Sue Hartigan <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: Prosecutor Proposes Ray Furlough > MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- A prosecutor is floating the idea > of James Earl Ray receiving a medical furlough if he > admits he killed Martin Luther King Jr., but his lawyer > says that's out of the question. > > The 70-year-old Ray, seriously ill with liver disease, > was denied a furlough last year. But prosecutor John > Campbell said Wednesday that authorities ``may look at > (Ray) a little differently if he just came clean and > said, `I did this.' That might be the only option he's > got.'' > > Ray defense lawyer Wayne Chastain said his client would > rather die in prison than accept those terms. > > ``He's not going to confess to something he didn't do,'' > Chastain told The Commercial Appeal on Wednesday. ``Ray > has made his position clear.'' > > Ray pleaded guilty in 1969 to killing King, who was shot > to death in Memphis on April 4, 1968, and received a > 99-year prison sentence. But he recanted his plea days > after making it and has been seeking a trial since. Ray > claims he was framed for the killing, though the gun > prosecutors say was used to kill King was found at the > scene with Ray's fingerprints on it. > > Ray, suffering from cirrhosis of the liver and other > problems, has been hospitalized repeatedly in the past 1 > 1/2 years, most recently March 8. He slipped into a coma > March 11, but has since regained consciousness. He was > listed in serious condition Wednesday. > > Campbell said he has received a series of phone calls > from Ray defense attorney William Pepper seeking freedom > for Ray. Campbell said he told Pepper ``my door is > always open'' to discuss a furlough, but stressed only > the state Department of Correction may grant one. > > State law allows furloughs of indeterminate length for > inmates ``in imminent peril of death'' so they may spend > their final months with loved ones and receive special > care. -- Two rules in life: 1. Don't tell people everything you know. 2. Subscribe/Unsubscribe, email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In the body of the message enter: subscribe/unsubscribe law-issues
