Tenn. Prosecutor to Probe Claims in King Slaying

MEMPHIS, Tenn. —  A state prosecutor said he will investigate new claims of a conspiracy in the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., even though he does not put much credence in them.

“We can either corroborate what they’re saying or we can disprove it, maybe,” John Pierotti, the chief state prosecutor, said Friday.

The claims, which have fueled news reports for the past week, were repeated Thursday on the ABC News program “PrimeTime Live” by Loyd Jowers, 67, a former Memphis businessman who says he hired a killer to murder the civil rights leader.

Jowers, who once owned a restaurant near the murder scene, said the killer was not James Earl Ray, who confessed to shooting King in Memphis in 1968 and is serving a 99-year prison sentence.

Jowers said he was asked by a friend, former Memphis produce dealer Frank Liberto, to find someone to kill King. Liberto is now dead. His widow has discounted Jowers’ story.

Pierotti said his staff and the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will look into Jowers’ claims. He said he will not ask the FBI or the Justice Department to get involved.

Pierotti said he had no idea why Jowers, who appeared on the TV show with his lawyer Lewis Garrison, is coming forward now.