Just a few days later, however, James Earl Ray changed his story. The most serious of those came in 1959, when Ray, on parole for an earlier theft, robbed two St. Louis grocery stores, as well as another in Alton. He was a democrat. In 1999, James Earl Ray was found innocent of killing Martin Luther King Jr. in the same way O.J. Since then, many members of Kings family and some of his closest supporters have come to believe Rays story and that a larger conspiracy had actually killed King. A Democratic Senator from West Virginia delivered an extremely incendiary speech on the Senate Floor that was directed specifically at President Lyndon Johnson, also a Democrat. Ray's life outside the Army proved even less stable. King died about an hour later. James Earl Ray was a racist and quickly drawn to Wallace's segregationist platform. James Earl Ray made several trips to Montreal, Canada in the 1960's where he was hypnotically programmed by MK-ULTRA Dr. Ewen Cameron, who worked at Allen Memorial Hospital out of McGill University. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. (biography.com) He admitted that he killed Martin Luther King, so he . Ray dropped out of school around the age of 12 but had trouble making anything stick. [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. [21], After purchasing the rifle and accessories, Ray drove back to Atlanta. The mock trial jury finally acquitted Ray. Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, Washington, D.C. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Library, San Jose, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=James_Earl_Ray&oldid=1134341249, American people who died in prison custody, People extradited from the United Kingdom to the United States, Prisoners who died in Tennessee detention, United States Army personnel of World War II, Short description is different from Wikidata, Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages, All Wikipedia articles written in American English, Pages using infobox person with multiple parents, Articles with unsourced statements from May 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, 99 years in prison (1 year was added after his re-capture for a total of 100 years), This page was last edited on 18 January 2023, at 05:50. James Earl Ray in 1966, two years before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. James Earl Rays mugshot from 1955. In the 1950s, Ray became notorious as a petty criminal, and by the end of the decade he was a failed pornographer who had served some jail time and successfully completed a prison escape. Ray replied, "No. [39][40][41] 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. "I . Based on the results of a civil trial in 1999, Byrds speech would have almost necessarily have played an even more direct role if the verdict is to be accepted. Entire books have been written about the role James Earl Ray played in the assassination of Dr Martin Luther King Jr in Memphis, Tennessee in 1968. His sister Marjorie died in a fire as a young child in 1933. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Exactly what led Ray to kill King continues to be a source of debate, as does his role in the murder. He shot and killed King in Memphis on April 4, 1968, confessing to the crime the following March. And after he returned to Illinois and robbed a taxi driver at gunpoint for $11, police easily arrested him in a dead-end alleyway. 23, 1998, at the age of 70. He spent many hours volunteering at the campaign headquarters in North Hollywood. James Earl Ray, a career criminal who had briefly served in the U.S. Army, shot the advocate of non-violent resistance. James Earl Ray walked through the gates of Brushy Mountain for the first time March 21, 1970, one year into a 99-year sentence and not quite two years since the death of King, gunned down by a . Simpson was found guilty of killing his wife Nicole and Ron Goldman in a civil trial. This organization would later morph into the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei better known as the NAZI party. I think there was a major conspiracy to remove Dr. King from the American scene, Lewis said. He is a male registered to vote in Wayne County, Michigan. Hes either the man who brutally assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. or a patsy who took the fall for a larger conspiracy sheathed in the shadows. In 1933, Ray suffered his first real tragedy when his four-year-old sister died after playing with matches and setting herself on fire. The day after the trial ended, Coretta King held a press conference in Atlanta to praise the decision. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. James Earl Ray On the left is the death chart of Karl Harrer founder of the DAP or Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, the German Worker's Party. Omissions? YouTubeJames Earl Ray in 1977. Was Abraham Lincoln Black? He had Irish, Scottish and Welsh ancestry and had a Catholic upbringing. [17], Arriving in Atlanta on March 24, 1968, Ray checked into a rooming house. There is abundant evidence of a major high-level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband, said Coretta Scott King, Kings widow, in 1999. Martin Luther's goal, at least initially, was to repeal Jim Crow segregation laws where they existed. Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Tennessee Waltz : The Making of a Political Prisoner by James E. Ray (Hardcover) at the best online prices at eBay! Some have indicated that King vs. Jowers was nothing more than a promotional stunt. The UK quickly extradited Ray to Tennessee, where he was charged with King's murder. Aggie Kenny who traveled to Memphis to cover the hearing, drew Ray as he attempted to argue that he was not well-served by his previous attorney, Percy Foreman. After returning to Alton and moving back in with his grandmother, he blazed through a number of odd jobs. Both were aliases used by James Earl Ray. FBI investigators at the time traced the shot to a rooming house across the street, and witnesses directed them to a large bundle dropped on the sidewalk after the shooting. To believe that the King family was motivated exclusively by publicity, one must believe that all of its members were involved in selling out the truth of their loved ones assassination for three figures. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. Indeed, compelling evidence including Rays fingerprints on the rifle that was later determined to be the murder weapon seemed to point to him. Kershaw convinced Ray to submit to a polygraph test as part of an interview with Playboy. He died on April 23, 1998, Nashville, TN. A confirmed racist and small-time criminal, James Earl Ray began plotting the assassination of revered civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in early 1968. The Committee Believes, on the Basis of the Circumstantial Evidence Available to it, that there is a Likelihood that James Earl Ray Assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King, JR., as a Result of a Conspiracy The FBI Investigation The committee's investigation Transactional analysis Ray's associates examined Examination of Ray's motive INTERVIEW OF JAMES EARL RAY BY JOHN AUBLE, KST-TV ST LOUIS - National Archives and Records Administration 1977-11-03 - ARC 43297, LI 233-MLK-150170 - DVD Cop. He confessed to the crime on March 10, 1969, his 41st birthday,[34] and after pleading guilty he was sentenced to 99 years in prison.[35]. James Earl Ray, the petty criminal who confessed to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr., then recanted and spent decades seeking a trial, died April 23, 1998, of liver failure. He had entered a guilty plea on the advice of his attorney, Percy Foreman, in an effort to avoid the sentence of death by electrocution, which would have been a possible outcome of a jury trial. What would it have taken for the Goldmans and the Browns to have believed Orenthals story that he was innocent? He pursued a life of crime but seemed to have been a clumsy criminal. 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.. James. . Ray was sentenced to a 99 year sentence, with another year added after his escape in 1977. He paid for a nose job in cash. [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.[39], Convicted assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. (19281998), Speeches, writings, movements, and protests, Initial convictions and first escape from prison, Martin Luther King Jr. assassination conspiracy theories, Interview with James Earl Ray by John Auble, United States House Select Committee on Assassinations, "James Earl Ray, 70, Killer of Dr. King, Dies in Nashville", "The assassin's brother: John Larry Ray marks time in Quincy, still trying to set the record straight", "James Earl Ray: The Man Who Killed Dr. Martin Luther King, chapter 3", "Report of laboratory, FBI headquarters to Memphis, Apr. Dexter King went so far as to name Memphis Police Department Officer, Lt. Earl Clark as his fathers assassin. James Earl Ray, a 40-year-old convicted armed robber who had escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City, Mo., on April 23, 1967, pleaded guilty on March 10, 1969, in Shelby County (Tenn.) Criminal Court to the first degree murder of Dr. King. Ray Kroc was an American entrepreneur best known for expanding McDonalds from a local chain to the worlds most profitable restaurant franchise operation. They sued Jowers for participation in a conspiracy to murder King. And teachers at his school where Ray often showed up barefoot and in ragged clothes noted that he violated all regulations. Please attempt to sign up again. Representative John Lewis, a civil rights activist who later became a U.S. congressman and served 17 terms before his death in 2020, agreed. The House Assassinations Committee examining evidence in the killing of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images). Ray, a white supporter of segregationist George Wallace, was a career criminal whod been convicted at least four separate times for robbing a cafe, a taxi, a post office and a grocery store. He escaped in 1967. Huie investigated this story and discovered that Ray lied about some details. The source of his money is the single biggest question.. By signing up you are agreeing to our, What Happened to Martin Luther King Jr.'s Last Campaigns, How Black Filmmakers Are Reclaiming Their History Onscreen. Ray, was found by bloodhounds about eightmiles away from the prison shortly after the escape attempt. History has largely forgotten much of the story of Martin Luther King's convicted assassin, James Earl Ray, a serial prison escapee. He said his lawyers were incompetent, and that proved false. I wholeheartedly applaud the verdict of the jury and I feel that justice has been well served in their deliberations, she said. 191 Ben Barrack 18 Jan 2011 0 In 1999, James Earl Ray was found innocent of killing Martin Luther King Jr. in the same way O.J. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Earl-Ray, James Earl Ray - Student Encyclopedia (Ages 11 and up), assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.: The assassin: James Earl Ray. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Actor: Fired Up!. Magazines, Digital Profitable restaurant franchise operation young child in 1933 week we compile our most fascinating and! Through a number of odd jobs his escape in 1977 Lewis said as to Memphis. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to.... Out and you did not successfully sign up drove back to Atlanta a life of but. ], after purchasing the rifle that was later determined to be murder!, Lt. 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