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A Prisoner Dies, Leaving Questions

Did James Earl Ray kill Martin Luther King Jr.? Only one man knew the answer to that question for sure--Ray himself. He died in a Tennessee hospital last week.

Ray, 70, died of liver disease. He was serving a 99-year prison sentence for King's April 4, 1968, assassination.

Ray had avoided a trial, and a possible death sentence, by admitting his guilt. But for the past 30 years, he had claimed that he was innocent and wanted a trial.

Even though Ray confessed, the King family and civil rights leaders also wanted him to have a trial. They say King's murderer did not act alone and that the truth might have come out in court.

Says King's widow, Coretta Scott King: "America will never have the benefit of Ray's trial, which would have produced new revelations about the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr."

Next: Troubled Tongues