Martin Luther King, Jr.'s family seeks murder trial for James Earl Ray

The Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s family recently announced that it is appealing for a trial of James Earl Ray. The family said the trial might be the only way to answer painful questions about King's assassination.

The family is appealing for a trial because Ray, who suffers from liver disease, could die before the truth comes out, Dexter King said.

Ray pleaded guilty to the 1968 assassination and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He has since recanted his confession. Ray, 68, is dying in a Nashville, TN, prison from cirrhosis of the liver.

"The lack of a satisfactory resolution to questions surrounding the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. has been a source of continuing pain and hardship to our family," Dexter King said at a news conference with his sisters, brother and his mother, Coretta Scott King. "Every effort must be made to determine the truth."

A hearing is scheduled in Memphis on Ray's request for new scientific tests on the rifle identified as the murder weapon. King said he and possibly other family members will attend the hearing. King also said he'd try to meet with Ray to discuss the assassination.

King said he always believed others were involved in his father's assassination, and he believes a trial may even exonerate Ray.

"I think that, by having the trial, a lot of information will be shared that not only will vindicate Mr. Ray but point to others," he said.

Ray's lawyers must prove that new evidence exists that will exonerate him in order for a trial to be ordered.

The King family had been silent on Ray's attempts to win a trial until now.

"It was time to come forward, make a statement about this, which has haunted us for years," King said. "If Mr. Ray does not pull through, this will die with him."