James Earl Ray
James Earl Ray | |
---|---|
Criminal penalty | 100 years imprisonment[a] |
Escaped | June 10–13, 1977 |
Details | |
Victims | Martin Luther King Jr., 39 |
Date | April 4, 1968 |
James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American fugitive who was convicted of the
In 1993,
Early life and education
Ray was born on March 10, 1928, in
In February 1935, Ray's father, known by the nickname Great Dane, passed a
Initial convictions and first escape from prison
Ray committed a variety of crimes prior to the murder of King. Ray's first conviction for criminal activity, a burglary in California, came in 1949. In 1952, he served two years for the armed robbery of a taxi driver in
Post first escape
Following his escape, Ray stayed on the move throughout the United States and Canada, going first to St. Louis and then onward to Chicago, Toronto, Montreal, and Birmingham, Alabama, where he stayed long enough to buy a 1966 Ford Mustang and get an Alabama driver's license. He then drove to Mexico, stopping in Acapulco before settling in Puerto Vallarta on October 19, 1967.[12]
While in Mexico, Ray, using the alias Eric Starvo Galt, attempted to establish himself as a
He considered emigrating to
Activity in early 1968
On March 5, 1968, Ray had an operation on his nose, performed by physician Russell Hadley.[18] On March 18, 1968, Ray left Los Angeles and began a cross-country drive to Atlanta, Georgia.[19]
Arriving in Atlanta on March 24, 1968, Ray checked into a rooming house.[20] He bought a map of the city. FBI agents later found this map when they searched the room in which he was staying. On the map, the locations of the church and residence of Martin Luther King Jr. were circled.[21]
Ray was soon on the road again and drove his Mustang to
After purchasing the rifle and accessories, Ray drove back to Atlanta. An avid newspaper reader, Ray passed his time reading
Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
On April 4, 1968, Ray killed civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. with a single shot fired from his Remington rifle, while King was standing on the second-floor balcony of the
Apprehension and plea
Ray fled to Atlanta in his white Ford Mustang, driving eleven hours.
Airport officials noticed that Ray carried another passport under a second name. The UK quickly
Recanting of confession
Three days later, Ray recanted his confession. He had entered a
Ray dismissed Foreman as his attorney and thereafter derisively called him "Percy Fourflusher". Ray began claiming that a man he had met in
Huie investigated this story and discovered that Ray lied about some details. Ray told Huie that he purposely left the rifle with his fingerprints on it in plain sight at the crime scene because he wanted to become a famous criminal. He was convinced that he would escape capture because of his intelligence and cunning, and he also believed that
Second escape from prison
On June 10, 1977, Ray and six other convicts escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee. They were recaptured on June 13.[39] A year was added to Ray's previous sentence, increasing it to a full century.
Conspiracy allegations
House Select Committee on Assassinations
External videos | |
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Interview with James Earl Ray by John Auble (Nov. 3, 1977). KST-TV, St. Louis. |
Ray hired Jack Kershaw as his new attorney, and Kershaw publicly argued and promoted Ray's claim that he was not responsible for the assassination of King. His claim was that the assassination was the result of a conspiracy of the otherwise unidentified man named "Raoul" who was a blond Cuban. Kershaw and his client met with representatives of the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations (HSCA) and convinced the committee to conduct ballistics tests that they believed would prove Ray had not fired the fatal shot.[40] The tests ultimately proved inconclusive.
Kershaw claimed the prison escape was additional proof that Ray had been involved in a conspiracy that had provided him with the outside assistance he would have needed to break out of prison. Kershaw convinced Ray to submit to a polygraph test as part of an interview with Playboy. The magazine reported that the test results showed "Ray did, in fact, kill Martin Luther King Jr. and that he did so alone." Ray then fired Kershaw after discovering the attorney had been paid $11,000 (~$55,308 in 2023) by the magazine in exchange for the interview and instead hired attorney Mark Lane to provide him with legal representation.[40]
Mock trial and civil suit
In 1997, King's son, Dexter, met with Ray at the prison and asked him, "I just want to ask you, for the record, did you kill my father?" Ray replied, "No. No I didn't." Dexter told Ray that he, along with the rest of the King family, believed Ray, and the family also urged publicly that Ray be granted a new trial.[41][42][43] William Pepper, a friend of King during the last year of his life, represented Ray in a mock trial televised by HBO in an attempt to grant him the trial he never received. In the mock trial, the prosecutor was Hickman Ewing. The mock trial jury finally acquitted Ray.[44]
In 1998, and continuing into 1999, Pepper represented the King family in a wrongful death civil suit against Memphis restaurant owner Loyd Jowers, whose restaurant was near the Lorraine Motel. They sued Jowers for participation in a conspiracy to murder King. Rendering their verdict on December 8 of that year, the jury found that Jowers and others, including government agencies, had conspired to murder King, and he was therefore legally liable to pay compensation to the King family. The family accepted $100 (~$183.00 in 2023) in restitution to demonstrate they were not pursuing the case for financial gain, and they publicly stated that Ray, in their opinion, had nothing to do with the assassination.[45][43]
Coretta Scott King said, "The jury was clearly convinced by the extensive evidence that was presented during the trial that, in addition to Mr. Jowers, the conspiracy of the Mafia, local, state and federal government agencies, were deeply involved in the assassination of my husband. The jury also affirmed overwhelming evidence that identified someone else, not James Earl Ray, as the shooter, and that Mr. Ray was set up to take the blame."[46][47][48][3]
Prompted by the King family's acceptance of some of the claims of conspiracy, United States Attorney General Janet Reno ordered a new investigation on August 26, 1998.[49] On June 9, 2000, the United States Department of Justice released a 150-page report rejecting allegations that there was a conspiracy to assassinate King, including the determination of the Memphis civil court jury.[49][50]
Death
Before his death, Ray was transferred to the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility in Nashville, a maximum-security prison with hospital facilities.[51]
Ray died on April 23, 1998 just 19 days of the 30th Anniversary of King's Assassination, at the age of 70, at the Columbia Nashville Memorial Hospital in Madison, Tennessee from complications related to kidney disease and liver failure caused by hepatitis C.[6] His brother Jerry told CNN that his brother did not want to be buried or have his final resting place in the United States because of the way the government had treated him. His body was cremated and his ashes were flown to Ireland, the home of his maternal family's ancestors.[52]
Ten years later, Ray's other brother, John Larry Ray, co-authored a book with Lyndon Barsten titled Truth At Last: The Untold Story Behind James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.[41]
Notes
- ^ 99 years for murder, one year consecutive for escape.
References
- ^ Jackman, Tom (March 30, 2018). "Who killed Martin Luther King Jr.? His family believes James Earl Ray was framed". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ Webb, Jon (April 6, 2018). "50 years later, conspiracies still swirl around Martin Luther King's death". Evansville Courier & Press. Evansville. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ a b "Assassination Conspiracy Trial". King Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012.
- ISBN 978-1-882605-02-6. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ISBN 978-0-15-600651-4.
- ^ a b c Van Gelder, Lawrence (April 24, 1998). "James Earl Ray, 70, Killer of Dr. King, Dies in Nashville". The New York Times. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ Stelzer, C. D. (November 28, 2007). "The assassin's brother: John Larry Ray marks time in Quincy, still trying to set the record straight". Illinois Times. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved March 18, 2019.
- ^ "Jerry William Ray | 1936 – 2016 | Obituary". McMinnville, Tennessee: High Funeral Home. Archived from the original on January 11, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ a b "James Earl Ray". Biography. A&E Networks. January 10, 2024. Archived from the original on January 10, 2024. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ISBN 978-1561711314. Retrieved June 27, 2014.
- ^ "James Earl Ray: The Man Who Killed Dr. Martin Luther King Jr". Crime Library. truTV. Archived from the original on June 14, 2006. Retrieved June 25, 2006.
- ^ Sides 2010, p. 7.
- ^ Sides 2010, p. 33.
- ^ Sides 2010, pp. 47–48.
- ^ Sides 2010, p. 60.
- ^ Sides 2010, pp. 62–63.
- ISBN 978-0807849033.
- ^ Sides 2010, pp. 87–88.
- ^ Sides 2010, pp. 90–91.
- ^ Sides 2010, p. 98.
- ^ Sides 2010, p. 302.
- ^ "Report of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Washington, D. C. – To: FBI, Memphis – Re: Murkin, Apr. 17, 1968" (PDF). April 17, 1968. Retrieved January 11, 2024 – via The Harold Weisberg Archive.
- ^ Sides 2010, pp. 118–120.
- ^ Sides 2010, pp. 128–129.
- HISTORY. A&E Networks. December 15, 2023 [Originally published January 28, 2010]. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ "Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr". The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute. April 24, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2020.
- ^ a b "Findings on MLK Assassination". National Archives and Records Administration. August 15, 2016. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ Pevere, Geoff (June 6, 2010). "Why assassin James Earl Ray returned to Toronto". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on June 9, 2010. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ Dowd, Vincent (April 4, 2008). "Seeking answers on King's killer". BBC News. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ Dowd, Vincent (June 8, 2016). "When Martin Luther King Jr's assassin fled to London". BBC News. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ Baker, Rob (April 23, 2016). "James Earl Ray, Killer of Martin Luther King, Stayed in Earls Court in 1968". Flashbak. Retrieved April 16, 2023.
- ISBN 978-0-7658-0341-2.
- ^ a b Borrell, Clive (June 28, 1968). "Ramon Sneyd denies that he killed Dr King". The Times. London, UK. p. 2. Archived from the original on July 13, 2009. Retrieved January 13, 2009.
- ISBN 978-0-230-33787-9.
- ^ Nicol, John (April 28, 2008). "Canadian connection in the Martin Luther King assassination". CBC News. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ Waters, David; Charlier, Tom (April 24, 1998). "Log Cabin Democrat: King assassin Ray dies after lifelong legal fight 4/24/98". Archived from the original on December 14, 2014. Retrieved December 9, 2014.
- ^ "1969: Martin Luther King's killer gets life". On This Day 1950–2005: March 10. BBC News. March 10, 1969.
- ISBN 978-1-57966-005-5.
- FBI. Archived from the originalon May 24, 2008. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
- ^ a b Martin, Douglas (September 24, 2010). "Jack Kershaw Is Dead at 96; Challenged Conviction in King's Death". The New York Times. Retrieved September 25, 2010.
- ^ a b John Ray (brother of James Earl) on Fox. June 3, 2008. Retrieved January 11, 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ Today in History March 27. Associated Press. March 27, 2014. Retrieved January 11, 2024 – via YouTube.
- ^ a b Sack, Kevin (March 28, 1997). "Dr. King's Son Says Family Believes Ray Is Innocent". The New York Times. Retrieved January 4, 2015.
- ^ "Ray Acquitted In Mock Trial 25 Years After King Slaying". Orlando Sentinel. Memphis. April 5, 1993. Archived from the original on July 19, 2015. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ Yellin, Emily (December 9, 1999). "Memphis Jury Sees Conspiracy in Martin Luther King's Killing". The New York Times.
- ^ "Complete Transcript of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Assassination Conspiracy Trial" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on August 26, 2017. Retrieved January 11, 2024 – via King Center for Nonviolent Social Change.
- ^ Pepper, William; Gilardin, Maria (January 16, 2018). "The Execution of Martin Luther King – William Pepper (One of Two)" (Podcast). TUC Radio. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ Pepper, William; Gilardin, Maria (January 23, 2018). "The Execution of Martin Luther King, William Pepper (Two of Two)" (Podcast). TUC Radio. Retrieved February 11, 2021.
- ^ a b Sniffen, Michael J. (June 10, 2000). "Justice Dept. finds no conspiracy in King assassination". The Hour. Vol. 129, no. 159. Washington. Associated Press. p. A4. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ "United States Department Of Justice Investigation Of Allegations Regarding The Assassination Of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. – June 2000". United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division. June 2000. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
- ^ Yellin, Emily (March 28, 1998). "Third Inquiry Affirms Others: Ray Alone Was King's Killer". The New York Times. Retrieved March 9, 2017.
- ^ "Autopsy confirms Ray died of liver failure". Nashville: CNN. April 24, 1998. Retrieved June 25, 2008.
Sources
- ISBN 978-0-385-52392-9.
Further reading
- McMillan, George (1976). The Making of an Assassin: The Life of James Earl Ray. ISBN 978-0-316-56241-6.
- ISBN 978-1-56171-037-9.
- ISBN 978-1-84467-285-1.
- Petras, Kathryn; Petras, Ross (2003). Unusually Stupid Americans: A Compendium of All-American Stupidity. New York: ISBN 978-0-8129-7082-1.
- ISBN 978-0-15-600651-4.
- Ray, James Earl; ISBN 978-0-911805-07-9.
- Ray, James Earl (1993). Who Killed Martin Luther King?: The True Story by the Alleged Assassin. National Press Books. ISBN 978-1-882605-02-6.
External links
- Ives, Stephen (director) (February 26, 2019) [First aired May 3, 2010]. "Roads to Memphis". American Experience. Insignia Films. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved January 11, 2024 – via PBS.