OFFICIAL FORM NO. 10 9/10-104 UNITED STATES VERNMENT ASSOC. D.I.C. ASSOC ., D.H. ASSOC .. D.R. Assoc ., Dir. Memorandum Assoc. D ., . Compt. Spar. . Compr. Spars. . Comp. Sparp. . Comps. Spas. . Compos. Spa. To : Mr. Gebhardt DATE: 12/27/73 . Mr. McGowan . Mr ., Gebhardt Imagination . Mr .. . Mr ... McGowan . C. L. McGonaghy 1 - Mr. McDonough . Mr - Mr .- . Mr." Frank. . E.S. Miller. . Sparc. Inc. . Spac. Inc ., SUBJECT: MURKIN SURJECT. This is the case involving the assassination of Martin Luther King on on 4/4/68. James Earl Ray was Lepel Coun. convicted in State Court of the murder and is currently in the current office convicted in a State Court in the Tennessee State Prison. SAC Theodore L. Gunderson of the Memphis Office telephone/Commercial Appeal in a daily Memphis newspaper this mornings as "Commercial Appeal" is a daily newspaper newspaper in this quoting representatives of the television station WSM in this memphis as stating that Ray Ray reported mailed a document memphis was stating that Raymond Raymond was reported in a document several persons who he claims were involved in a conspiracy to assassinate King. According to the TV station sources Ray's statement was attached to a writ mailed to the. ray's statement. According to the article, however, U.S ., "The District Judge L. Clure Morton when contacted late Wednesday stated he had received no documents from Ray. Officials of the Federal Court Clerk's Office were also quoted as saying that they could find no record of having received Ray's position they could no record for having received Raymond Ray's <loc_791><loc_805><loc_168><loc_805>JGK/pw/pwl 1661

Summary:  
The document discusses the investigation into the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr., which occurred on April 4, 1968. James Earl Ray was convicted in a Tennessee state court for the murder and is serving a 99-year sentence at the Tennessee State Prison. On December 27, 1973, a Memphis newspaper reported that Ray had mailed a document to the U.S. District Court (USDC) in Nashville, Tennessee, naming individuals he claimed were involved in the conspiracy to assassinate King. However, an attached teletype indicated that the information provided by Ray did not disclose substantive details about the conspiracy or complicity in the assassination.  

On December 27, 1973, Frank M. Dunbaugh, Deputy Assistant Attorney General of the Civil Rights Division, requested that no further action be taken regarding Ray's alleged statement and instructed the Memphis Office to maintain liaison with the U.S. Attorney. The document also references a petition and complaint submitted by Ray to the USDC, which included allegations against Tennessee officials for violations of civil rights due to his treatment in custody. Ray claimed he had provided his attorney, Percy Forman, with telephone numbers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, linked to individuals who may have been involved in the assassination. However, the document notes that these details were not disclosed in the submitted materials.  

Key People:  
- James Earl Ray (convicted of King's murder)  
- Frank M. Dunbaugh (Deputy Assistant Attorney General)  
- Percy Forman (Ray’s attorney)  
- John J. Hooker, Sr. (Nashville bar member)  
- William Bratford Huile and Gerold Frank (legal confidants mentioned by Ray)  

Key Locations:  
- Tennessee State Prison (Ray's incarceration)  
- Memphis, Tennessee (newspaper report location)  
- Nashville, Tennessee (U.S. District Court)  
- Baton Rouge, Louisiana (telephone number referenced)  
- New Orleans, Louisiana (telephone number referenced)  

Key Events:  
- Ray’s 1968 conviction and sentencing for King’s assassination  
- Memphis newspaper article reporting Ray’s alleged submission of a conspiracy document to the USDC  
- Submission of Ray’s petition and complaint to the USDC, including civil rights allegations against Tennessee officials  
- Request by Dunbaugh for no further action on Ray’s statements  

Key Organizations:  
- U.S. Department of Justice (Civil Rights Division)  
- Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)  
- U.S. District Court (Nashville, Tennessee)  
- Tennessee State Prison

MLK Declassified Files

44-hq-38861_hs1-233652821_27-01-part_4_of_4.pdf

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