New Tests Sought on Rifle in King Killing

James Earl Ray’s lawyers will ask for additional tests on the rifle believed used to kill the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., a prosecutor said in Memphis, Tenn. Ray hopes that such tests will prove that his rifle, found at the murder scene in 1968, was not the one that delivered the fatal shot. Judge Joe Brown allowed new tests on the rifle and the death bullet in May. The results may be released at a hearing next week, said prosecutor John Campbell. USA Today has reported that the first tests could not rule out Ray’s rifle as the murder weapon. Ray, 69, pleaded guilty to the murder in 1969 but recanted days later. He is serving a 99-year sentence and is trying to win a trial.