Man who killed King's mother has sentence changed from death to life in prison

Jet, August 14, 1995

The man who gunned down Martin Luther King, Jr.'s mother in an Atlanta church 21 years ago (JET, July 18, 1974) was recently taken off death row and re-sentenced to life without parole, according to a prosecutor in the case.

Marcus Wayne Chenault, 44, received the new sentence on June 21 under a deal reached with prosecutors years ago, Fulton County District Attorney Lewis Slaton said.

Back in 1985, Slaton agreed not to seek an execution date if Chenault's lawyers stopped their appeals. Slaton said he struck the agreement because of doubts about Chenault's mental competency.

The King family never wanted Chenault executed, but they never interceded, he said.

On June 30, 1974, Chenault attended a service at Ebenezer Baptist Church, where both King and his father had preached. Without warning, Chenault stood up and began shooting. he killed 70-year-old Alberta King, who was playing The Lord's Prayer on the organ, and deacon Edward Boykin. A woman in the congregation was wounded.

At his trial, Chenault blew kisses at jurors and silently applauded when they declared him guilty of murder. During his sentencing, he contorted his face in mockery and pretended to be in death spasms, as if in an electric chair.

King family members have said they were satisfied with the new sentence.