Jack Kershaw Is Dead at 96; Challenged Conviction in King’s Death
Jack Kershaw, who represented James Earl Ray as he fought to overturn his conviction in the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., arguing that Ray was an innocent participant in a conspiracy led by a mysterious figure named Raul, died Sept. 7. in Nashville. He was 96.
His death was announced by the League of the South, an organization Mr. Kershaw helped found that tries to keep the spirit of the Confederacy alive.
Mr. Kershaw, who was also a sculptor, was best known in his hometown for creating a 27-foot equestrian statue of the Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest, a founder of the Ku Klux Klan. Unveiled in 1998, it was erected in a private park along Interstate 65.
The monument, offensive to many, drew criticism, but Mr. Kershaw did not shy from offending. “Somebody needs to say a good word for slavery,” he once told The Times-Picayune of New Orleans....
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His death was announced by the League of the South, an organization Mr. Kershaw helped found that tries to keep the spirit of the Confederacy alive.
Mr. Kershaw, who was also a sculptor, was best known in his hometown for creating a 27-foot equestrian statue of the Confederate general Nathan Bedford Forrest, a founder of the Ku Klux Klan. Unveiled in 1998, it was erected in a private park along Interstate 65.
The monument, offensive to many, drew criticism, but Mr. Kershaw did not shy from offending. “Somebody needs to say a good word for slavery,” he once told The Times-Picayune of New Orleans....