Firings Ordered for Rifle in King Death

A judge ordered new firings of the rifle believed used to kill the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., but confusion over whether the case belongs in his court may delay the test. Judge Joe Brown of the state Criminal Court said 50 rounds of the hunting rifle found near the murder scene in 1968 will be fired April 21 at the Shelby County Sheriff Department’s shooting range. Brown’s order came moments after Chris Craft, the court’s presiding judge in Memphis, ordered a temporary halt to any rulings in the King murder until he sorts out which judge has jurisdiction. James Earl Ray, suffering from liver disease, is seeking to take back his 1969 guilty plea and go to trial for the slaying.