The MLK Tapes

Explore the rare recordings of eye-witness testimony that reveal the true story of the plot to kill Martin Luther King Jr. From the creators of Atlanta Monster, this is The MLK Tapes. The first two episodes are available now.

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Who killed Martin Luther King, and why? While some answers have emerged over the past 50 years, others have been hiding in plain sight.

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The black firemen across the street told to report elsewhere. The black detective surveilling King taken off the job. King’s all-black police security unit ordered to stand down. All this and more on just what happened to be the day Dr. King was shot.

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Attorney Art Hanes Jr. and his father decide to represent James Earl Ray who says he didn't kill King. As they prepare for trial, they discover serious problems with the case against Ray.

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Famous criminal lawyer Percy Foreman talks his way in by telling Ray that his will be the easiest case he ever argued. Then, at the last moment, he informs Ray that he must plead guilty. Was Foreman working for someone offstage?

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The back door of Jim's Grill in Memphis opens onto a yard just opposite the Lorraine Motel. Waitress Betty Spates hears a sharp noise and then sees her boss, Loyd Jowers, come through the door carrying a smoking rifle.

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Bill Pepper's petition to reopen the case against Ray lands in the courtroom of Judge Joe Brown, a firearms expert, who has his doubts that the rifle found on the street was murder weapon.

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A witness, John McFerren, overhears mob-connected Frank Liberto talking on the telephone, a conversation he's not supposed to hear.

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Texas woman Glenda Grabow tells Bill Pepper she knew a gun runner in Houston named Raul, who she thinks was involved in the murder of Martin Luther King. Could this be the same Raul known by James Earl Ray?

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Bill Pepper gets a phone call from attorney Rusty Larson who says that his client, Jim Green, was involved in the murder of King. Then Green calls and says his assignment was to kill Ray.

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After 30 years of silence, cab driver Louis Ward comes forward to tell what happened to him when King was shot. A few years later, Ronnie Lee Adkins, who says his family was involved in the assassination, confirms Ward's story.

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Lennie Curtis works at the police rifle range where sharpshooter Frank Strausser talks about killing King. On the fatal day, Strausser practices all morning with his new rifle. When Strausser leaves for town, Curtis tries to warn King, but fails. Years later, Pepper confronts Strausser.

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Dallas oilman H.L. Hunt hated communists, and in his mind this included Martin Luther King. He attacked King regularly on his program Life Line, carried daily on 500 radio stations across the country. Hunt believed this would be enough to destroy King, but J. Edgar Hoover had other ideas.

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After King is murdered, John Curington notices increased contact between H.L. Hunt and FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover. One day, Hunt gives Curington a satchel to bring to Ray's attorney, Percy Foreman. As he hands the bag to Foreman, Curington says the words he was told to say: "Here are 125,000 reasons for Ray to plead guilty."

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Interviews with Ryan Jones, historian at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, & Brian Dominski, court reporter for the '93 HBO trial and the '99 Civil Trial.

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In the early evening on New Year’s Eve, in 1973, a 34 year old man was found bleeding to death on a downtown street in Stockton, California. In his dying moments, he named the men behind his murder: Calvin Jones and Rosalio Estrada. 50 years later, Rosalio’s son, Alex Estrada sets off to find out if his father was actually involved in the murder.

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