[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4524 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 4524

      To prevent the expenditure of Federal funds to investigate 
     circumstances relating to the death of Martin Luther King, Jr.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 9, 1998

 Mr. Barr of Georgia introduced the following bill; which was referred 
                   to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
      To prevent the expenditure of Federal funds to investigate 
     circumstances relating to the death of Martin Luther King, Jr.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds the following:
            (1) On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was shot 
        while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, 
        Tennessee, and subsequently died of his wounds.
            (2) James Earl Ray was arrested on June 8, 1968, in London, 
        England, and returned to Memphis, Tennessee, to stand trial for 
        the assassination of Dr. King.
            (3) On March 9, 1969, before coming to trial, James Earl 
        Ray entered a guilty plea and was sentenced to 99 years in the 
        Tennessee State Penitentiary, and on April 23, 1998, died in 
        the custody of the Federal penal system.
            (4) The circumstances surrounding the shooting of Reverend 
        Martin Luther King, Jr., have been exhaustively reviewed by the 
        courts, the Congress, Federal agencies, and States agencies.
            (5) Prior to his death, James Earl Ray had access to a full 
        range of appellate process provided by our justice system.
            (6) Despite repeated examinations of this matter, no new 
        credible evidence has emerged indicating that James Earl Ray 
        was innocent or part of some larger plot.
            (7) Attorney General Janet Reno has announced that she 
        intends to pursue another investigation into the circumstances 
        surrounding the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
            (8) The Department of Justice testifies before Congress 
        that there are never enough resources to handle all our top law 
        enforcement priorities, such as fighting the war on drugs, 
        combating juvenile crime, ensuring government accountability, 
        and protecting citizens from terrorists.
            (9) Because witnesses have died, events have faded from 
        memory, and evidence of the trial has grown cold, it is 
        impossible for any further investigation to yield new, credible 
        information or evidence that will shed new light on an 
        assassination for which the now deceased confessed perpetrator 
        was duly convicted.

SEC. 2. LIMITATION ON USE OF FEDERAL FUNDS.

    No Federal funds may be expended to investigate circumstances 
relating to the death of Martin Luther King, Jr.
                                 <all>