King murder case should not be laid to rest

By Michael Cook
Arizona Daily Wildcat
September 2, 1997

Editor:

I was pleased to see the article on James Earl Ray in Thursday's Wildcat ("Surgeon: Ray could live for years with new liver," page 11). I wonder if the Wildcat would be interested in taking on a journalistic challenge. I have heard, from a reliable source, that ABC news aired the information, once, very briefly, that bullets from James Earl Ray's rifle did not match the ones taken from Martin Luther King's body. I have looked around for substantiation but have not yet found it. I remember hearing that the tests were going to be performed, at the behest of the King family, but have been unable to find the results of those tests if they were performed. It is interesting that the tests were not done at the time because it is normally the first order of business in such cases. This seems like a very newsworthy tidbit and I will continue my search but such things should be the passion of journalists and I lack the resources that the Wildcat possesses. If it was a government job (and there is substantial evidence that it was, if you know the whole story), then I would not be surprised if the results of these ballistics tests were strictly censored. Please help, if you want to and are up to the challenge. Although it happened some time ago and nothing will bring MLK back, it is still a very important issue if we want to live in a free, just and democratic society. Happy Hunting!

Michael Cook
English/Education senior