Sharp questions expose flaws in Ray story

Press, 19 August 1978, Page 8

Sharp questions expose flaws in Ray story

NZPA-Reuter Washington Janies Earl Ray, convicted assassin of Martin Luther King, has admitted giving a Congressional investigating committee conflicting testi* mony about his version of events surrounding the murder of the civil rights leader.

Ray was testifying on the panel's second day of hearings into the April 4, 1968, assassination of Dr King. He is to return to the witness stand today (N.Z. time) for what is expected to be his final session. Under sharp questioning | by the House of Representatives Assassinations Com-! mittee, Ray said that he had! made an error in testifying j to its investigators earlier about “Raoul," a mystery: man whom he says framed! him. Ray said he had toh' in-j vestigators that Raoul had | handled the rifle alleged to ! have been used to kilt Dr| King, when in fact Raoul' had not done so. He told the) committee he had made the? mistake because he was con-j fused. Ray is serving a 99-yeari prison term for the slaying. 1

He said on Wednesday that he did not shoot the black leader and implied that _ Dr King was the victim of a conspiracy involving the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The hearing was marked by confrontations between committee members who were questioning Ray ana his lawyer, Mark Lane, who repeatedly interrupted the proceedings to object to the questions. „ At one point Ray said that he could not produce any witnesses who could testify that they had seen him with Raoul during what he has said were frequent meetings. Neither could he give the panel more positive identification of Raoul, an alleged gun runner from South America. , The committee confronted Ray with evidence suggest-

ing that, he had stalked Drj King through the South fori the 12 days preceding Dri King’s nrurder. Representative Louis' Stokes, quietly addressing j the witness as “Mr Ray,”! established that in the days! preceding the murder, Rayl — for no apparent reason —' went to Selma, Alabama, the night after Dr King had been there, then drove on to Atlanta on April 1, 1968. “I’m sure I never returned to Atlanta,” Ray said. He added, apparently sarcastically: “If I did, I’ll just take responsibility for the King case right here on TV.” Ray’s lawyer, put his hands to his face as Ray ;said that. At that point, Stokes produced laundry and a dry I cleaning slip dated April 1, 1968 showing “Eric Galt” — one of Ray’s aliases — had deposited a jacket, trousers, shirts, and underwear with

an Atlanta laundry that day. Mr Stokes also produced a staff memo in which Jimmie Garner, proprietor of an Atlanta rooming house, said that Ray had been there that Sunday, helped him repair a lock and paid him $10.50 for i a week’s lodging. A second piece of evidence damaging to Ray’s case was a change-of-address form he filed with the Los Angeles Post Office before leaving for a meeting ini New Orleans with Raoul. The change-of-address card directed that his mail be forwarded to Atlanta. Ray expressed surprise and said he was “positive” he had filed no such card. Ray gave precise details' ion some incidents to back: up his story, but was hazy on others. Ray has demanded a new trial on grounds that he was coerced into pleading guilty'; at his original trial.