MLK

Originally published on PaulCraigRoberts.org. Article has also been republished (20 Jan 2015) on Global Research.

Today (January 19) is Martin Luther King Day, a national holiday. King was an American civil rights leader who was assassinated 47 years ago on April 4, 1968, at the age of 39. James Earl Ray was blamed for the murder. Initially, Ray admitted the murder, apparently under advice from his attorney in order to avoid the death penalty, but Ray soon withdrew his confession and unsuccessfully sought a jury trail. Documents of the official investigation remain secret until the year 2027.

Way back in 1960s America, a series of three major political assassinations marked the end of a rich and optimistic period with lower income differences, where the imminent threat of nuclear war was thrice averted. Controversy surrounds each assassination, implicating a shadowy military industrial complex and the CIA operating to undermine democracy and promote war and inequality. On Nov 22 1963 US President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas. One of many consequences was the continuation and escalation of the Vietnam war. In April 4, 1968, Martin Luther King, the US's most famous black leader, was assassinated in Memphis. On June 5, 1968 John F. Kennedy's brother, Bobby Kennedy, was assassinated in Los Angeles. For each of these assassinations a lone gunman was officially held responsible. In 1999, UK barrister William Pepper, obtained a jury verdict (PDF - 3.2MB) that the US armed forces and police had, in fact, conspired to murder Dr. Martin Luther King. Pepper now claims to have new evidence which he says proves 68 year old Christian Palestinian, Sihran Bishara Sirhan, could not be guilty of the assassination of Bobby Kennedy on 5 June 1968, for which Sirhan has, so far, served 44 years. A new analysis of acoustic evidence shows that 13 shots were fired the night of the assassination, whilst Sirhan Sirhan only fired eight in a hypnotic state, including six with the hand holding the gun restrained and pointed beneath the table. In 2006 The Guardian published Shane O'Sullivan's investigation, which makes similar claims. Barrister Pepper is now seeking a re-trial.