The Promised Land

"The Promised Land" is an episode from the police drama television series New York Undercover, and was first broadcast on February 20, 1997 on Fox. Written by Reggie Rock Bythewood and directed by Don Kurt, it is the 18th episode of the third season, and the 69th episode of the series. In the episode, the primary characters undercover evidence of a governmental conspiracy in the 1968 assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. While the events depicted in the episode are fictional, they reflect suspicions and beliefs held by a number of people regarding the true circumstances surrounding Dr. King's death. Background In 1969, James Earl Ray was convicted of first-degree murder in the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. after confessing and pleading guilty. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He would later recant the confession and proclaim his innocence. Ray died in prison on April 23, 1998, at the age of 70, from complications related to kidney disease and liver failure caused by hepatitis C. Plot The following message appears on the screen at the beginning of the episode: "Almost 30 years after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., a Tennessee court has agreed to hear arguments to re-open the investigation of his murder."