US considers new inquiry into Dr King's murder

Dr King's son Dexter went to meet Ray in prison in 1997

The US Attorney General, Janet Reno, is to meet Martin Luther King's widow, Coretta Scott King, to discuss her request for a federal commission to investigate the murder of the civil rights leader 30 years ago.

Dr King: Ray is serving a 99-year sentence for the murder

The King family have lent their support to claims that the convicted assassin, James Earl Ray, is innocent, and that the killing was plotted by senior officials in the US government.

Events marking the anniversary of Dr King's assassination in Memphis last weekend were dominated by a debate over the viability of claims that new evidence points to a vast government conspiracy to kill him.

President's intervention

Now, for the first time, President Bill Clinton has said he might be prepared to take these claims seriously.

The President's spokesman, Mike McCurry, said Mr Clinton had called Mrs King, and told her he wanted the Attorney General to hear her argument.

Mrs King: full truth has not emerged

Previously, the White House has maintained that the King investigation was a matter for the courts in the state of Tennessee, where the assassination took place.

Mr McCurry said: "Given the President's respect for Mrs King, given his concern about her strong argument, he felt it appropriate for the Attorney General to hear that argument."

Dr King died from a single rifle shot as he stood on the balcony of the Lorraine Hotel in Memphis, on April 4, 1968.

More than a year later Ray, an escaped convict, was captured in London and subsequently pleaded guilty to the killing. He has since recanted that confession.

Family's doubts

Mrs. King has said she wants a national commission similar to South Africa's Truth and Reconciliation Commission to investigate the assassination.

Dr King's birthday is celebrated as a holiday in the US

Such a commission, she has said, would provide immunity and protection for anyone who came forward with information.

Mrs King said last week that she believed the government has known at least since 1969 that Ray did not act alone.

She said if the case were retried, evidence would show he was not even the gunman.

Conspiracy theory

Ray's lawyer has claimed that the alleged conspiracy to kill Dr King involved the US army, the FBI, the Mafia and the Memphis police department, and that President Lyndon Johnson knew about it.

This version of events has been supported by Dr King's son Dexter, who last year went to meet Ray in prison.

However, the theory has been contested by the district attorney's office in Memphis and in a new book by an investigative journalist.

Some black leaders have also said they regard the pursuit of conspiracy theories as a waste of time.