William F. Pepper

William Francis Pepper (August 16, 1937 – April 7, 2024) was an American lawyer who was based in New York City and noted for his efforts to prove government culpability and the innocence of James Earl Ray in the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Pepper also tried to prove the innocence of Sirhan Sirhan in the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. He was the author of several books, and had been active in other government conspiracy cases, including the 9/11 Truth movement, and had advocated that George W. Bush be charged with war crimes.

William Francis Pepper was born in New York City. Pepper received a B.A. and M.A. from Columbia University, and studied abroad at the London School of Economics, Ed.D. from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and J.D. degree from Boston College Law School. He was admitted to the Bar in 1977.

In September 1967, Pepper served as executive director of the National Conference for New Politics, which sought to unite disparate peace and civil rights groups. After feminists Jo Freeman and Shulamith Firestone were publicly denied a chance to speak at the event, Freeman recalled, "Pepper literally patted [Firestone] on the head and said, 'Cool down, little girl. We have more important things to talk about than women’s problems.'” Freeman, Firestone, and Ti-Grace Atkinson all became influential feminist activists in the wake of the conference.

Pepper stated Martin Luther King Jr. contacted him after seeing his photo essay, The Children of Vietnam, which was published in the January 1967 issue of Ramparts magazine. It depicted victims of napalm in Vietnam. Pepper, who supported the Communist cause, later wrote "it was not then clear to Dr. King that Ho-Chi Minh’s reverence for Jefferson, Lincoln, and American democracy, as he idealized it, made him the legitimate father of a unified Vietnam" Pepper later claimed that his conversation with King contributed to King's more adamant position against the Vietnam War, and that he was present at King's Riverside Church speech on April 4, 1967, in which King publicly attacked the war.

James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to King's assassination but soon recanted his confession. Pepper, who was Ray's last attorney, has postulated that Ray was not the shooter but was framed by the FBI, the CIA, the military, the Memphis police, and organized crime figures from New Orleans and Memphis.

Pepper represented James Earl Ray in a televised mock trial where Ray was found not guilty. Pepper's appeals to higher courts, and even the Supreme Court, failed. According to Pepper, "It looked like we were at the end of the road and then I came up with an idea, 'Well, look, why don't we try to have a real trial on television?" A mock trial was broadcast on HBO. The television jury found Ray not guilty.

King's youngest son, Dexter King, met with Ray on March 27, 1997, at the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility. King subsequently said, "In the name of truth and justice, our family is calling for a trial, a trial James Earl Ray never had. ... I don't think his trial—if he is granted a trial—will necessarily give us the unequivocal proof, but at least in regard to new evidence, we will know more than we do now."

In June 1997, Pepper appeared on ABC's Turning Point. He discussed the theory from his book Orders to Kill: The Truth Behind the Murder of Martin Luther King Jr. This theory that held that a hit team from the 20th special forces group was to kill King if a police sharpshooter failed. This group was supposedly led by a man named Billy Eidson, who Pepper claimed had since been killed in a coverup. Eidson was then brought on camera and refused to shake Pepper's hand. Eidson brought a $15 million lawsuit against Pepper's publisher which was later settled for an undisclosed amount.