An Act of State; The Execution of Martin Luther King

London: Verso, 2003. First Printing [Stated]. Hardcover. Good/Fair. ix, [1], 334 pages. Illustrations. Appendices. Notes. Index. Inscribed and dated by the author on the half-title page. DJ torn and chipped, especially at bottom of spine. Cover has some wear where DJ is torn. Minor top edge stain. Corners of several pages creased. Evidence of pencil erasures noted. William Francis Pepper (born August 16, 1937) is a former attorney based in New York City who is most noted for his efforts to prove government culpability and the innocence of James Earl Ray in the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., as well as the King family, in subsequent years. Pepper has also been trying to prove the innocence of Sirhan Sirhan in the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. He is the author of several books. James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to King's assassination but soon recanted his confession. Pepper, who was Ray's last attorney, has postulated that Ray was not the shooter but was framed by the FBI, the CIA, the military, the Memphis police, and organized crime figures from New Orleans and Memphis. Following Ray's death, Pepper represented the King family in a wrongful death lawsuit, "King family vs. Loyd Jowers and other unknown co-conspirators". During the trial, Pepper produced over seventy witnesses. Jowers, testifying by deposition, stated that James Earl Ray was not involved in the assassination. Jowers testified that Memphis police officer Earl Clark fired the fatal shots. On December 8, 1999, the Memphis jury found Jowers responsible, and found that the plot included "governmental agencies." The jury found for the King family for the requested $100. Derived from a Kirkus review: Pepper, a lawyer and longtime investigator into the King shooting, musters copious evidence pointing to James Earl Ray's not having acted alone. In the almost 35 years since King was assassinated, Pepper has gathered an impressive array of testimony and evidence that, to even determined skeptics, throws major doubt over the state's case against Ray. There is, most obviously, the verdict against Loyd Jowers in the wrongful-death civil suit brought by the King family. Then there is the avalanche of material from the circumstantial to the blatant, implicating the FBI, the intelligence services, and organized crime. And there are all the failures of the state to follow through on any number of leads that may have led to greater understanding of events. Pepper draws all of this information into his presentation, cogently--the result is to show that something smells rotten in the state's case. Pepper has made his point to fence-sitters. The fundamental injustice of the handling of the King assassination comes through.