Dr. Martin Luther King Jr, till today, remains one of the greatest Icons of African origin in the world. He was an American clergyman and civil rights leaders, till his death. His assassination on April 4, 1968, in Tennessee, United States, remains a big blow to the entire Negro/brown/Afro race. His contributions towards the rights of Africans in America is hailed all over the world, even in the villages of Africa.

His death was a big loss to the fight for freedom and liberty, and many were determined to get to the root of his assassination. Many of those close to him believed he was assassinated by forces close to the government for the followership he was gaining and his speeches that provoked those in power.

So, after 31 years, in a civil trial in Memphis, Tennessee, the court reached a verdict that Martin Luther King Jr was assassinated by a government conspiracy.

After four weeks of testimonies and above 70 witnesses in a civil trial in Memphis, Tennessee, and after about an hour of deliberations, twelve members of the jury reached a collective verdict that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy. This was on the 8^th of December, 1999.

In a press statement held the following day in Atlanta, Martin Luther King’s wife, Mrs. Coretta Scott King, accepted the verdict, saying:

“There is abundant evidence of a major high-level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. And the civil court’s unanimous verdict has validated our belief. I wholeheartedly applaud the verdict of the jury and I feel that justice has been well served in their deliberations. This verdict is not only a great victory for my family, but also a great victory for America. It is a great victory for truth itself. It is important to know that this was a SWIFT verdict, delivered after about an hour of jury deliberation.

The jury was clearly convinced by the extensive evidence that was presented during the trial that, in addition to Mr. Jowers, the conspiracy of the Mafia, local, state and federal government agencies, were deeply involved in the assassination of my husband. The jury also affirmed overwhelming evidence that identified someone else, not James Earl Ray, as the shooter, and that Mr. Ray was set up to take the blame. I want to make it clear that my family has no interest in retribution.

Instead, our sole concern has been that the full truth of the assassination has been revealed and adjudicated in a court of law… My husband once said, “The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” Today, almost 32 years after my husband and the father of my four children was assassinated, I feel that the jury’s verdict clearly affirms this principle. With this faith, we can begin the 21st century and the new millennium with a new spirit of hope and healing.” 

Mr. Dexter Scott King, the Chairman, President, and CEO of The King Center, during December 9, 1999 press conference regarding the verdict made the following statements:

“We can say that because of the evidence and information obtained in Memphis we believe that this case is over. This is a period in the chapter. We constantly hear reports, which trouble me, that this verdict creates more questions than answers. That is totally false. Anyone who sat in on almost four weeks of testimony, with over seventy witnesses, credible witnesses I might add, from several judges to other very credible witnesses, would know that the truth is here.”

“The question now is, “What will you do with that?” We as a family have done our part. We have carried this mantle for as long as we can carry it. We know what happened. It is on the public record. The transcripts will be available; we will make them available on the Web at some point. Any serious researcher who wants to know what happened can find out.”

Below is the Transcription of the King Family Press Conference on the Assassination of MLK’s Trial Verdict on December 9, 1999, Atlanta, GA.

 CORETTA SCOTT KING:

“There is abundant evidence of a major high-level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. And the civil court's unanimous verdict has validated our belief. I wholeheartedly applaud the verdict of the jury and I feel that justice has been well served in their deliberations. This verdict is not only a great victory for my family but also a great victory for America. It is a great victory for truth itself.”

“It is important to know that this was a SWIFT verdict, delivered after about an hour of jury deliberation. The jury was clearly convinced by the extensive evidence that was presented during the trial that, in addition to Mr. Jowers, the conspiracy of the Mafia, local, state, and federal government agencies were deeply involved in the assassination of my husband. The jury also affirmed overwhelming evidence that identified someone else, not James Earl Ray, as the shooter, and that Mr. Ray was set up to take the blame. I want to make it clear that my family has no interest in retribution.”

“Instead, our sole concern has been that the full truth of the assassination has been revealed and adjudicated in a court of law. As we pursued this case, some wondered why we would spend the time and energy addressing such a painful part of the past. For both our family and the nation, the short answer is that we had to get involved because the system did not work.”

“Those who are responsible for the assassination were not held to account for their involvement. This verdict, therefore, is a great victory for justice and truth. It has been a difficult and painful experience to revisit this tragedy, but we felt we had an obligation to do everything in our power to seek the truth. Not only for the peace of mind of our family but to also bring closure and healing to the nation.”

“We have done what we can to reveal the truth, and we now urge you as members of the media, and we call upon elected officials, and other persons of influence to do what they can to share the revelation of this case to the widest possible audience. I know that this has been a difficult case for everyone involved. I thank the jury and Judge Swearington for their commitment to reach a just verdict, I want to also thank our attorneys, Dr. William Pepper and his associates for their hard work and tireless dedication in bringing this case to justice.”

“Dr. Pepper has put many years of his life, as well as his financial resources, into this case. He has made significant personal sacrifices to pursue the search for the truth about my husband's assassination. I want to thank my son Dexter, who showed great courage and perseverance and who took a lot of unmerited and personal attacks so we could get to the truth about the assassination.”

“And I want to thank my other children, Yolanda, Martin, and Bernice who have kept the faith refused to become embittered, and have remained steadfast in their efforts to pursue the truth of their father's assassination. My husband once said, "The moral arc of the universe is long, but it bends toward justice." Today, almost 32 years after my husband and the father of my four children were assassinated, I feel that the jury's verdict clearly affirms this principle. With this faith, we can begin the 21st century and the new millennium with a new spirit of hope and healing.”

Today, there is continuous hunting and killing off every African-American who dares to speak to power and demand equality and justice for the African American community. Martin Luther King’s style of assassination and the disappearance of the real killers can be seen in how Tupac was assassinated, and most recently, Nipsey Hussle’s assassination.

It seems the more African American voices stand up to defend the rights of their people, the more the system finds a way to eliminate them. Till today, there is a divine need for the likes of Martin Luther King Jr to stand up for the African American community in America. His death, till today, is still painful to our people.

To read the full account of the court case, please follow this link to download the PDF.