Dr. King’s Slaying Finally Draws A Jury Verdict, but to Little Effect – The New York Times

When 12 jurors returned their decision in wrongful death trial in Memphis, they became first jury to hold someone responsible for playing role in assassination of Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr on April 4, 1968; but with key players dead, with confessions recanted and altered, and with vast conspiracy alleged but not proved, verdict in civil trial of Loyd Jowers seems unlikely, ultimately, to untangle knot of fact and theory surrounding one of century's most traumatic events; jury in Memphis declares Jowers liable in King's death for purportedly hiring now-dead Memphis police officer, as part of vast conspiracy, to kill King; it also finds that unnamed others, including government agencies, had been involved, in effect accepting plaintiffs' contention that James Earl Ray was innocent, despite his guilty plea (M)