FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AG
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 1998
(202) 616-2777
TDD (202) 514-1888

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT TO REVIEW CERTAIN ALLEGATIONS

REGARDING KILLING OF REV. MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Attorney General Janet Reno today announced that the Justice Department will conduct an inquiry into certain allegations regarding the 1968 assassination of Reverend Martin Luther King, Jr.

The inquiry will review allegations raised by former FBI agent Donald Wilson and former Memphis bar owner, Lloyd Jowers, suggesting that there may have been an assassination conspiracy broader than James Earl Ray. The evidence gathered during the inquiry will be followed wherever it may lead.

Even if the allegations were proven true, federal prosecutions may be barred because the relevant statutes of limitations have expired. But federal law gives the Attorney General the power to conduct an investigation to detect whether criminal activity took place, even if prosecutions are not possible.

The decision to open the inquiry follows a Justice Department review of information presented by Mrs. Coretta Scott King and others. Attorney General Reno met with them April 8 at the request of President Clinton.

"We hope this review will provide answers to new questions that have been raised about a tragedy that still haunts our nation," said Reno.

The King assassination was investigated in 1977-78 by the House Select Committee on Assassinations, and again in 1997-98 by the Memphis District Attorney General's office.

The inquiry will be overseen by the Department's Civil Rights Division, with support from the Criminal Division. Barry Kowalski, who prosecuted the officers who beat Rodney King, will serve as the lead attorney investigating the allegations. Depending on its findings, Reno said that the Justice Department would consider what further action might be appropriate. She added that the Department will issue a report outlining its findings.

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