Ray dropped out of school around the age of 12 but had trouble making anything stick. James Earl Ray was born in a poor family on March 10, 1928 in Alton, Illinois, USA. And he asserted that he did not "personally shoot Dr. King," but may have been "partially responsible without knowing it," hinting at a conspiracy. Both Ray and King arrived in Memphis in early April. Ray's life outside the Army proved even less stable. A plaque made for a 2002 Martin Luther King Day celebration mistakenly thanked James Earl Ray, King's assassin, instead of actor James Earl Jones. Actor James Earl Jones perhaps best known as the melodious, mellifluous voice of Darth Vader (or Mufasa, depending on your generation and general geekitude) was . And what actually happened on that terrible day in Memphis? For all Joe Biden's talk about "semi-fascist" and "un-American," "ultra-MAGA" Republicans, it is the Democratic Party that has far more radically changed. Ray was arrested at Londons Heathrow Airport on June 8, 1968, a few weeks after the crime. He was 70. He shot and killed Martin Luther King on April 4, 1968. It contained a pair of binoculars, a newspaper with a story about King staying at the Lorraine Motel, and a .30-06 Remington Gamemaster that had fired one shot. finds no conspiracy in King assassination", "Third Inquiry Affirms Others: Ray Alone Was King's Killer", "Autopsy confirms Ray died of liver failure". Was Abraham Lincoln Black? All Rights Reserved. He shot dead the minister as he was standing on a motel balcony. Ray had been treated for liver disease over the years and according to the Tennessee Department of Correction, he died from that and kidney failure. In the following years, I heard about inconsistencies in the state's case and rumors of a conspiracy in which James Earl Ray was framed for Dr. King's murder. An aerial photo of the Lorraine Motel where Martin Luther King Jr. was fatally shot hangs in his office, right in front of the 76-year . As with most cases, the answer is yes. James Earl Ray, Playboy Interview - A Candid Conversation About Conspiracy and Escape, September 1977 Written by Kennedys&King. font size decrease font size increase font size; . During the four-week trial in Memphis, a 12-person jury heard testimony from over 70 witnesses; but not Jowers, who didnt testify because there were no criminal charges at stake. After shooting King, Ray immediately fled, setting off a manhunt that would last more than two months and cover five countries. James Earl Ray was an American criminal with a Danish background, convicted of the assassination of civil rights and anti-war activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ray was convicted on March 10, 1969, after entering a guilty plea to forgo a jury trial. To people whod known Ray, the answer seemed obvious. They quickly found the rifle with Rays fingerprints on it. On June 8 he was apprehended by London police at Heathrow Airport as he was about to embark for Brussels; the FBI had established him as the prime suspect almost immediately after the assassination. CAPTION: Ray was apprehended (harnessed and handcuffed) for the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., in 1968 . 6:03 AM. At one point, he claimed a person named Raul told him to kill King, but theres no convincing proof of such an idea, according to Sides. . He got a 99-year prison sentence, which he served until he died of liver failure due to hepatitis C on Apr. Doubleday. [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. They sued Jowers for participation in a conspiracy to murder King. Speech of Senator Robert C. Byrd, Senate Journal, Appendix Two, March 29, 1968. He drifted around the Midwest, committing more crimes. The evidence brought forth by attorney William Pepper was so powerful . [32][33], Airport officials noticed that Ray carried another passport under a second name. Over the decades, the story twisted and turned. But Ray backed away from his confession just days later and insisted on his innocence in the decades that followed. Edward, Earl of Wessex is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. There, James Earl Ray would cross paths with Martin Luther King Jr. By April 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. had become the face of the civil rights movement. 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. In 1959, he was caught stealing $120 in an armed robbery of a Kroger store in St. Art Hanes Jr. thinks about the James Earl Ray case every day. What We Know About Why James Earl Ray Killed Martin Luther King Jr. Ray was spotted at the scene and, almost immediately after the killing,. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! For 72 hours after his guilty plea, James Earl Ray stayed quiet. Indeed, a former agent from the FBIs field office in Atlanta said the bureaus tracking of King was second only to the way they went after Jimmy Hoffa. In 1975, a group of former FBI agents called on Congress to investigate this harrassment. It was a theory she maintained until her death in 2006 that has so far never been proven. But officials dont believe Jowerss story. 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. Simpson was found guilty of killing his wife Nicole and Ron Goldman - in a civil trial. The 12-person jury verdict unanimous exonerated the "patsy" James Earl Ray for any role in the assassination of MLK. As the official story goes, Ray followed through with the threat he made in prison. 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. Kings horrified associates point to the direction where they think the bullet came from as King lay dying at their feet. Second Edition, Tennessee Waltz - the Making of a Political Prisoner. Did James Earl Ray Really Assassinate Martin Luther King Jr. Or Was He Set Up? James Earl Ray's FBI wanted poster featured 1960 booking shots and a list of nine aliases. [19], Ray was soon on the road again and drove his Mustang to Birmingham, Alabama. James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 - April 23, 1998) was an American criminal who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968.Ray was convicted in 1969 after entering a guilty pleathus forgoing a jury trial and the possibility of a death sentenceand was sentenced to 99 years of imprisonment. James Earl Ray in 1966, two years before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. James Earl Rays mugshot from 1955. On September 16 th 1963 a young Southern White lawyer in Birmingham Alabama spoke these words after a black church was bombed and the police attacked peaceful protesters: "from anger and despair, from frustration and empathy. Hardcover, 480 pages. Whatever the exact details were that led him to Memphis in April 1968, Ray rented a room at a rooming house under the name Eric Starvo Galt, near the Lorraine Motel, where King was staying. [13], He considered emigrating to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where a predominantly white minority regime had unilaterally assumed independence from the United Kingdom in 1965. Ray died at Columbia Nashville Memorial Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 23, 1998. [16] On March 18, 1968, Ray left Los Angeles and began a cross-country drive to Atlanta, Georgia. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. James Earl Ray was a racist and quickly drawn to Wallace's segregationist platform. Ray was a racist and was quickly drawn to Wallace's segregationist platform. The other people involved in this conspiracy, Jowers said, included Memphis police officers, a Mafia member and the infamous Raoul. Representative John Lewis, a civil rights activist who later became a U.S. congressman and served 17 terms before his death in 2020, agreed. What were James earl rays political views? Most of the public . Dr. King was killed while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel, and police determined that James Earl Ray had shot him with a rifle from the window of a rented room across the street. The House Assassinations Committee examining evidence in the killing of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images). He briefly escaped from prison in 1977 and survived a murder attempt in 1981. Though intelligent, he was quick to anger. This organization would later morph into the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei better known as the NAZI party. James Earl Ray, (born March 10, 1928, Alton, Illinois, U.S.died April 23, 1998, Nashville, Tennessee), American assassin of the African American civil-rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Ray had been a small-time crook, a robber of gas stations and stores, who had served time in prison, once in Illinois and twice in Missouri, and received a suspended sentence in Los Angeles. Soon, they seemed to have their answer. In 1952, he served two years for the armed robbery of a taxi driver in Illinois. James Earl Ray (1928-1998) Some of us may have heard of Dr. Pepper's efforts, as attorney for the King Family, to defend James Earl Ray (the man wrongly imprisoned for the assassination of Dr. King) as part of an effort to bring the actual killers to justice. For some 50 years,. [37] A year was added to Ray's previous sentence, increasing it to 10 decades. He paid for a nose job in cash. [6] Ray left school at the age of 12. After the assassination, King's family did not trust the findings of the FBI, which had harassed the civil rights leader while he was alive. James Earl Ray would have fit in just perfect with MAGA Before all the MLK quotes begin in a couple of weeks remember; MLK, didn't end racism. Man Ray was primarily known for his photography, which spanned both the Dada and Surrealism movements. While there, he started a new life of crime. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our. Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? After his assassination, he was memorialized by Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Over the next several years, Ray embarked on a number of small crimes, serving various jail times. Ray himself countered that he was not the only one involved in the crime. [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. Two years later, his young sister Marjorie, died in a fire after playing with matches and accidentally catching herself on fire. Said Byrd: Yesterday, Mr. President, the Nation was given a preview of what may be in store for this city by the outrageous and despicable riot that Martin Luther King helped to bring about in Memphis, Tenn. In the years following Ray's arrest, questions arose about his exact involvement in King's murder. Whether he was guilty or innocent, James Earl Ray led an eventful life from behind bars. I went to Memphis to deliver a rifle to this man called Raoul, Ray explained to a journalist from The Tennessean. In 1997, King told Ray personally that both he and his family believed him. What would it have taken for the Goldmans and the Browns to have believed Orenthals story that he was innocent? He insisted that a man he'd met in Canada, who went by the name of Raoul, had orchestrated the murder and ultimately shot King. He then drove to Mexico, stopping in Acapulco before settling in Puerto Vallarta on October 19, 1967. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren was a former California governor who also headed the commission that investigated the JFK assassination. Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com. [10], While in Mexico, Ray, using the alias Eric Starvo Galt, attempted to establish himself as a pornographic film director. Huie investigated this story and discovered that Ray lied about some details. Dexter King, son of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., meeting with James Earl Ray the man who confessed to killing King. 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. Ray, was found by bloodhounds about eightmiles away from the prison shortly after the escape attempt. Bettmann/Getty ImagesJames Earl Ray on July 19, 1968, shortly after he was arrested for killing MLK. James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 - April 23, 1998) was an American fugitive and felon convicted of assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. His spouse is Anna Sandhu Ray (m. 1978-1993). Ray had continued using the Galt alias after his stint in Mexico, but when he made this purchase, he gave his name as Harvey Lowmeyer. James Earl Jones was the voice of Darth Vader What political part was Hitler part of? Ray was born in Alton, IL,in 1928, the son of working class Scots-Irish parents. No comments: Post a Comment. Evidence does suggest that Ray had little stomach for the integration policies that were sweeping the country. [43] [44], 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. He even upheld his claims to the King family. At one point, the owner of the bar beneath the boarding house where Ray stayed, Loyd Jowers, claimed that he had participated in a conspiracy to assassinate King. In March 1960 Ray started a 20-year sentence for the crimes. Ray risikerede ddsstraf, sfremt han . King vs. Loyd Jowers and conspirators unknown. An hour later, he was declared dead. Finally, on July 19, 1968, the FBI caught up with Ray in London and extradited him to the United States. The next day, Ray checked into a room in a boarding house just across the street from where King was staying, according to the Washington Post. He's also known for films like 'The Great White Hope,' 'The Hunt for Red October' and 'Field of Dreams' as well as an array of TV shows. During the 1950 and 60s, the FBI surveilled and harassed King, his family and his associates. [26][27] He picked up his belongings and fled north to Canada, arriving in Toronto three days later, where he hid for over a month and acquired a Canadian passport under the false name of Ramon George Sneyd. 10 Disturbing and Unexplained Facts About James Earl Ray, MLK's Assassin. By 1969, James Earl Jones was no stranger to either the movie or TV screens. According to Harding, King had already severely angered Johnson by delivering that speech, which could have made Johnson quite receptive to Byrds sentiment. So, despite 50 years of evidence fingering James Earl Ray and a consensus about his role among most scholars who study King, some people remain unconvinced. Ray was convicted in 1969 after entering a guilty pleathus forgoing a jury trial and the possibility of a death sentenceand was sentenced to 99 years of imprisonment. Ray was convicted on his 41st birthday after entering a guilty plea to forgo a jury trial. In the hours and days after the Tucson shootings, the left wing media in America attempted to blame the Tea Party and right wing rhetoric for the deaths of six and the injuries of thirteen. [28] He stayed briefly in Lisbon, Portugal, and returned to London. All three bore the fingerprints of an escaped convict named James Earl Ray. Most famously, in 1997 a dying Ray told Dexter King, his victims son, that he didnt do it. Corrections? James Earl Ray Biography. His body was cremated and his ashes were flown to Ireland, the home of his maternal family's ancestors. 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. [29] Ray was then arrested at London Heathrow Airport attempting to leave the United Kingdom for Brussels. Whether anybody helped him indirectly has yet to be determined. A. Indeed, the House Select Committee on Assassinations later speculated that Ray had killed King in order to collect a $50,000 bounty offered by Wallace supporters in St. Louis who wanted the civil rights leader dead. The authorities didnt catch up to Ray until June 1968, when they found him in London trying to board a plane to Belgium. Martin Luther King Jr. giving his last speech, Ive Been To The Mountaintop, on April 3, 1968. ), where he secured a second Canadian passport (May 16), and back to London (May 17?). While on the lam in the 1950s, Ray lived in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico under the pseudonym Eric Stalvo Galt. While there, Eric Galt ordered video equipment through the mail to start up a business as a small-time pornographer. 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. Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles. But after HBO conducted a televised mock trial about the assassination in 1993in which Ray gave his first public testimony and was found not guiltyJowers declared that hed been part of a conspiracy to kill King, and that Ray had been set up to take to fall. 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. While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Exactly what led Ray to kill King continues to be a source of debate, as does his role in the murder. Between 1998 and 2000, the Department of Justice investigated Jowers claims and the evidence in the civil trial, and concluded that Jowerss claims werent credible. Ex-wife of MLK assassin James Earl Ray charged with animal cruelty in Tennessee June 23, 2021 11:30am Updated Madison County Jail More On: The ex-wife of assassin James Earl Ray, who. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. [23][24][25], Ray fled to Atlanta in his white Ford Mustang, driving eleven hours. Contents 1 Background 2 Murder of King, Incarceration, and Death 3 Motive 4 Conspiracy Theories 4.1 Ray's claims 4.2 Loyd Jowers 4.3 Other claims 5 Modus Operandi 6 Known Victims 7 On Criminal Minds 8 Sources Background Read an Excerpt. Housed at the Missouri State Penitentiary, Ray managed to escape the facility in 1967. A year before, hed escaped from Missouri State Penitentiary while serving a 20-year sentence, and was on the lam at the time King was shot. There was one week in 1968 when much happened. But within Martin Luther Kings family, there remains a persistent belief that Ray is innocent, and was set up to take the fall. [21], After purchasing the rifle and accessories, Ray drove back to Atlanta. The Rays struggled to make ends meet, and as a consequence, the family moved several times during the early part of Ray's childhood. 2. Something triggered something in him, Sides says, but exactly what that trigger was is unclear. He pursued a life of crime but seemed to have been a clumsy criminal. Since fleeing Memphis, hed gone to Canada, then London, then Portugal, before returning to the U.K. Joseph Louw/The LIFE Images Collection/Getty ImagesKings horrified associates point to the direction where they think the bullet came from as King lay dying at their feet. James Earl Ray is the disturbed man who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. James Earl Ray was a racist.. In the mock trial, the prosecutor was Hickman Ewing. Ray then fired Kershaw after discovering the attorney had been paid $11,000 by the magazine in exchange for the interview and instead hired attorney Mark Lane to provide him with legal representation. 4 There was no trial because of his confession. A former theater and television producer, Edward remains active in charity. 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]. An international manhunt led to his capture in June 1968 at Heathrow Airport in London, where he was caught carrying two fake Canadian passports. An hour later, he was declared dead. At the age of 16, Ray left his parents and returned to Alton, where he moved in with his grandmother and landed work in the dye room of the International Shoe Tannery. First, a little background on James Earl Ray's upbringing to set up his path to St. Louis. He said his lawyers were incompetent, and that proved false. "I . There is an important flaw in that logic as well; the defendant was only sued for $100, which he was ordered to pay. Over several decades, federal investigators have routinely concluded that Raoul doesnt exist. Authorities say that when King stood on the balcony of the Lorraine around 6 p.m., Ray spotted him from a window at his boarding house, aimed a Remington .30-06 hunting rifle toward King, and fired a shot. James Earl Ray tilstod drabet under den efterflgende retssag. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. So, are there are still remaining questions about how everything happened the day of Kings assassination? 23, 1998, at the age of 70. 10 Disturbing and Unexplained Facts About James Earl Ray, MLK's Assassin Ryleigh Nucilli January 17, 2017 83.5k views10 items Each year, the third Monday in January is a celebration to commemorate the life and accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr., the tireless civil rights activist who was gunned down in Memphis, TN, in 1968. List price: $28.95. So who is James Earl Ray, the man charged with assassinating Martin Luther King Jr.? He escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary on April 23, 1967; and in Memphis, Tennessee, nearly a year later, on April 4, 1968, from a window of a neighbouring rooming house, he shot King, who was standing on the balcony of a motel room. Martin Luther's goal, at least initially, was to repeal Jim Crow segregation laws where they existed. Updates? The drifter left after a 45-minute session and never came back. Assassination Conspiracy Trial", "The Execution of Martin Luther King William Pepper (ONE of TWO)", "The Execution of Martin Luther King, William Pepper (TWO of TWO)", "Justice Dept. He had Irish, Scottish and Welsh ancestry and had a Catholic upbringing. "I think I have figured out the tea party," the actor recently said on the "Smiley and West" radio show. The family accepted $100 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. MEMPHIS, March 10 In space of two and a half hours, James Earl Ray pleaded guilty today of the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and was sentenced to serve 99 years in the state . The facts are these. American fantasy and horror author Ray Bradbury is best known for his novels 'Fahrenheit 451,' 'The Illustrated Man' and 'The Martian Chronicles.'. Both his Ray, Jerry, as told to Tamara . A package was abandoned close to the site that included a rifle and binoculars, both found with Ray's fingerprints. And Ray even pled guilty to murdering King after he was arrested. He was convinced that he would escape capture because of his intelligence and cunning, and he also believed that Governor of Alabama George Wallace would soon be elected to the presidency, so that Ray would only be confined in prison for a short time, pending a presidential pardon by Wallace. But even if Ray had help, the evidence strongly pointed to him pulling the trigger. Top of Page In 1933, Ray suffered his first real tragedy when his four-year-old sister died after playing with matches and setting herself on fire. We strive for accuracy and fairness. He was believed to have been en route to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), which was at the time a haven for white supremacists. In June of 2008, Harding spoke at Stanford University and said the following: Many people within the movement said, Martin, you cannot raise your voice against Johnsons war because Johnson is our man and if you raise your voice against Johnsons war, Johnson being Johnson, is not going to like it.'. [12] His chief interest, however, was the George Wallace presidential campaign. 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. But despite having a suspect in mind, it took investigators much longer to actually track him down. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us!

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