We call for major public inquests into the four major assassinations of the 1960s that together had a disastrous impact on the course of American history: the murders of John F. Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy. These public tribunals, shining a light on this dark chapter of our history, will be modeled on the Truth and Reconciliation process in post-apartheid South Africa. The inquests -- which will hear testimony from living witnesses, legal experts, investigative journalists, historians and family members of the victims -- are intended to show the need for Congress or the Justice Department to reopen investigations into all four assassinations.

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Additional specific actions are called for in each case:

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1. We call for a full investigation of President Kennedy’s assassination; numerous efforts have been compromised.

 

We call upon Congress to establish continuing oversight of the release of government documents related to the presidency and assassination of President John F. Kennedy, to ensure public transparency as mandated by the JFK Records Collection Act of 1992. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform should hold hearings on the Trump administration's failure to enforce the JFK Records Act.

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2. We call for a full investigation into the Malcolm X assassination. Three members of the Nation of Islam were convicted of Malcom’s murder in 1966.  But only one was caught at the scene and serious doubts remain about the guilt of the other two.  In recent years, damning evidence was presented that pointed to another NOI member, William Bradley, as the man who fired the shot that killed Malcolm X.  Bradley was revealed to have likely been an FBI informant at the time of the murder. 

 

Despite these developments, the FBI stated that the Bureau lacked the financial resources to reopen the case, and stated further than it lacked authority to do so because no federal laws were violated. However, the killers crossed state lines, making the assassination a federal crime. Moreover, since there is no state or federal statute of limitations on murder, the Department of Justice has an obligation to reopen the investigation.

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3. We call for a full investigation of Reverend King’s assassination. The conviction of James Earl Ray for the crime has steadily lost credibility over the years, with a 1999 civil trial brought by Reverend King’s family placing blame on government agencies and organized crime elements. Following the verdict, Coretta Scott King, the slain leader’s widow, stated: “There is abundant evidence of a major, high-level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband.” The jury in the Memphis trial determined that various federal, state and local agencies “were deeply involved in the assassination … Mr. Ray was set up to take the blame.” Reverend King’s assassination was the culmination of years of mounting surveillance and harassment directed at the human rights leader by J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI and other agencies.             

 

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4. We call for a full investigation of the Robert F. Kennedy assassination case, the prosecution of which was a mockery of a trial that has been demolished by numerous eyewitnesses, investigators and experts -- including former Los Angeles County Coroner Dr. Thomas Noguchi, who performed the official autopsy on Senator Kennedy. The forensic evidence alone establishes that the shots fired by Sirhan Sirhan from in front of Senator Kennedy did not kill him; the fatal shot that struck RFK in the head was fired at point–blank range from the rear.  On this evidence alone Sirhan should be immediately released from prison.  Consequently, the case should be reopened for a new comprehensive investigation while there are still living witnesses -- as there are in all four assassination cases.

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