Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. disagrees with William F. Pepper's claims that the government killed King. He is supported by author Gerald Posner. Posner wrote "Killing the Dream: James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr." (1998), concluding that Ray killed King, acting alone, likely for the hope of collecting a racist bounty for the murder. On the other hand, conspiracy theorists bristled at "Killing the Dream", criticizing Posner for in part basing it on "a psychological evaluation of James Earl Ray, which he [Posner] is not qualified to give, and he dismisses evidence of conspiracy in King's murder as cynical attempts
Martin Luther King Jr. to honor King. Observed for the first time on January 20, 1986, it is called Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Following President George H. W. Bush's 1992 proclamation, the holiday is observed on the third Monday of January each year, near the time of King's birthday. On January 17, 2000, for the first time, Martin Luther King Jr. Day was officially observed in all fifty U.S. states. Arizona (1992), New Hampshire (1999) and Utah (2000) were the last three states to recognize the holiday. Utah previously celebrated the holiday at the same time but under the name Human Rights Day.