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Martin Luther King Jr was the most powerful and eloquent champion of the poor and oppressed in US history, and at the height of his fame in the mid-sixties seemed to offer the real possibility of a new and radical beginning for liberal politics in the USA. In 1968, he was assassinated; the movement for social and economic change has never recovered.
The conviction of James Earl Ray for his murder has never looked even remotely safe, and when William Pepper began to investigate the case it was the start of a twenty-five year campaign for justice. At a civil trial in 1999, supported by the King family, seventy witnesses under oath set out the details of the conspiracy Pepper had unearthed: the jury took just one hour to find that Ray was not responsible for the assassination, that a wide-ranging conspiracy existed, and that government agents were involved.
An Act of State lays out the extraordinary facts of the King story—of the huge groundswell of optimism engendered by his charismatic radicalism, of how plans for his execution were laid at the very heart of government and the military, of the disinformation and media cover-ups that followed every attempt to search out the truth. As shocking as it is tragic, An Act of State remains the most compelling and authoritative account of how King’s challenge to the US establishment led inexorably to his murder.
“Within the first chapter, An Act of State presents enough circumstantial evidence to raise questions about Ray’s involvement as the sole assassin.” — Washington Post
“Pepper has gathered an impressive array of testimony and evidence that, even to determined skeptics, throws a major doubt over the state’s case against James Earl Ray.” — Kirkus
“Forget everything you think you know ... Pepper attempts nothing less than a rewrite of history, and a spurring of further investigation .... It is heartfelt, and honor’s Pepper’s commitment to King’s legacy.’” — Publisher’s Weekly, Starred Review
“For a quarter of a century, Bill Pepper conducted an independent investigation of the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. He opened his files to our family, encouraged us to speak with the witnesses, and represented our family in the civil trial against the conspirators. The jury affirmed his findings, providing our family with a long-sought sense of closure and peace, which had been denied by official disinformation and cover-ups. Now the findings of his exhaustive investigation and additional revelations from the trial are presented in the pages of this important book. We recommend it highly to everyone who seeks the truth about Dr. King's assassination.” — Coretta Scott King
William F. Pepper William Pepper was a young journalist, just back from Vietnam, when he first met Martin Luther King Jr. His photographs and first-hand accounts of the war prompted King’s unflinching opposition to the war. His investigations of King’s assassination included extensive interviews with James Earl Ray. Pepper is an English barrister who convenes a seminar on International Human Rights at Oxford University and maintains practices in the US and the UK. He is the author of three other books and numerous articles.
January 2003
2nd Edn.: April 2008
350 paqes
Original Cloth
ISBN-13: 978 1 85984 695 7
£17 / US$25 / CAN$36
Paper
ISBN-13: 978 1 84467 285 1
US$17.95 / £9.99 / CAN$20
