But what do you know about James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King? 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.. Finally, on July 19, 1968, the FBI caught up with Ray in London and extradited him to the United States. An hour later, he was declared dead. A. Share Background Report Background Report Overview of James Earl Ray Lives in: Northville, Michigan Phone: View phone number Gender: Male Ray struggled to adapt to military life and was eventually discharged for ineptitude and lack of adaptability in 1948. The authorities didnt catch up to Ray until June 1968, when they found him in London trying to board a plane to Belgium. Kershaw convinced Ray to submit to a polygraph test as part of an interview with Playboy. Martin Luther's goal, at least initially, was to repeal Jim Crow segregation laws where they existed. Along with his film debut in Dr. Strangelove , he scored a supporting role in the 1967 political drama The. When Kings son, Dexter, visited Ray in prison, Dexter asked Ray point-blank: Did you kill my father?. He briefly escaped from prison in 1977 and survived a murder attempt in 1981. Over the next several years, Ray embarked on a number of small crimes, serving various jail times. In no uncertain terms, Byrd was calling on Johnson to stop Kings march on D.C. 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. The facts are these. And, indeed, despite Rays persistent denials of his guilt, his conviction has withstood multiple inquiries. The 12-person jury verdict unanimous exonerated the "patsy" James Earl Ray for any role in the assassination of MLK. Some people had trouble, for example, believing Ray had arranged his international escape all by himself, since he had a track record of getting caught for more minor crimes. Check here if you would like to receive subscription offers and other promotions via email from TIME group companies. Representative John Lewis, a civil rights activist who later became a U.S. congressman and served 17 terms before his death in 2020, agreed. Experts have also studied Rays movements leading up to the assassination, including a mysterious trip to New Orleans that March and a move to Atlanta, the funding and logistics of which raise questions. 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. 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. Yet given the way the bureau had treated her and her family, her suspicion of the FBI and its conclusions about her husbands killer came from a very reasonable place, says John McMillian, a history professor at Georgia State University. He got a job back in Illinois at the International Shoe Company but was laid off in 1945. [15], On March 5, 1968, Ray underwent a rhinoplasty, performed by physician Russell Hadley. Maybe you would like to learn more about one of these? [28] He stayed briefly in Lisbon, Portugal, and returned to London. Updates? Huie investigated this story and discovered that Ray lied about some details. Ray himself countered that he was not the only one involved in the crime. According to Pew, the percentage of Americans who said they could trust the federal government to do the right thing nearly always or most of the time went from an all-time high of 77% in 1964 to 36% by the end of the 1970s. [13], He considered emigrating to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where a predominantly white minority regime had unilaterally assumed independence from the United Kingdom in 1965. According to Harding, King had already severely angered Johnson by delivering that speech, which could have made Johnson quite receptive to Byrds sentiment. James Earl Ray (born 1965) is listed at 42036 Queen Anne Ct Northville, Mi 48167and has no known political party affiliation. Rays lawyer J.B. Stoner was a known white supremacist, and Ray who also made clear his admiration for Hitler had done volunteer work for the 1968 presidential campaign of Alabamas former segregationist Governor George Wallace, who had gone head-to-head with King in Birmingham, Selma and Montgomery. They might not have been involved in the murder, McMillian observes of the FBI, but I wish people knew the really shameful things that they did.. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! With rates currently down to half that in 2018 (18%), these theories seem unlikely to go away any time soon. And what actually happened on that terrible day in Memphis? He broke out of prisons so many times that he earned the nickname the Mole.. He briefly escaped from prison in 1977 and survived a murder attempt in 1981. [9], 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 drivers license. He left Toronto in late May on a flight to England. Author weaves memoir with fictional account of MLK's killer on the lam. 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. James Earl Ray killed Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. There are records of Ray receiving plastic surgery in Los Angeles about a month before Kings murder in Memphis. 6:03 AM. On June 10, 1977, Ray and six other convicts escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee. James Earl Jones is the American actor who voiced Darth Vader in the 'Star Wars' franchise. 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. 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.'. For this, he was imprisoned for four years in Leavenworth. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. For now, James Earl Rays legacy depends on who you believe. It is descended into a woke, neo-socialist, radically green party. [42], 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. His brother said that Ray admired Hitler and that Ray had said that he would make the U.S. an all-white country, no Jews or Negroes. Ray was also known to have been a supporter of George Wallace, the segregationist governor of Alabama running for president, according to the Los Angeles Times. [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. To people whod known Ray, the answer seemed obvious. Ray was a racist and was quickly drawn to Wallace's segregationist platform. Kennedy's political opponents are believed to have received support from wealthy tycoons and the CIA agents in executing his assassination (Hald-Mortensen 75). [citation needed]. After returning to Alton and moving back in with his grandmother, he blazed through a number of odd jobs. He considered moving to Rhodesia (now known as Zimbabwe), a country with a predominantly white minority government. The verdict in King vs. Jowers found a government conspiracy involving city, state, and federal agents complicit in the murder. 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. A part of his life was shaped by tragedy. James Earl Ray being led to his cell by Shelby County Sheriff William Morris on July 19, 1968. 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. Born on March 10, 1928, in Alton, Illinois, James Earl Ray came from a long line of criminals. 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. A guilty. [18] He bought a map of the city. 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. This organization would later morph into the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei better known as the NAZI party. [38], 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?" He said that a Memphis police officer was the one who had actually killed King and that Jowers had stashed the gun. He was trying to depart the United Kingdom for Angola, Rhodesia, or apartheid South Africa[30] using the falsified Canadian passport. The verdict did convict Loyd Jowers and "other parties known and unknown" for their parts in the vast US government conspiracy to assassinate King. Ray told Huie that he purposefully left the rifle with his fingerprints on it in plain sight at the crime scene because he wanted to become a famous criminal. Ray Charles was a pioneer of soul music, integrating R&B, gospel, pop and country to create hits like "Unchain My Heart," "Hit the Road Jack" and "Georgia on My Mind.". (biography.com) He admitted that he killed Martin Luther King, so he . [49], Before his death, Ray was transferred to the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility in Nashville, a maximum-security prison with hospital facilities. 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