Who Killed King?

by ASHLEY CHANEY

Forty years after the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., questions about how it happened continue to swirl. A new CNN documentary examines King's final hours

The accepted version of events, backed by official investigations, is straightforward: Career criminal James Earl Ray shot Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1968, as King stood on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. But some believe there's more to the story, alleging that Ray could not have acted alone-or didn't do it at all. CNN's Black in America-Unclassified: The MLK Assassination,* which airs the first week of April, invites viewers to reach their own conclusion. "I just want to give the solid evidence that overwhelmingly points to James Earl Ray as the gunman," says James Polk, senior producer of the documentary. Here's a look at some of the details unearthed by CNN. Continue reading