The gun and bullet prosecutors say killed Martin Luther King Jr. were seen publicly for the first time in nearly 20 years Wednesday morning in anticipation of tests that could change history.
The gun was removed from a padlocked black case marked "evidence" and the bullet was displayed in a clear plastic container at the University of Rhode Island crime lab. Weapons experts will test them to try to determine whether James Earl Ray killed King at a Memphis, Tenn., motel in 1968.Ray believes the tests will show the bullet that killed King did not come from his .30-06 hunting rifle.
A prosecutor and defense lawyer who will observe the tests played down their significance.
Defense lawyer Jack McNeil said even if the tests show the bullet came from Ray's gun, it does not prove Ray fired the weapon and he will continue to seek a trial.
"This is not the end-all and be-all," he said. "It's important, but the fact remains that from the very beginning James Earl Ray contended he was not there."
John Campbell of the Shelby County, Tenn., district attorney's office said he does not believe another trial will change anything.
"This case has gone through state courts six times and the federal court once and every time the court found when (Ray) pled guilty he did it knowingly," he said.
Ray, 69, pleaded guilty to the killing in 1969 and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. But he recanted days later and has fought for a trial ever since. He is now seriously ill with liver disease, and King's own family has endorsed his request for a trial.