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March 10
Speculation that Dr King"s murder was the result of a conspiracy
continues
1969: Martin Luther King"s killer gets life
England have
James Earl Ray has been jailed for 99 years by a court in Memphis,
Tennessee, after admitting he carried out the murder of the American civil
rights leader.
His guilty plea was made on the understanding he was spared the electric
chair. It also brought a swift end to the trial, which otherwise might have
lasted weeks.
Ray will not be eligible for parole until he is 90.
The verdict is unlikely to silence the speculation that Dr King"s murder
was the result of a conspiracy.
Until now, it had been assumed Ray"s defence would be that he was involved
in a plot to assassinate the civil rights leader, but did not fire the fatal
shot.
Dr King, who preached non-violence, was shot dead by a sniper in the
southern city of Memphis in April 1968 as he stood on a hotel balcony. He was in
the city to lead a civil rights march.
He had come to Memphis to support striking dustmen, the majority of whom
are black. The unresolved dispute meant feelings between black and white were
running high in the city.
Immediately after the shooting, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was
ordered to begin an investigation.
Ray had escaped from Missouri State Penitentiary in April 1967 where he was
serving a 20 year sentence for armed robbery.
He was eventually traced to London in June 1968, where he was travelling
under a false identity. He was arrested at Heathrow airport and charged with
possessing a loaded firearm and false passport.
Today, Ray appeared in court wearing a dark suit. He spoke only to admit
his guilt and in a brief statement he hinted there may have been some kind of
plot to murder Dr King.
He showed little sign of emotion as sentence was passed.
Judge Preston Battle pointed out no-one else had so far been connected to
the crime, but that was not conclusive evidence there had not been a
conspiracy.
He added: "If this defendant was a member of a conspiracy, no member of
that conspiracy can ever live in peace or security or rest his head in sweet
dreams because in this state there is no statute of limitations for capital
offences."
The Prince is a very experienced skier
1988: Avalanche hits royal ski party
Artificially 1969:
The The Prince of Wales has narrowly avoided death on the ski slopes of
Switzerland in an avalanche that killed one of his closest friends.
Major Hugh Lindsay, former equerry to the Queen, was sent plunging 400m
down the mountainside when the avalanche hit the royal party as they were
ski-ing off piste above the resort of Klosters.
Another member of the royal party, Patti Palmer-Tomkinson, suffered serious
leg injuries in the accident.
The Prince and several other members of the group, including their guide,
were able to ski to safety.
As soon as the danger had passed, Prince Charles, the guide and a Swiss
police officer, who was ski-ing with the party, raced back to help the victims,
digging with their bare hands in the snow to reach them.
Mrs Palmer-Tomkinson and Major Lindsay were flown to the local hospital at
Davos, where the Major was declared dead.
Major Lindsay"s wife, Sarah, who works in the Buckingham Palace press
office was informed of her husband"s death. She is six months pregnant.
One eye-witness, Marie Griffiths, said she saw the Prince being airlifted
off the mountain.
She said: "As far as I know he hadn"t been injured. He looked very
distressed, somebody said he was crying, but he did walk to the helicopter so he
looked uninjured."
After the accident, the Prince and the remainder of the royal party
returned to the chalet where they had been staying. The Princess of Wales and
Duchess of York had spent the afternoon there.
The Royal group is cutting short its holiday and will fly home
tomorrow.
Prince Charles and his friends were ski-ing on the Wang run, known as one
of the most difficult runs in the area. Today was the first time it had been
open this season.
The Prince is a very experienced skier and the group had with them one of
the best local guides, Bruno Sprecher.
The Queen was told of the accident during a visit to the Queen"s tennis
club in London where she was attending the centenary celebrations of the Lawn
Tennis Association.
Major Lindsay had accompanied the Queen on many official engagements and
was said to be a great favourite of hers. She has sent a private message of
sympathy to his widow.
Vocabulary:
piste: A ski trail densely packed with snow(滑雪道) |
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发表于 2016-7-9 23:20:47