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The fouth annual national conference of the Coalition on Political Assassinations (COPA) took place in Washington, DC at Georgetown University from June 13-15. Our theme was "Full Disclosure: MLK, RFK, JFK". The conference was marked by unusually good press coverage, including C-SPAN (which ran our press conference repeatedly), Black Entertainment Television (BET) which plans a special on June 30 on the MLK murder, UPI, AP and the Washington Post (which has yet to run the hit piece). Readers are urged to call C-SPAN to ask them to air the press conference again soon.
Our featured panelist and keynote speaker, Dr. William Pepper, Esq. (James Earl Ray's attorney) was also recipient of one of this year's Sylvia Meagher Lifetime Achievement Awards. His comments have been edited into a special videotape ($25 from COPA). A full set of videotapes of this year's conference, as well as the Conference Highlights tape are in production. These items, and the Conference Abstracts booklet ($10 separately) can be pre-ordered until the end of July at a discount rate ($200). The conference also featured new information on the CIA/crack cocaine scandal (John Newman), the JFK medical evidence (Feinman, Aguilar, Wecht), the Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King cases (Pepper, Melanson, Clark), Lee Harvey Oswald (Armstrong, Bartholomew, Courtwright), the Assassination Records Review Board (Feinman, Lesar, Samoluk, Judge), the Zapruder film controversy (Mantik, Groden) and other investigative leads (Truels, Robbart, etc.). It was content rich, and attended by approximately 75 people.
Our annual, regional conference is already scheduled for November 21-23 in Dallas, Texas at the Paramount Hotel. Call them at 214-761-9090 for reservations ($69 single/$79 double per night). This meeting will feature our Working Panels during the day and speakers and video presentations in the evenings. Registration this year will again include annual membership in COPA, but may be slightly higher than in the past due to additional hotel fees. Contact us for more information, or expect a mailing if already a member.
Open Secrets, following a long hiatus, will resume publication next month for as long as resources allow. We are monitoring the current legislation in Congress being proposed to extend the life of the Assassination Records Review Board for another critical year. Congress will not be likely to extend beyond that point. People can contact their Senate and House representatives to encourge them to sign on to and vote for HR1553 (in the House Government Reform and Oversight Committee now) and S844 (just introduced by Arlen Specter in the Terrorism, Government Information and Technology subcommittee of the Governmental Affairs Committee of the Senate). The legislation extend the life of the ARRB until September 30, 1998 and funds it at $1.6 million to finish its work. It is up to all of us to define for the Board what work is not yet done concerning documents. Contact COPA with ideas about this so that we can combine our efforts.
Results of the rifle and ballistic testing done in the King case are expected to be announced in mid-July. Ray's team has complained that the test firing was done without necessary barrel cleaning beforehand. The results of those tests are in, but may only be announced in court under the judge's ruling. The June 18 date for that was extended. The case for Ray's innocence rests on much more than this one evidentiary issue that fit the narrow definitions of the Tennessee laws concerning death row appeals. Ray was recently denied the right to be transfered for medical testing that might have determined his chance for a successful liver transplant. Should he die in the prison the chance for a new trial ends, but there are other legal options. Even if the bullet could be shown conclusively to have come from the rifle owned by Ray, that does not in itself prove his guilt. As in CLUE, you need the weapon, the location and the perpetrator. Motive, means and opportunity. And evidence beyond reasonable doubt. In the meantime, press efforts are focused on discrediting Pepper and Ray, suggesting that the King family have been "duped," and attacking "conspiracy theories". However, the courage of the King family in coming forward to ask for a new trial and for "truth and reconciliation" carry great weight with the public, and must be applauded given the continuing history of strange and violent family deaths that followed Dr. King's murder.
Next year, 1998, will be the 35th anniversary of the JFK assassination, and the 30th anniversary of both RFK's and MLK's murders. COPA will be holding its next annual, national conference in Dallas, Texas from November 20-22, 1998. We are also organizing regional meetings in Memphis in April (4th) and in Los Angeles in June (5th). Stay tuned for more details and mark your calendars now.
If you are not already a member of COPA, this is the time to join. As a special incentive to Founding Members ($1000 or more), COPA offers all regular membership benefits, all publications, annual reports, free admission and registration to all events and conferences, discounts on videotapes, and a full set of the 1997 Conference videotapes, including Conference Abstracts and the Conference Highlights tape. Regular membership is $35.
We also strongly urge those who support our work and goals to help us build the organization by finding new members. We will assist those who would like to arrange a COPA speaker or videotape showing in their area. Please keep us in mind when you speak to others about your concerns with this case. We are a small organization, but we have accomplished a great deal on limited resources. We need to speak to the hundreds of millions of Americans who agree with us on these assassinations and the need for disclosure. Help us do that where you live!
COPA
PO Box 772
Washington, DC 20044-0772
202-785-5299 or 583-5347 (fax)
email: copa@nicom.com
website: http://www.nicom.com/~copa
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