The Excavator: William Pepper - An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King

William Pepper, attorney, and author of the 2003 book "An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King," met Martin Luther King Jr. in 1967 when his photo essay "“The Children of Vietnam" that appeared in a January 1967 issue of Ramparts magazine caught the eye of King. The images of victims burned by napalm moved King. Soon after, he approached Pepper. Mark Gabrish Conlan wrote a story about Pepper's meeting with King for Zengers Newsmagazine in February 2003:

"After King saw Pepper’s “The Children of Vietnam” feature in Ramparts, Pepper recalled in an appearance at San Diego’s Current Affairs Bookstore January 28, “He asked to meet with me and see other photos I’d taken. At one point, I was going through the material with him and he just wept. He never could accept it, and became very emotional.” Pepper was with King at Riverside Church in New York City on April 4, 1967 —a year to the day before King’s death —when he delivered the most impassioned speech he ever gave against the Vietnam War."

Since King's death on April 4, 1968, Pepper has worked to rescue the truth about his murder, and honor his legacy. He represented the King family in the civil trial "King Family v. Loyd Jowers and Other Unknown Co-Conspirators" that took place in a Memphis courtroom in late 1999. Click here to read the transcript of the trial. Unsurprisingly, the trial received zero coverage from the mainstream media. They were more interested in the lives of O.J. Simpson and Michael Jackson than in the deaths of Martin Luther King Jr. and John F. Kennedy.

Upon the completion of the 30-day trial, the 12-member jury ruled that Martin Luther King Jr.'s death was the result of a government conspiracy. In other words, the government's version of King's murder was proven in court to be a big lie. After the verdict was heard the King family and Dr. Pepper held a press conference on December 9, 1999 in front of a small gathering of reporters. Read their remarks here. Below are excerpts from their statements.

Coretta Scott King said:

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.

Dexter Scott King said:

I want to make a special thanks to Dr. William Pepper, for really if it were not for his efforts, we would not have known about this. We really would not have gotten involved. 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 troubles 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 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.

Martin Luther King, III said:

Certainly this has been a very, very long time coming. It essentially says that the truth can in fact come through. It essentially says that if you keep working forward, sometimes for some, even in the twilight, that one day you will reach the conclusion of truth.

Bernice King said:

I guess I will speak, for I have never spoken before regarding the assassination of my father. I was only 3 yearsold. You may remember me as the one in my mother's lap at the funeral. I don't have much to say, because in a real sense I recall words that were spoken when the decision came down from the Supreme Court, regarding the bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama. The words spoken were that "God had spoken" from the Supreme Court. I think that God has spoken from 12 independent jurors in Memphis, Tennessee concerning my father's assassination. As somewhat the spiritual leader for this family, because I am an ordained Christian Minister, I have to truly give praise to God for what has happened. We cannot know that God is not a liar. He has spoken his word that I will never leave you, not forsake you, that I will be with you until the end of the earth. So I praise God for what may happen. I thank God for my family. My family praises God for Attorney William Pepper, for his diligent and tireless efforts. There is a word in scripture that says do not be weary in what you are doing, for in due season you will reap if you faint not. Today, we have reaped a harvest, not only for us alone, but also for this nation. And I believe that ultimately God is going to speak even more truth in regards to the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., because as we said from the beginning, even though we needed a sense of peace and satisfaction to have the record set straight, the reality is that it is not who killed Martin Luther King, Jr., but as we go forth into the new millennium, as a nation, but what killed Martin Luther King, Jr.

And finally, Pepper said:

Ladies and Gentlemen, this great republic has throughout it's history, has been afraid to face the issues that Martin Luther King tried to confront at the end of his life. Dexter King said quite frankly, that Martin King opposed the war in Vietnam, and sought to bring the poor to Washington to rally for their cause in the halls of Congress. They took up tents in the shadow of the Washington Memorial to remind the lawmakers that forces of power in this land that do exist, and they have rights which were being denied to them.
Because he took on those forces, powerful economic forces that dominated politics in this land, they killed him. He was killed because he could not be stopped. He was killed because they feared that half a million people would rise in revolution in the capitol of this country, and do what Mr. Jefferson said needed to be done every 20 years, to cleanse this land. This land has not been cleansed. This nation has not faced the problems that Martin Luther King, Jr. died trying to face and confront. They still exist today, the forces of evil, the powerful economic forces that dominate the government of this land and make money on war and deprive the poor of what is their right, their birthright. They still abound and they rule.

The jury heard the background of Dr. King's crust. They understood, finally, the reason why he was stained. He was not a civil rights leader when he was stained. He was an international figure of great stature. He had a moral banner that he was waving and it was heard and seen all over the land. Here and in Europe, Southeast Asia. He had that kind of compelling presence. He was a danger and a threat to the status quo. So he was eliminated.

What the jury also heard, from all of those witnesses for almost four weeks, was that he was assassinated because of the removal of the all police protection when he was in the city of Memphis. Even Black Firemen were taken away. His body guard staff were removed. Attack forces were moved back. On and on it went. And then the Mafia involvement with Jowers was put forth in excruciating detail of how this was planned and who was behind this.

The statements from the King family and Pepper are truly sober reading. They are relevant now more than ever, because the truth is needed now more than ever. The Empire that hijacked the Republic when Kennedy was assassinated by the same forces who later killed Dr. King are now destroying Afghanistan, Iraq, and most of all, America. Only the truth can stop the massacres, the crimes, the treason. Only the truth can set America free, and bring peace to the Middle East. Nothing else.

Nobody can rationally deny the verdict that was fully proven in court in the late months of the last millennium. King was murdered by the American Empire and the traitors who rule it. It is a matter of fact. Kennedy was also murdered by the American Empire and the traitors who rule it. And in the new millennium the Empire's appetite for evil and destruction grew to historic levels. Innocent people were murdered on September 11, 2001 by the American Empire and the traitors who rule it. This is an Empire that doesn't care about the American people, and ruins everything in its way. The traitors and state terrorists in Washington hate America, and love power. In their minds America died, and we're all just waiting for history to pronounce her death. They believe nation-states are relics of a bygone era, so they want to impose a new world corporate order on America, and the world.

But we can stop their new world corporate order. It is critical that we expose the past and current crimes by the traitors behind the American Empire. The assassinations of Kennedy and King are still significant all these years later because the powers that they opposed still rule America today. In fact, they grew more powerful and arrogant during the last 40+ years, to the point where U.S. leaders like Bush can admit to torture on television and suffer zero consequences.

It falls upon all of us to challenge these bastards, and send them to hell. If the treasonous Empire is not brought to an end immediately, then America will be completely destroyed, and more innocent people in the Middle East will die because of our cowardice and indifference. We cannot let that happen. We don't have to be strong to bring justice to deaths of Kennedy, King, and the Empire's millions of other victims because the truth is powerful enough. The truth just needs to be told. The war criminals and traitors in Washington D.C. are afraid of nothing but the truth.

"In a time of universal deceit," said Orwell, "telling the truth is a revolutionary act."

The truth about America must be faced if we want the world's future to be peaceful and prosperous. It cannot be pushed back anymore. The consequences of living in the darkness are too damaging. Innocent people are dying every day in Afghanistan and Iraq because deep truths are suppressed and denied in America.

But the truth won't be suppressed forever because the American people are waking up. And when it rises again, the lying murderers in Washington will fall to their graves. It is a matter of time. "A lie cannot live," said Martin Luther King Jr.

William Pepper delivering a talk about his book "An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King" on February 27, 2003 in Seattle: