and could eled. on the telephone,exclaim: "Shoot rhe son of name King's killer, whom was not Ray,accord- Invesdgators for the Memphis Arrolney a bitch when he comesout on the balcony.,, General'sOffice, which hashad prosecutorial ing to Jowers. As expected, the Jowers, rev- ln his book. Od.ersto KilI, Ar.tomeyWilliam elation drew keen interest from the media conrrol over the Ray-King case,siid that when Peppersays rhar he, along with lawyerApril world, making headlines almost everywhere. they questionedBetty Spatesshe told them Fergusonand stenographerBarbara Rabbito, Jowers even appeared (in 1993) on the televi- shewasn't inJim's cdll at 6 p.m. on April 4, in Februaryof 1979, traveled ro Somerville, 1968; sion show Prime TimeLive, hosted by Sam and thar she had made up the story Tennessee(about 40 miles outside of Mem- Donaldson,and ralkedabour his claimed in- about seeingJowers, immediately after King phis) to pay McFeren a visit, (At the time, volvementin King's assassination. was shot, come in through the kitchen door McFerren owned a gas station/grocerystore Jowers'claimedrole in King's assassina- with a lifle in row, looking all nervous.These in Somerville.) In his book, Peppersaid that ..seemed tion proves perplexing because, even tiough investigarorsfurther say that Befty admitted when they met with him McFerren them his statements have been inconsistent, what to that she had said all this in hopesof increasingly uneasy." McFerren revealedto he has said, and, possibly, has yer so say,can- cashingin on the profits from a hopefulmovie Peppertharhehad beenthe victim ofa..drive- ,,shot not be totally dismissed, at least by those with or book deal. One has m wonder il possibly, by shooting"and that he,McFerren, had al open mind, who do not always nod ,,yes,, Betty Spateswas under a "state of duress,, and wounded a man contractedby the Mafla to the words spoken by the politically correct when questionedby these investigators,and to kill him." Somecredence musr be sivenro mouthpieces.For the record,Jowers,himself, when the so-calledtape was made. Stranger McFeren's claims, becausePepper aiso says when he came forward in 1993, was accom- things have happened. that "rhe hugeplate glass window in frontof panied by a host ofrumors: An African-Ameri- Some time back, though, after LoydJowers his [McFerren's] srore was crackedfrom top public can man named Frank Holt had been hired to came with his claims,rhe King Family, to bottom and taped rogerher."Supposedly, kill King...On the dayofKing,s assassination, with Attomey William Pepperrepresenring this damage was the result of the drive-by them, frleda "wongful deadr;'civil Jowers had witnessed James Earl Ray, inside iurLagarnsr shooting. Tesrimonyfrorn Bobbi Baifour/ Jim's Grill, sir nerc to arrd conversi wirh a Jowers.The trial got underwayNovember 15, Smith, Betry SpaEs' half-sister,also a wait- 1999at the Shelby Latino male (Raoul?)...Jowers denied his re- CounryCoufthouse, Mem- ress at Jim's Grill, proved interesting. Bobbi phis. Loyd was defended lationship with Spates...Jowers admitted his Jowers by Memphis said thatJowers, as he usuallydid, pickedup attomey Lewis Garrison,and rclationshipwith Spates...Jowers had threat- the King family her and anotherwaitress on the dayofKing! pep- enedSpates... A Memphis policemanwas the was representedby, as stated,Attomey assassination.Of particular inrerest, Bobbi per. In an eerie twist of fate, judge shooter...Jowers was behind Jim's Grill hid- the who testified that normally she would take break- presided den in the busheswith the shooter and bok over the casewas an African-Ameri- fast up to Grace Stephenson a daily basis. gentleman the actual murder rifle from him and hid it in can named "James Earl,, However, on the moming of April 4, 1968, the kitchen ofjim's crill... Even thoughJowers Swearengen. l,ook at what some of the wit- Jowers told Bobbi: "I [Bobbi Smith] didnt voiced his role to the public, he said the only nesseshad to say in the "wrongful death,, civil haveto takebreakfast up" to GraceSrephens_ ,,why.,, way he would go under oath and tell what he trial of LoydJowers. Smith said Jowers never explained knew was if he was gnnted immuniry by both On November 16, 1999, on the witness Bobbi claimed she left Jim's Grill before the stand in the the Tennesseeand U.S. Attomey Generals. At Jowers' tdal, Coretta Scott King, assassination.According to Bobbi, Jowers later ReverendKing's surviving one point, Attomey Barry Kowalski, appointed widow, tesdfied, told her the police came through Jim,s Grill "I!'s not about money.That's not by U.S. Attomey General Janet Reno to head the rssue. and.founda "gun out in aheback."Jowers told We're and a specialJustice Department investigation into [Coretta her children] concemed he! "nothing more," she said. ltfiarcX-April, AOOO

I On the wimess stand, Nathan Whitlock, siast,saw inconsistencieswirh Raybeing the Pepperbrought out a developmentregard- now a musician, testified that he came to know shooter, especially fiom a ballistics perspec- ing the dent on the window sill of the com- Frark Liberto in 1978-1980. when Liberto tive. Brown brought out 4 key pointsi (1) A monly-shared bathroom of BessieBiewer's patronized "lavada's," a restaurant owned and metallurgical discrepancy in the slug removed flophouse,which the prosecutionclaims Ray operated by Nathan and his mother, Lavada. ftom King's corpse and the whole bullets made while aiming the fatal shot. Attomey Nathan said that Liberto rold him that "I found, along with the alleged murder rifle and Peppershowed that the prosecudonhad evi- [Whitlock] reminded him [Liberto] of him- other ircms, in the bundle, found in front of denceproving the allegedmurder rifle, indeed, self as a young man," and that Liberto liked Canipe's Amusement, next door to Bessie did not causethe dent. Narhar's music and, from time to time, would Brewer's flophouse. (2) The 2X7 Redfield The November 29, 1999 proceedingsin the help him get gigs. Scopemounted atop the alleged murder rifle, wrongful death civil trial of Loyd Jowers As they becamecloser, Libeno confided in a.30-06 Remington 760 Gamemaster,had proved astounding. Among the witnessesI Nathan that he, Liberto, had worked with never been sighted in, and that a shooter could heard were Bill Hamblin andJJ. Isabel, friends Mafia don Carlos Marcello, out of New Or- not have hit "the broadsideof a bam" with of Jowers, Jerry W Ray, younger brother of leans. (During that time ftame, the Marcello James Earl Ray; Witlie B. Richmond, retired family reputedly controlled a large ponion of from the Memphis Police Department; Dou- the action being conducted in the South, and glas Valentine, a writer specializingin U.S. Carlos was considered by some authorities to intelligence operations; Carthel Weeden, re- be the strongest boss of all.) Liberto rold tired from the Memphis Fire Depaitmenr; Nathan that the Mafia "was a bunch of bus! Reverend Walter Fauntroy, ex-HSCA (House nessmenwho take care of business."Taking Select Committee on Assassinations)mem- on a more sinister edge, Nathan testified, ber, and Yolanda King, daughter of Manin Liberto told Nathan's mother, Lavada, that Luther and Coretta Scoft King. "he'd had Manin Luther King killed," and JJ. Isabel testified that Jowershad, over Nathan felt that "he [Liberto] stepped over the years, hinted to him of being involved in the line" when he told Lavadasuch. However, King's assassination.lsabel said he onceasked Nathan was only 18-years-old at the time, and Jowers:"Loyd," did you drop the hammeron Libeno "was a big man." (Not only in physi- Martin Luther King." Isabelsaid Jowers, after cal stature-around 300 lbs.-but in clout, hearing the question, hesitateda moment or too, no doubt.) Nathan tesdfied that the fol- two, then respondedwith: "You think you lowing exchangetook place between him and know I did it, but I would neveradmit to it or Liberto: tell it in a coun of law" WHITLOCK:Did you kill Martin tuther Kingi Hamblin testified that, over a period of years,he andJowers had discussedJowers'role you LIBERTOTwired? | didn t killthe nigger. but I in King'sassassination. According to Hamblin, hadit done. Jowershad confided ro him "rhar an assassin WHITLOCK:WhatabouttheSOB[Jamestarl Ray] other tian Ray gavehim the still-smoking gun takingcfedit for it? usedto kill King." Hamblin also saidthat Yel- the allegedmurder rifle. (3) When LIBERTO:That troublemaker from Missou was Brown or- low CabdriverJames Mccraw over the years, nothingmore than a set'up man. dered the alleged murder rifle retested in and usually when intoxicated, had told him 1997,67Voofthebtllets rested(12 of 18) did that he had directly taken the actualmurder Nathan closedout his tesrimonyby saying not match the allegedmurder rifle. (4) The weaponfromJowers and rhrown ir in the Mis- that he raisedthe issuewith the govemot (of allegedmurder rifle "would have blown up" sissippiRiver where ir possiblysrill is. (Aside Gnnessee),andwas followed by the police, ifit had beenresred on the windowsilloftire ftom beingafriend ofJowers,McCraw, ifyou'll physically even roughedup. I'll come back to bathroomofBessie Brewer's flophouse, as the recall,years earlier, had givena statementsay- Nathan later on in this article, plosecution contendedit had been..In addi- ing that just minutes before King was shot, Of all the testimoniesin the Jowers' ftial, tion to being set b order another retestingof he cameto BessieBrewer's flophouse to give JudgeJoe Brorvn's, given on November 23, the alleged murder rifle, Brown, roo, it has Charles Stephens,rhe state's only so-called probably, 1999, for some,anyway, carried the been rumored,was abouato grantJamesEarl eyewitness against Ray, a cab ride, but most weight. If you recall,Judge Brown pre- Ray the trial he had beenfighting to ger since Stephenswas too drunk to take anywhere.) sided over the Ray-King casefor approximately t. March 1969, a trial Tennesseelaw (TCA 17- On the stand,Jerry Raygave an overyiew four years,until he was removed from the case l-305) guaranteedhim, yer one the prosecu- of the Ray family existence,how they grew in early 1998. Logicallyenough, I'm sure (as judges, tion, and courts ignored and up very poor. He said thar when JamesEarl hasbeen mentioned in the past) the prosecu- refused-still refuse-to talk about. Can you returned home from the army in 1948 he l tion felt they had it made in the shadewhen blamethem, rhough? staned living a "life of crime." As he has be- Brown, African-American, a UCI,A grad, and I Recently, Brown, who-and on his own ac- fore, Jerry talked about the last time he saw civil rights activist, took over the Ray-King cord-gave uphisjudge's seat,and is now star JamesEarl before he, JamesEarl, was picked I case- that Brown would damn Ray all to hell, of the qmdicatedshow ludge Joe, was a guest up at London'sHeathrow Airpon andcharged and that would be the end of it! Then thev. I on Fox Teleykion.On the show, ciring that he wirh King's death.Jerry said ir was somerime the prosecu[ion,could concentrateon impor- could say so now, since he'd given up his late August-earlySeptember 1967, and Jerry tant matters, such as DUI's and back child judgeship,Brown statedthat the prosecution was working at The Sportsman'sCountry Club suPPortcases. knew the allegedmurderrifle, in fact,was nor in.Northbrook, Illinois, a suburb ofChicaso. From the get-go, Brown, a ballisrics enthu- the MLK murder rifle. continued.on page28

Maroh-April, AOOO i l Howeve{, on January l, 2000, Kershaw told 1968,he wasplaced at Fire Station#2, located Ifitu€ Gase me that he had taken the results ofRay's Play- at Calhoun and South Main Streets,within boy polygraph to one of Nashville's more easyeye access to room #306 ofthe Loraine continucd page27 from prominent psychiatrists, and rhe Nashville Horel and Motel, where King was staying. psychiatrist told Kershaw that Ray's Playboy Richmond's mission was to conduct surveil- polygraphhad been "boogered,"i.e. ahered. lance on Dr King and the acrivities around Jerry said he received a telephone call from On the wimess stand, former Memphis Po- his room. Richmond said he'd had a surveil- James Earl, and they met in Chicago, spend- lice Department detective Edward ing the night together there. (JamesEarl had Redditt tes- lance partner, Ed Redditt, but Reddirt had tified that prior to King's assassinationhis role been moved from Fire Station #2 because of gone to Canada in July 1967.) The next day, with the Memphis Police Depaftment was rhar threat againsthis life. Richmond went on to Jerry claimed, they had "breaKast together," ofcommunity relationsofficer. It was his "job say that he observeddifferent people going andJames gave Jerry the keystoJames' 1962 to get the community to understand police and coming from King's room, "The lnvad- Plymouth. (An interesting point Jerry made work," he said. Howeyer,during the sanita- ers," etc. to me in private is that James--during this August-September1967 meeting in Chicago- tion worker's strike he was pulled from com- Wliter Douglas Valentine took the stand munity relations and placed with the and told the counroom that during 1968mil! appeared to be flush with cash. When James intelligencebureau for rhe purposeof suweil- tary intelligenceconducted sur- Earl initially had set out for Canadain July "inrelligence 1967he didn't havevery much moneyon him, lance, to help in identi$ing anyonewho might veillance" on those who 'bpposed the Vietnam "disrupt the strike." War." Valendne mentioned Hoffinan says Jerry) Jerry took James to the Chicago 'Abbie When King and his entoulageretumed to and Rubin," of The Chicago7 fame. Val- Train Station, and James Eall told Jerry that Jerry Memphis,Reddin wascommanded to assume entine saidduring thattime frame there were from that point onward he, James Earl, would post Willie contactJerry using the alias "Eric Stawo Galt." a surveillance with B. Richmond, seven such intelligence groups across who worked with Memphis PoliceDepartment America,and the group assignedto the Sourh- Curious, Jerry askedJames what kind of work intelligence. Their post was in the locker room east U.S. was the "111 Military Intelligence he would be doing?James told Jerry he was at the rear of Fire Station #2, located at the Group." He added that the 111 Intelligence working for a man named "Raoul." Jerry said corner of Butler and South he knew it was "illegal," whatever it was. Main Streets. Group, in fact, was in Memphis conducting Through a peepholein the locker room, they surveillanceon King on April 4, 1968.Valen- While on the staad,Jerry was shown a t!an- script ofa taped 1977telephone conversation had vantageview of room #306 of the Lor- tine claimed the 111 Group has "actual frlm he had with renown author William Bradford raine, where King, along with ReverendRalph footageof King being assassinated." Huie, author ofHe Slzw theDreamer, one of the Abemathy,was lodging. On April4, 1968,Canhel Weedenwas the first bookswritten on the King assassination, On April 4, 1968, Redditt and Richmond seniorcaptainar Fire Srarion#2. On duty that assumedtheir surveillancepost damls Ray as King's killer-as did appendages in the locker day,Weeden was approachedby two U.S.mili- room ofFire #2. While GeorgeMcMillan and GeraldPosner, later, in Station there, Lt. E.H. tary officerswho wanted to observeKing, his Arkin, also of the Memphis their books. In that taped 1977 telephone con- Police Depart- group, and the activitiesthereof- The officers ment, to whom Redditt was directly report- said they neededa point." versation,Huie told Jerry thar ifhe could per- "vamage Weeden suadeJamesEarl to unequivocally sayhe killed ing, came to the surveillanceposr and told saidhe took the two military rlpes ro the roof Redditt that he "was neededat Central Head- of Fire Station #2, where they had a Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (Ray only signed a vantage quarters." Redditt said he and guilty plea;he nevercame out and said, "Yes, Arkin, having point, aad left them there. Weedensaid that gone I, and I alone,killed Manin Luther KingJr"), to Central Headquarters, "entered a he placed rhe two military types on the roof then he, Huie, could arrange the following for "conferenceroom," and there was a "group of Fire Station #2, where rhey had an "unob- of law enforcementmen" inside the confer- structed view." After he heard James Earl Ray: a payment in excessof the shot fired, !oom. present in $200,000,a pardon from the govemorofTen- ence Also the conference Weedenrushed over to the Lorraine.Eventu- room, accordingto Redditt, nessee;a waiver of ttre outstanding warrant was a SecretSer- ally, he helped load King's body into the am- vice agent who had been from the Missouri Deparmrent ofCorrections, "just flown in from bulance.Weeden claimed thar afterhe left the Washington, The Secret and a new identity. After silently readingthe D.C. " Serviceagenr two military olficers on the roof of Fire Sra- informed Redditt that there was a conuacr on tion #2, he never saw them transcript on the witness stand, Jerry verified again. it as the raped 1977 telephone conversation Redditt's life, ard that Redditt was to be pulled Equally compelling was tesrimony from post. he had with William Bradford Huie. OnJanu- from his suweillance Reddirt objected. ReverendWalter Fauntrov Fauntrovtold the At point, ary 1, 2000,via telephone,I spokewith Nash- that Frank C. Holloman, then court that he teamedup with HenryGonzalez ville attomey Kershaw, who was Director of Memphis Policeand Fire Depart- to get the HSCA to investigarethe Kennedy Jack James (also Earl Ray's attomey in 1976.Kershaw told me ments a former FBI agent), ordered Arkin and King assassinations.He said Richard to take proceeded that in 1976,in Nashville,tnnessee, he met Redditt home. "We to my Spraguewas the original prosecutorfor the home,and radio with William Bradford Huie and two (still) the blastedthat Dr. King had HSCA. "Right off the bat, there was conrro- unidentified men. IGrshaw told rne that Huie been shot. I never heard anything else about versy,conceming Sprague," Fauntroy testified. the threat Redditt's life]." had made the sameoffer as the one Huie made [on Redditt also Spraguewished to make all recordsavailable noted that he felt Richmond toJerry Ray to take to his client. Kershaw took had beenolaced to the HSCA,records ofthe FBI,CIA, etc.This with him at chesurveillance post-at the Huie offer to Ray, and Ray declined. (See Fiie Sra- was metwith "strong opposition,"said Faun- tion #2-to keep an eye on the March- April 1999 issueofProbe, "Gerald him, becausehe, troy. Spragueresigned, and c. Robert Blakey Posner:Nailed to the Cross",page 5.) Redditt, might have recognizedsomeone he replacedhim as HSCA prosecutor.Faunrroy wasn't ln 1977, Playboymagazine interviewed suPPoseto. said that all the controversysurrounding the Under cross-examination, Willie Rich- Blakey-for-Spragueswap caused JamesEarl Ray.During the interview, Ray was the HSCAto mond said that during March-April givena polygraphtest. In its conclusion,Plal- 1968 he "start about six monrhs late." He menrioned was assignedto affairs," bol reported that Ray failed the polygraph test. "intemal OnApril4, that Blakeywould never open up all the files.

It[8rch-Aprtl, SOOO It_ This causedsuspicion. health, had wom to court one day.Whitlock in essence,he revealedthe following to me: Fauntroy also levealed that the HSCA ad- told me: "1 don't appreciatehim, that Gerald On April 4, 1968,Ward was a driver for Mem- mi$ed they had never found a "credible wir- Posneryes-man, making fun ofJowers because phis Yellow Cab taxi service.There was a fel- ness" to placeRay at the sceneof the cnme, of the way he dresses."(And what does his low driver namedPaul Butler On that ADril 4 and he, Fauntroy,was "uncomfonable" about attire have to do with whatever he did or didn't day, ar approximately6 p.m., Burler was ar whether or not there was a "Raoul." Under do, concemingKing's assassination, anyway?) the Lorraine Hotel and Motel loading up a fare cross-examination.Fauntrov said the most Also, in the next day's CommercialAppeal, No- to transPort to the Memphis Airport. As he incriminating thing about Ray, accordingto vember 30, 1999 issue,Perrisquia had an ar- loaded the fare's luggageinto his taxi, King the HSCA,was that Raycontradictedhimself. ticle covering the November 29, 1999 was shot. Butler then called the Yellow Cab Fauntroyrecalled "cartoon's depicting King as proceedingsthat slantedaway ftom all points dispatcherand relayedwhat he had just wit- a threat to America." He said that King and made in favor of a possible conspiracyand nessed,and that he was on his way to rhe air- Abernathy met with FBI Director J. Edgar tilted toward those claiming Ray alone was pon with his fare.Ward, listeningto his radio Hooverin an attempt to settlethe differences, guilty. and hearing what had just transpired,drove but to no avail. to the airport to meet with Butler. Meering YolandaKing pretty much echoedher up with Butler, Ward heard Butler tell three mother's sentiments.Most poignant was Memphis Policemen,who had arrived at the Yolandasharing with the jurors what it was airport in the meantime,what he, Butle! had like to loseherfather at 12-years-old,and rhar witnessedjust minutes earlier:While at the she didn't come to grips with his loss "until Loraine, loading up his cab fare, Butler saw shewas well into her adult life." Outside the King get shot. Butler then, after calling the courtroom,I spokewith actor-comedianDick dispatch, saw a white man come down over Gregory co-author with Mark Lane of Code the wall (in the vicinity of the flophouseand NameZorro, a book about the King assassina- the hedgesbehind it) and get into a police tion. He had this to say: "The murder of Dr car. To a greatdegree, this coincideswith the King hasthe govemment'shandp nts all over claim made by NewYork Times reporter Earl Caldwell,that he, Caldwell,in his room ar rhe Togetherwith his father,Attomey Arthur Lorraine, upon hearing the shot that slew HanesSr., nowdeceased, Afihur HanesJr.was King, lookedtoward the rowofbushes behind the first to serveas defense counsel forJames the flophouseand saw a white man rise from Earl Raywhen Raywas extradited from Lon- During the lunch breakofrheJowers' trial, a crouched position and move through rhe don to Memphis,on July 19, 1968,to stand Nathan Whitlock,Jerry Ray,and I venturedto ousnes. trial for Dr. King's assassination.On rhe wit- the sidewalk outside ihe courthouse.Lo and Butler repeatedthe story to Memphis Po- nessstand, during theJowers' trial, HanesJr beholdl While we were talking, even though licemen later that eveningat the Yellow Cab saidthat Guy Canipetold him the bundlecon- he wasn't part of the Jowers'civil trial, Assis- office. Ward went on to say that Burler, obvi- taining the allegedmurder rifle was dropped tant District AttorneyGeneralJohn Campbell, ously,a crucialwitness, set to makean official in the doorwayof Canipe'sAmusement sev- who was over the Ray-Kingcase the last few statement on April 5, 1968, didn'r show up eral "minutes before King was shor." The yearsofRay's life, camewalking up rhe side- for work the next day. His body was found, doorwayofCanipe's Amusement was located walk right past us. True to Gerald Posner's the dayafter King waskilled, justoffthe bridge next to a stairwell leading up to Bessie flattering description of a man who dressed connectingWest Memphis andArkansas. Re- Brewer's flophouse, from where Ray shot "stylishly" with putedly,his untimelydemiseresuhed from ei- King-from a commonly-sharedbathroom on "an endlessassortment ofnew shirts and ties" ther willfully jumping from his speeding the north wing, actually-so claims the pros- (KiIIingthe Drcam, page 280), Campbell,sure vehicle, implying suicide, or having been ecution. Had the Hanesfather and son team enough,was decked out. When he reachedus, pushedfrom the same,implying murder.Srill remainedas Ray's defensecounsel, Canipe's Jerry Ray and Narhan Whitlock artemptedro more unnerving, today, there are no known statementregarding the time the bundle was engagehim in conversation.Behind wrap- deathcertificates for PaulButler, either in Ten- dropped, as opposed to the time King was around shades,he produced a bright smile, nesseeorArkansas. Further, there is no kno\arl shor,would haveprovided earrh-moving evi- sorta shuffled in place-cat on a hot tin roof obituary in any Tennesseeor Arkansasnews- dence. style-and, wirh what Posnerdescdbedas his paper referring to his death.Still yet, there is During a court break on November29, "npid machine-gunstyle of ralking, " slickly no known recordofthe MemphisPolice ques- 1999,Jerry Ray and I stoodoutside the court- evadedall direct, yet relevanr,quesrions, and rioning Butler.It almosrappeaE rharrhere was room and convercedwith Nathan Whitlock, vacatedthe premiseswith haste. an efforr pur forth to make Paul Butler van- whosetestimonywas discussed earlier. As we While in Memphis, coveringrhe ffial, rhe ish. talked,Memphis CommercialAppeal, (newspa- following exchangeproved to be the most There is telephonedirectory evidence, per) writer-reporter Marc Perrisquiawalked unsettlingforme. As I preparedto leaveMem- 1966-1967,that lisrs a "Berry and PaulBur- by.Whitlock tore into Penisquia,lambasting phis and return to my home (4 hours away),I Ier."However, 1968 relephone direcrory evi- him, callinghim "a slanredjournalisr," add- was in the lobby of the Best WesrernHotel, dencelists Betty Butler asbeing a "widow" of ing, "You and I don't talk anymore!" Come ro where I had lodgedwhile in Memphis for the Paul. I askedWard if Butler had appearedto find out, Whitlock's wrath stemmedfrom an trial. As though directedby Fate'shand, I was him to be the t,?e to loseir and do something article Perrisquiahad written, ia the Commer- introducedto Louie Ward. Now, Ward proves drastic, such as jump from his speedingve- cialAppeal, a few days earlier In that article, to be a disturbingly importanr witness-an hicle. "No," Ward answeredme. "Paul was Perrisquiahad made light of the manner of oxymoron, of sorts-in the Ray-King case. about as stableas they come.I haveno doubt dressLoydJowers, financially poor andin poor Ward and I spenta few minutes togetner,ano, continued.on page 32

March-April,aooo ??OEIE of his co-workers, whom I believe, without utes--comrnercials and call-ins included-aad Ifiing Gase question, said they, Lewis and the co-worker, the hosr allowed the same woman (The host had discussed the plospect of Lewis appear- was on a first name basiswith her, by the way.) conriruedfrom page29 ing on the show What did kwis need, a regis- to call in twice-not once, but twice-and engagethe white ioumalisr in an accusation- defensiveresponse exchange that up 12 min- that Paul, whoever was responsible, was the utes on the clock. I have all this on video. I victim of foul play." will concede, however, that the host did an Media Reaction admirable job shifting the flow ofthe show in After the jury found for the Kings and favor of the politically correct crowd, saving Too against Jowers, tdking head Gerald Posner them from drowning in a seaof facts. bad (these days, seemingly, an expert on most any we didn't meet on neutral grounds, with a subject) was a guest on TheTodty Show.Host neutral host controlling the oars.Conceming Katie Couric was dl smiles as Mr. Posnerchas- the Ray-Kint case,it appearswe havea stacked tised the Jowers' trial. However, had the jury deck. found thatJames Earl Ray was the lone assas- Regardlessofwho was responsiblefor Dr. sin responsible, and the King Family, in es- King's death, and for whatever reason King sence,losing, the wrongful death trial against was killed, imrnediatelyafter King's death, a ponion population was Jowers, without doubt, would have been de- large of the U,S. in a clared one ofthe most brilliartly executed tri- state of emotional upheaval,that emotional als in history a proceeding ofparamount legal upheavalgraduating into blinding rage!Riot- significance! Too, have you ever noticed that ing was rampant during the days following the only guests, for the most part, on these King's death. Severalareas in the U.S. were prime time shows are those who damn Ray as hit extremely hard, especiallyBaltimore and King's killer, beyond doubt, without question? Washington,D.C., rioting reachingto within And ifthey have someone from the other side, just a few blocks ofournation's capital.Many Ray possibly not guilty, as ponrayed by his- tered letter? Possibly,Lewis failed to appear lives were lost, and much property,totaling tory the host tends to nke ar anhgonisdc- on the show withJerry Ray and me because, in the millions ofdollars, wasdestroyed. Black accusative approach, as opposed to an conceminghis stanceon the King caseassas- Power advocate Stokely Carmichael urged objective one. sination, and his condemnation of the Rays blacks to "go home and get their guns." Na- involved, he stands not ground, Example. Just a couple months ago, Jerry being on solid tional Guardsand regular U.S. Army person- Ray and I were guests on a Nashville-based rather on shifting stand.The host ofthe show nel were placed in many riot-stricken areas. television show. Our scheduled opposition did his best to steer the show downstream, To put it mildly, America was placedon red was Dwight L€wis, an African-American col- thus eating up the clock with meaningless alert. umnist for a prominent lbnnessee newspape! blather, totally removed ftom the subject at Someone had to answer for King's deatl- who has repeatedly accused the Rays, broth- hand: Ray's guilt/innocence in King's death. and quicklylJamesEarl Ray,a white, 4O-year- lasted one hqur ers Jerry and John, as well as James Earl, of The show and lifteen min- old drifter, careercriminal, four-time loser-a being involved in King's death. Lewis, of the "nobody"-fit the profile needed to appease same mold as Posner and Perrisquia, wrote 'John Q. Public." FolcingJamesEarl Rayinto an anicle attacking the Jowers' trial. Howevel signing a guilty plea stitched America's l€wis conveniendy failed to appear against us wound. To have given him the trial the law for the televised debate---onwhich theJowers' said he deserved.TCA 17-1-305. a law in- trial would have been a key issue-sending in vented, voted on, and passedby our legisla- his place a fellow joumalist, white. Lewis's tors and lawmakers, could have reopened the excusefor not showing was that he wasn't for- wound and resultedin "masshemonhaging." mally invited. I find that hard to ingest and For thosereasons, it wasnecessarythatJames digest, because I know for a fact I E-mailed Earl Rayremained guilry in the assassinarion Lewis an invitation. I'm under the imDression of Dr. Manin Luther King Jr, for as long as the televisionstation contactedhim:-and one he, Ray, remained alive. +

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