Hellhound on His Trail

by Hampton Sides

  348 "He just act so different": Bailey, quoted in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 6, 1968, p. 8.

  349 Willie Anschutz: FBI interview with Anschutz, conducted on April 4, 1968, by Special Agents John Bauer and Stephen Darlington, Hughes Collection.

  350 "an undue length of time": FBI interview with Stephens, conducted on April 4, 1968, by Special Agents John Bauer and Stephen Darlington, Hughes Collection.

  351 "In a second": This passage is primarily drawn from Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 440. See also Abernathy's testimony in House Select Committee on Assassinations, Appendix Reports, vol. 1, p. 20.

  352 "Nothing is gained without sacrifice": In December 2008, this scrap of paper found in King's coat pocket after his death was put up for auction at Sotheby's in New York City by King's friend the actor and singer, Harry Belafonte, and was widely reported in the media. Belafonte said proceeds from the sale would go to charity.

  353 "I want you to come to dinner": King's last words to members of his staff, uttered from the balcony, have been adapted from a multitude of sources. See Young, Easy Burden, p. 464, and Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 440. See also Garrow, Bearing the Cross, p. 623; Branch, At Canaan's Edge, p. 766; Frank, American Death, pp. 73-74; and Raines, My Soul Is Rested, p. 469. I have also made use of interviews with the Reverend Billy Kyles and Andrew Young taken for the Insignia Films documentary Roads to Memphis, produced for the PBS program American Experience by WGBH in Boston.

  354 Georgia Davis was down in 201: Author interview with Georgia Davis Powers, May 7, 2008, Louisville, Ky.

  355 Inside the mildewy bathroom: My depiction of Galt's actions inside the bathroom is taken from James Earl Ray's own confession (as part of his plea bargain in 1969), as well as Memphis Police Department and FBI investigations of the bathroom immediately following the assassination and interviews conducted with the tenants Charlie Stephens and Willie Anschutz. Among the findings: the bathroom window facing the Lorraine was opened several inches, the screen pried loose and found lying on the ground below; a palm print was left on the wall; and scuff marks were found in the tub.

  356 bathroom was disgustingly dirty: My detailed description of the flophouse bathroom, including the condition of the toilet and bathtub, is primarily drawn from crime scene photographs taken by homicide detectives of the Memphis Police Department, on April 4 and 5, 1968, Hughes Collection. I also consulted photographs of the bathroom taken by the Memphis photographer Ernest Withers, Withers Collection.

  357 watching the Lorraine: Memphis Police Department statement "Ptm. W. B. Richmond, Inspectional Bureau," April 9, 1968, box 5, Posner Papers, Gotlieb Center.

  358 "He's been shot!": Ibid.

  359 "I know a shot when I hear one": FBI interview with Stephens, April 4, 1968.

  360 Charlie Stephens opened the door: Ibid.

  361 "Hey, that sounded like a shot!": FBI interview with Anschutz, April 4, 1968.

  CHAPTER 24

  LIKE A MAN ON A CROSS

  362 "His arms went out": Frady, Martin Luther King Jr., p. 205.

  363 "Oh my God, Martin's been shot!": My account of the shot and its immediate aftermath is drawn from dozens of sources, including photographs, newspaper accounts, oral histories, and official records. I especially relied on Abernathy's testimony in House Select Committee on Assassinations (hereafter HSCA), Appendix Reports, vol. 1, p. 20; Abernathy's memoir, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, pp. 440-42; Young's memoir Easy Burden, pp. 464-65; and Memphis Police Department statements and FBI interviews gathered from witnesses at the Lorraine Motel, Hughes Collection. I also consulted "The Last Moments: Memphis, Tenn., April 4, 1968," in HSCA, Final Assassinations Report, pp. 282-85.

  364 "It's all right": Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 441.

  365 made a solid thunk: FBI interview with Canipe, April 5, 1968, Hughes Collection.

  366 "The understanding": Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 441.

  367 "crimson molasses": Frank, American Death, p. 82.

  368 Kyles discreetly slipped it out of his grip: Interview with Kyles on CNN, Special Investigations Unit, that aired on April 4, 2009. Kyles says, "I took a crushed cigarette out of his hand. He didn't want kids to see him smoke." See also Frady, Martin Luther King Jr., p. 205.

  369 Louw trembled with a manic rage: The story of how Louw photographed his world-famous image on the balcony is best captured in Frank, American Death, pp. 77-80.

  370 "shaking like a leaf": Honey, Going Down Jericho Road, p. 442.

  371 "We have information": Memphis Police Department radio dispatcher recordings from April 4, 1968, Hughes Collection.

  372 "Where's he been hit?": Frank, American Death, pp. 85-86.

  373 "Murder! Murder!": Ibid., p. 83.

  CHAPTER 25

  THE WEAPON IS NOT TO BE TOUCHED

  374 sitting at his desk: My account of what transpired at Canipe's Amusement Company is primarily drawn from the initial FBI interview with the shop owner, Guy Canipe, and from FBI interviews with the customers Julius Graham and Bernell Finley, April 5, 1968. I also relied on Memphis Police Department statements taken from Canipe, Graham, and Finley. Additional details came from my own interviews with the retired Memphis police officers James Papia and Jewell Ray, who were among the first on the scene at Canipe's.

  375 "You are not to touch the weapon!": Memphis Police Department radio dispatcher recordings from April 4, 1968, Hughes Collection.

  376 "Suspect described as young white male": Ibid.

  377 Stephens dashed back to his room: FBI interview with Stephens, conducted on April 4, 1968, by Special Agents John Bauer and Stephen Darlington, Hughes Collection.

  378 "Georgia, I don't think": Author interview with Georgia Davis Powers, May 7, 2008, Louisville, Ky.

  379 "Give me the loop lights!": Frank, An American Death, p. 85.

  380 "Is he alive?": This passage from inside the ambulance is largely adapted from Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 442.

  381 Captain Jewell Ray: My account of Jewell Ray's initial investigation of the crime scene at Canipe's and inside Bessie Brewer's rooming house is primarily drawn from my interview with Ray, on Feb. 13, 2009. I also interviewed the retired police officer James Papia, who investigated the scene with Ray. Additionally, I relied on Memphis Police Department statements taken from Ray, Papia, Canipe, Willie Anschutz, Charlie Stephens, and Bessie Brewer. See also Frank, An American Death, pp. 98-103.

  CHAPTER 26

  A PAUSE THAT WOULD NEVER END

  382 "Coretta, Doc just got shot": Coretta Scott King's recollection of Jackson's phone call from Memphis is in her memoir, My Life with Martin Luther King Jr., p. 318.

  383 "Mama? You hear that?": Dexter Scott King, Growing Up King, p. 48.

  384 "I understand": Ibid.

  385 team of nurses and ER orderlies: My passages concerning the efforts to save King's life inside the St. Joseph's ER are drawn from multiple sources. I especially relied on Memphis Police Department summaries (Hughes Collection) gathered immediately after King's death by homicide detectives who interviewed a number of ER doctors and nurses. Other important sources include the oral history of Dr. Frederick Gioia and other attending physicians in Beifuss, At the River I Stand, pp. 297-99; Abernathy's memoirs, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, pp. 443-44; Frank's vivid account in American Death, pp. 90, 93, 95-96, 119; and my own interview with Dr. Ted Galyon, December 30, 2009.

  386 "I'm staying": Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 443.

  387 Gioia stepped into the fray: For my passage on Dr. Gioia and his efforts to treat King, I'm grateful for the insights of his daughter, Dominique Gioia Skaggs, with whom I spoke and corresponded.

  388 "It would be a blessing": Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 443. See also Raines, My Soul Is Rested, p. 471.

  389 Rufus Bradshaw: My account of the CB radio "chase" heard by Bradshaw is primarily drawn from the radio
dispatcher recording, Hughes Collection. I also relied on Memphis Police Department and the FBI's Memphis field office investigations of the CB radio transmission, Hughes Collection.

  390 In the waiting room, Andy Young sat: Young, Easy Burden, p. 466.

  391 "The neck": Ibid.

  392 Hanging up the beige receiver: Dexter King, Growing Up King, p. 48.

  393 "Your father--there's been an accident": Ibid.

  394 "I need to see Dr. King!": Frady, Jesse, p. 229.

  395 "And I caught his head": Ibid.

  396 "You dirty, stinking, lying ...!": Williams, quoted in Kenneth R. Timmerman, Shakedown: Exposing the Real Jesse Jackson (Washington, D.C.: Regnery, 2002), p. 8.

  397 "It's a helluva thing": Ibid., p. 7.

  398 "This whole thing's": Frady, Jesse, p. 229.

  399 David Burrington: Timmerman, Shakedown, p. 8.

  400 "He won't make it": Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 443.

  401 "nothing more than prolonged shudders": Ibid., p. 443.

  402 Father Bergard closed King's eyes: Beifuss, At the River I Stand, p. 300.

  403 King's parents listened to the radio: Martin Luther King Sr., Daddy King, p. 189.

  404 "No matter how much protection": Ibid., p. 187.

  405 "My first son": Ibid., p. 189.

  406 Two agents: This passage is drawn from Arthur L. Murtagh's testimony in House Select Committee on Assassinations, Appendix Reports, vol. 6, p. 107; and from James J. Rose's testimony, ibid., vol. 6, pp. 125-27.

  CHAPTER 27

  A FEW MINUTES AND A FEW MILES

  407 "entirely a hoax": My passages concerning the Memphis Police Department's postmortem analysis of the CB car chase hoax are primarily drawn from the sixteen-page report "Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Homicide #3367, Supplement #85, Re: C.B. Incident," Hughes Collection. The Memphis Police Department investigated the probable culprit behind the hoax, a teenage CB enthusiast named in the report. Also see House Select Committee on Assassinations (hereafter HSCA), Final Assassinations Report, pp. 383-85.

  408 he headed southeast: Ray's exact route out of Memphis is not absolutely known, but he consistently stated that he drove southeast toward Birmingham; Highway 78 would have been the fastest, most direct, and (having stayed in a motel on that same road the previous night) most familiar route for his exit. See Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 80, as well as Ray's testimony in HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 3, p. 240.

  409 broadcasters now broke in: In all his accounts, Ray consistently stated that he heard the news about King's death over his car radio. However, the FBI investigation of the abandoned Mustang later determined that the radio was not in good working order at the time of inspection.

  410 Coretta King hurried down: My depiction of the scene at the Atlanta airport is adapted from the Atlanta Constitution, April 5, 1968, p. 1, and from Coretta Scott King, My Life with Martin Luther King Jr., pp. 319-20.

  411 "a tragic setback": Author interview with Clark, Oct. 9, 2008, New York City.

  412 "I think the bureau": This conversation between Clark and DeLoach is recalled in DeLoach's, Hoover's FBI, p. 224.

  413 "a crime of immense importance": DeLoach's testimony, HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 7, p. 22.

  414 "Hoover remained at war": DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, p. 222.

  415 "He was as anxious": Ibid., p. 226.

  416 "The FBI's reputation": Author interview with Clark.

  417 "the guy with a thousand opportunities": DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, p. 225.

  418 Born in Denmark: These biographical details concerning Jensen derive primarily from his obituary in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, March 22, 1992, as well as from Jensen's testimony in HSCA, Appendix Reports, vol. 6, pp. 586-87.

  419 "As you well know": DeLoach, Hoover's FBI, p. 225.

  420 Now Jensen removed: This passage concerning Jensen's analysis of the evidence is primarily drawn from the FBI FD-302 report filed on April 4 and 5, 1968, by Special Agent in Charge Jensen and Special Agent Robert Fitzpatrick, enumerating and describing all items in the abandoned bundle, Hughes Collection.

  CHAPTER 28

  THEY'VE TORN IT NOW

  421 Johnson sat at his mahogany desk: My account of Johnson's reaction to the King assassination is drawn from a number of sources, including Kotz, Judgment Days, p. 415; Dallek, Flawed Giant, p. 533; Risen, Nation on Fire, pp. 40-42, 53-54; and Califano, Triumph and Tragedy of Lyndon Johnson, pp. 273-75. Especially helpful to me was "The President's Appointment File, 4/3/68 to 4/11/68," box 95, Lyndon Baines Johnson Papers, Johnson Presidential Library.

  422 "Justice has just advised": This memo is at the Johnson Presidential Library.

  423 "A jumble of anxious thoughts": Johnson, quoted in Risen, Nation on Fire, p. 42.

  424 "Everything we've gained": Dallek, Flawed Giant, p. 533.

  425 "America is shocked": "Statement by the President on the Assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.," Johnson Presidential Library.

  426 "Don't send your skinny little rookies": Busby, Thirty-first of March, p. 236.

  427 "They're holed up like generals": Ibid.

  428 "The D. C. Civil Defense": Situation Room memorandums from the night of April 4, 1968, Johnson Library.

  429 "King was the last prince of nonviolence": Floyd McKissick, quoted in the Washington Post, April 5, 1968, p. 1.

  430 "The next Negro to advocate nonviolence": Risen, A Nation on Fire, p. 56.

  431 "When white America killed Dr. King": Stokely Carmichael, quoted in Gilbert et al., Ten Blocks from the White House, pp. 60-61.

  432 "The nation is steeped in violence": Church, quoted in a UPI report on the White House ticker tape on the night of April 4, 1968, Johnson Presidential Library.

  433 "It was one of those frozen moments": Mrs. Johnson, quoted in Dallek, Flawed Giant, p. 533, and Risen, Nation on Fire, p. 54.

  434 "I and all the citizens of Memphis": Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 5, 1968, p. 1.

  435 "We feel that the assassin crouched": Memphis Press-Scimitar, April 5, 1968, p. 1.

  436 "damned to hell": Blanchard, quoted in Honey, Going Down Jericho Road, p. 440.

  437 "I'm so sorry": Beifuss, At the River I Stand, p. 300.

  438 "Our neighborhood was like a tomb": Honey, Going Down Jericho Road, p. 444.

  439 "This is the darkest day I've ever seen": Beifuss, At the River I Stand, p. 283.

  440 "that nigger King": Honey, Going Down Jericho Road, p. 441.

  441 "The Lord has deserted us": Beifuss, At the River I Stand, p. 303.

  442 "Just respect the man": Ibid.

  443 "rioting and looting is now rampant": Fire and Police Director Frank Holloman, quoted in the Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 5, 1968, p. 1.

  444 "That's what I thought": Honey, Going Down Jericho Road, p. 447.

  445 "Stay calm": Beifuss, At the River I Stand, p. 301.

  446 "I went numb": Honey, Going Down Jericho Road, p. 437.

  447 "I thought I was going to get away": Ray, quoted in Ayton, Racial Crime, p. 143. See also Frank, American Death, p. 390.

  448 "I had to drive slow": James Earl Ray, "20,000 Words," quoted in Huie, Making of an Assassin, p. 145.

  449 "I knew that the car could be hot": Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King? p. 97.

  450 "I just wanted to get rid": Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 80.

  CHAPTER 29

  POWER IN THE BLOOD

  451 "King wouldn't make a decision without him": Hosea Williams, quoted in McKnight, The Last Crusade, p. 108.

  452 "flashbulbs still blinked": Wills, "Martin Luther King Is Still on the Case," reprinted in The New Journalism, ed. Tom Wolfe, p. 393.

  453 "sleepwalk through the night": Young, Easy Burden, p. 467.

  454 "had received, through letter or telephone": Abernathy's testimony in House Select Committee on Assassination, Appendix Reports, vol. 1, p. 19.

  455 "We can't let Martin down": Bevel, quoted in Young, Easy Burden, p. 468.

&n
bsp; 456 "They got him": Ibid.

  457 "I touched the pillow": Georgia Davis Powers, I Shared the Dream, p. 233.

  458 "This is Martin's precious blood": Frady, Jesse, p. 232.

  459 Withers took several shots: Frank, American Death, p. 109.

  460 wiped them down the front of his shirt: Young, quoted in Frady, Jesse, p. 232.

  461 "There's nothing that unusual": Ibid.

  462 "composed but dazed": Atlanta Constitution, April 5, 1968, p. 1.

  463 King had not written a will: Kathryn Johnson, "Dr. King Leaves Little--He Gave It All Away," Atlanta Constitution, May 13, 1968, p. 1.

  464 "If something happens": Honey, Going Down Jericho Road, p. 452.

  465 "but there was something a little different": Memphis Commercial Appeal, April 2, 1978.

  466 "just to do any little menial thing": Belafonte, quoted in Coretta Scott King, My Life with Martin Luther King Jr., p. 322.

  467 "Mommy, when is Daddy coming home?": Ibid., p. 321.

  468 "No, darling": Ibid.

  469 Dr. Jerry Francisco: Biographical details and physical descriptions of Francisco are adapted from Memphis Commercial Appeal clippings and my interview with Francisco, Jan. 20, 2009.

  470 "somehow looked more dead": Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 445.

  471 "This is the body": Ibid.

  472 "It might tell us something": Ibid.

  473 "giving the appearance": Memphis Police Department document, "Martin Luther King Homicide No. 3367, Supplement #5, Re: Consent for Autopsy and Autopsy," p. 2, Hughes Collection.

  474 "More than any case": Author interview with Francisco.

  475 "I felt very safe": Ibid.

  476 "This is a well developed": Francisco's autopsy report, Hughes Collection.

  477 "Every light in every store": Wills, "Martin Luther King Is Still on the Case," reprinted in New Journalism, p. 390.

  478 "tens of thousands of Americans": Graham's reaction to King's murder, and the other reactions reproduced in this passage from various international figures, are taken from White House newswires, Situation Room memorandums, and State Department telexes received on April 4 and 5, 1968, Johnson Presidential Library.