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Show a, nvr Taw Dairy Uca LETTERS 6f T31 I VV A Z 1 James Earl Ray Deserves Retrial F 1 Kf ' Locsli I In 1977, an interrogation of Ray performed by Ralph Abernathy (a personal friend of King) and Pepper gave rise to the first serious doubts ' concerning Ray's guilt' As anyone fi I f a A Opinion Editor 'would, Ray himself has always maixj- i tained that he is innocent Ray says he " ,was a patsy coerced into pleading ' V This, of course, sounds much like assassination of 'the other the '60s: the death of John Kennedy. The details of both deaths were laid to rest in questionable cercments-s- o one wants to die in prison. 1X1 roThere is honor in 1 C . guilty. -- high-profil-e hardly death alone, but to spit out your ghost between wrought-irobars is shameful It is the death of difmartyrs and miscreants-whateference there might be between the ' ;" two. 4. But James Earl Ray is no martyr, and now, many claim, he is no criminal either. Ray is currently serving a sentence for the slaying of Martin Luther Kingjr. Ray's lawyer, William Pepper, demands a new trial to prove n ver " 99-ye- ar his client is not King's assassin. Coupled with the aging Ray's terminal liver disease, a reversal of the sentence has acquired a certain urgency. Pepper has written and published a book detailing the "true" events of King's death. Although any conspiracy theory offered these days is usually received with considerable doubt, this specific conspiracy seems veritable to . many of King's close associates. Pepper himself knew and interacted with Dr. King regularry. The Rev. Jesse Jackson often wishes aloud for a deathbed confession from Ray. Although he has never absolved Ray of blame for the mur- questionable that one cannot help but wonder if these assassinations weren't officially sanctioned. No one wants to believe these shootings may have been sanctioned by our government I am bath to proclaim that the U.S. government ordered and carried out the shooting deaths of both JFK and MLK; I doubt anyone outside of it really knows how the government works. But I wouldn't put k past the more clouty bureaucrats to have concocted such destructive plans as exc-- ., curing two of the most important figures of this century. I am equally loath to suggest James Earl Ray is guilty, "ifct, his innocence is moot-Pephas uncovered enough new evidence to compose a book, which ought to gain a retrial, Pepper hopes to be in court soon, and Ray hopes hell be free in time to die. Even if Ray is found guilty again, even if he dies in jail, he'll have a few benefits Dr. King never had. Ray knows his time is coming. Ray will en if it is know where he will location. an unjust Neither King nor Ray will know per die-ev- der, Jackson never believed Ray " worked alone. why. though. And no one will take responsibility for either one. , Dr. King was the epitome of human decency. A rarefied man of dignity and grace who dared to question violent authorities. Needless to say, Dr. King was an important man, and someone killed him. After April 4, 1968, there were no King speeches, no King marches, and King could not fight the battle of Watts Eke he fought in Birmingham. 4 James Ray was a useless con, caught in a hotel with a gun that looked to be the instrument of King's death. After his "confession," there cat burglarwere no more ' ies, no more lifted radios. thicf-bowill th The savior and the be nailed to the tree for the wrong 1" - Ray-styl- e r ; reasons. , America still practices To Kill A e Mockingbird justice, but lives marks are not simple tally on a grand Bird-styl- C:vti car tzzr t7t IZt z3 tlrrs tri socx tx fr.. tlzx i&r$ 3c wl 'i t. llvtet, tL t:zt cS -r ;.y ri cJ o trr; tdl Litl ; f-- :it : t x : - fu" ycmlf, against Rodney King makes as much sense as imprisoning James Earl Ray simply because Dr. King's assassina-tio- n demanded a culprit The severity of the crime certainty act fcrrsy it ) O tf tit tii Cry x.tz.t dead as he thrashed against the confines of a racist society; James Earl Ray has already lost his life, impris--- oned for another man's crime. How dpuni fcflWOr Aatf. Sports Edhor Feature Edhor Editorial Edkar Photo Editor Aa. PbotoEdbor Online Editor GregBcacham James Edward RachdCokdge . awful that anyone should die in v Vl 1 Danny La Kevin Bergeson Robert AJones ' ; I J v " x T "j x.lztt 0 we vs -- l ai "JW r::.;' ,a, let i u wrrxi J 4k: ftJLa 1 si? I jstshe it I we r?et.-- CJt rr iiew it csiy tiac tpca scores of C; yf ,;Irci Wcisa oarax4 x o x aft jay r.S. D.xn tilt titd ell xy L".pr . jTt5i2j LcaosexuaL Hawf Margetts Brooke Bastian, Brandon Burt. Scott Calhoun, Melissa Galbrakh, Stuart Cray, Matt Hansen, David Jackson, Christy Karras, Kendaryn Kcyes, Kris tine Lundabl, Nell Park, Rick Vquei, Mike Watson, Brandon Winn Mti i tiing Rf nfTKimfata Jason Castor, Rhea Evans, Heather Hackett, Mkah Hahcrson, Gavin Harris Clayton Fullmer, Kyle Green, Chad Grcenleaf Accounts Aatf. CoOectiom Tf uulBlii and Production Holly BrwuWte, Stephen Coles, Robert A CUauVdAdsMgr Business Manager Kenneth Loosh BiOMkchcO feId. Tbe tssa srsa ks the m wrt tile oiry if I CSk ytttl wsAX V an independent student newspaper published daily Monday through Friday during autumn, winter and spring quarters (excluding test weeks and holidays) and weekly during the summer quarto: Chronicle editors and staff arc solely responsible for the newspaper's content Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the editorial board and not necessarily the opinion of the studett body, the adrrmistratian or the university's governing bodies. Subscriptions must be prepaid. Forward all subscription ajtrespondence, including the change ofaddicsslo the BusmessMai Rw questions, comments or conybintscall (801) 5S 17041. Staff WKtat KristeaRieddbach EdtorfatCfaKf Jones, Lied Kaplan, Erin McCuinness, Chad Millie H. Abplanalp, David Anderson, wtci heterosexuals, Luther King Jr. was shot " The Dedj Utah ChnmUe is Spencer bung Michelle Hunter Mark Summers Scott Brown t kc aaodar nsa? wontn hare jaea and eradicates Ray's guilt Chronicle Staff . lzj rfwjeaSart wkh otar wver " News Editor Ami. News Eifitw Art Director Aat Art Director U3t ty tide warrants relentless scrutiny. That there should be a remainder of doubt 30 years later indicates no one is satisfied with the outcome of Ray's case. Let a jury determine if Pepper's case acceptri ty friends od tZ--t I iaMemylJ I have locnd to be a Iriad and aqpeiEj ptaccv cxee&ft fsaa known by hts good wcria. I sow rxxiacss, and so I retp. Caos mad anarchy iLl Lw ftacd cce lr t and am loc, -i, c J L'J era rrhcr 5 jd -- , tcsaedy. 7s " trr tx jar ( e, tV- -. fcf 7y zadticxrttDd Crxi a t::.Zi Zr;-r.- $t t-- ledger of time. Releasing OJ. Simpson to account for the crimes C71 ; Rccepoonst Robert McOmber Kay Anderson Shauntel Dis i Stacy Herrcra .vv.v,. Kaaeluukovidi Lynx Ha ike ' Ghronicle Editorial English Language Bill Racist, Wastes Time and Tax Money include how to provide state health, employment and judicial information to' . Utah folks who don't speak English, or who speak English but cannot READ English. But the bill provides exceptions when issues of health, safety, tourism, educa- Pick up your last pay stub. Look at k. Notice the amount withheld in state taxes, It may look like but think or may not much, . year-todat- collectively. Now; here is another bill that one of Utah's dangerously bored legislators has proposed in order to waste even more of that money taken out of your checks each pay period. (As in the $85 ' a day they get paid to think up and debate mis crap.) : " English as Utah 's Offvdai Language. Rep. Tammy Rowan is sponsoring House Bill 387, which would declare "English to be the official language for the conduct of government business in Uuh...and providing exceptions " , Now the obvious initial concerns tion, judicial proceedings . andor tourism are involved. So what, then, is the purpose of the bul? If k is possible still to obtain infor- mation in one's native tongue, why declare English as the official language of Utah? Proponents may argue that, if passed, this bill prevents government agencies, from being forced to print information in languages. But the bill itself says information will have to be . non-Englis- given in one's own language under tain exceptions. The exceptions not which should be--are cer- induded-b- ut voting ballots and employment information. Proponents of "Official Language bills often are inspired by racism and the need to privilege American English over all other, languages. Fiscal concerns about printing state materials in more than one language don't hold water; the cost to the state of keeping folks in ignorance regarding, for instance, public health and safety, could be much greater than any printing costs incurred. Also, not printing ballots and employment information in other languages serves to keep citizens ignorant and duempowcred. For all of you who arc about to say, "Well, why don't they just learn English, then?" we say, how many foreign languages do you speak? If you do speak one, fluently, enough to speak, read and write it, how long did k take you to learn it? More than six months? More than a year? What would you do if you had moved to a place, were trying to get citizenship as well as learn the language, but were continually frustrated in your attempts by the fact that all of the information was printed in a language not your own.--' An old proverb says, "Don't judge a man until you have walked a mile in his shoes. Apply that principle to this btH The bill contains nothing that will uTiprovc life for a majority of folks, or of money, or make any positive impact whatsoever. save the state tons Instead, k reinforces Utah's racism and bigotry, wastes our Legislature's time, and could make life harder for certain segments of our popubrioa This bill is especially out of place in Utah, where the IDS church headquarters brings in many speakers, from Russians to South Americans, each year; where a major research institution attracts students and scientists from all over the world; and where citizens boast, "The World. Is Welcome Here." non-Englis- Cknmkk Editorials represent the majority opinion of the Editorial Pioard, which consists of Cknmkk editors and assistant editors. ; |
