"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. For the first 25 years after Kings death, Jowers did not claim any involvement in the murder. Magazines, Digital But what do you know about James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King? According to Harding, King had already severely angered Johnson by delivering that speech, which could have made Johnson quite receptive to Byrds sentiment. An international manhunt led to his capture in June 1968 at Heathrow Airport in London, where he was caught carrying two fake Canadian passports. 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. Edward, Earl of Wessex is the youngest child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip. There is abundant evidence of a major high-level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband, said Coretta Scott King, Kings widow, in 1999. That claim prompted the family to push unsuccessfully for a new trial. Fifty years later, some questions linger about why exactly the civil rights leader was targeted and whether the shooter acted alone. 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. James Earl Ray killed Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. 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. [19], Ray was soon on the road again and drove his Mustang to Birmingham, Alabama. He was trying to depart the United Kingdom for Angola, Rhodesia, or apartheid South Africa[30] using the falsified Canadian passport. Actor: Fired Up!. The 12-person jury verdict unanimous exonerated the "patsy" James Earl Ray for any role in the assassination of MLK. I dont know what happened, but the truth of what happened to Dr. King should be made available for historys sake.. While some speculate this was an attempt to hide his identity before killing King, others point to Ray's lack of care about disguising himself in other elements of the assassination plot. [20] He told the store owners that he was going on a hunting trip with his brother. Finally, on July 19, 1968, the FBI caught up with Ray in London and extradited him to the United States. Art Hanes Jr. thinks about the James Earl Ray case every day. [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. 4777. The UK quickly extradited Ray to Tennessee, where he was charged with King's murder. 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 was the assassin of American Baptist minister and civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr . Then, Raoul threw it in the Mississippi River. Something triggered something in him, Sides says, but exactly what that trigger was is unclear. James Earl Ray tilstod drabet under den efterflgende retssag. But that biography doesnt explain why or how Ray moved from committing property crime and supporting racists, to killing a national icon. Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community? 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. King and his associates came to town on April 3 and checked into the Lorraine Motel. In fact, Kings family was as convinced of Rays innocence as the families of Nicole and Ron were convinced of Simpsons guilt. 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.". The bureau wiretapped his phone and monitored his movements, taking advantage of times when he seemed particularly upset or depressed. 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. Representative John Lewis, a civil rights activist who later became a U.S. congressman and served 17 terms before his death in 2020, agreed. [14] The notion of living in Rhodesia continued to appeal to Ray for several years afterwards, and it was his intended destination after King's assassination. More answers below 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 . 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 convicted in 1969 after entering a guilty pleathus forgoing a jury trial and the possibility of a death sentenceand was sentenced to . He is a male registered to vote in Wayne County, Michigan. The facts are these. [18] He bought a map of the city. 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. "I think I have figured out the tea party," the actor recently said on the "Smiley and West" radio show. James Earl Ray was a racist and quickly drawn to Wallace's segregationist platform. On June 11, 1977, while housed at the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, TN, Ray and five other inmates escaped. YouTubeJames Earl Ray in 1977. Ray's life outside the Army proved even less stable. [38] The tests ultimately proved inconclusive. Some believe the facts are just as history . On April 2, 1968, Ray packed a bag and drove to Memphis. An hour later, he was declared dead. Finally, Americans anguished over the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. had the who. But what about the why?. By Jerry B. Jenkins . Martin Luther King Jr. was a scholar and minister who led the civil rights movement. James Earl Ray is infamous for assassinating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. On July 19, he returned to U.S. and the following March he pleaded guilty to murdering King. [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. Over the next several years, Ray embarked on a number of small crimes, serving various jail times. In fact, the idea that there had been a conspiracy to kill King that, even if Ray fired the gun, he did so at the behest of larger forces began to spread right away, and not without some reason. James Earl Jones was the voice of Darth Vader What political part was Hitler part of? Soon, they seemed to have their answer. Toward the end of his life, Ray, whose sentence had been extended to 100 years after he escaped from prison in 1977, had the support of an unexpected ally: the King family. Born on March 10, 1928, in Alton, Illinois, was the eldest of George and Lucille Ray's nine children. Yes, the President is part of the. Just a few days later, however, James Earl Ray changed his story. James Earl Ray being led to his cell by Shelby County Sheriff William Morris on July 19, 1968. Considered one of the greatest boxers of all time, Sugar Ray Robinson held the world welterweight title from 1946 to 1951, and by 1958, he had become the first boxer to win a divisional world championship five times. In the mock trial, the prosecutor was Hickman Ewing. The magazine reported that the test results showed "Ray did, in fact, kill Martin Luther King Jr. and that he did so alone." Whether he was guilty or innocent, James Earl Ray led an eventful life from behind bars. 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. Take a look below for 27 more strange and bizarre facts about James Earl Ray. Back in Memphis, Ray pleaded guilty, forfeiting a trial, and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. And, indeed, despite Rays persistent denials of his guilt, his conviction has withstood multiple inquiries. He was 70. James Earl Ray is the disturbed man who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. He made the FBI Most Wanted List before his recapture. 4 There was no trial because of his confession. Kennedy's political opponents are believed to have received support from wealthy tycoons and the CIA agents in executing his assassination (Hald-Mortensen 75). 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. He died on April 23, 1998, Nashville, TN. Bettmann/Getty ImagesJames Earl Ray on July 19, 1968, shortly after he was arrested for killing MLK. A member of the Republican Party, White was first elected in District 12 in 2010, which then included Angelina, San Jacinto, Trinity, and Tyler counties.He left office on August 11, 2022. He at first fled to Canada but, unable to get on a ship and flee overseas, he returned to the U.S. and made his way to first Alabama, then Mexico, and later Los Angeles. 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. Three days after pleading guilty he recanted his confession, and for the next 28 years maintained his innocence, but by then it was too late. James Earl Ray, a career criminal who had briefly served in the U.S. Army, shot the advocate of non-violent resistance. [17], Arriving in Atlanta on March 24, 1968, Ray checked into a rooming house. James Earl Jones is the American actor who voiced Darth Vader in the 'Star Wars' franchise. the result of a conspiracy that involved Jowers, not Ray, as well as ''others, including governmental agencies. [23][24][25], Ray fled to Atlanta in his white Ford Mustang, driving eleven hours. List price: $28.95. Ray died in prison on April 23, 1998. (2009), Gridiron Gang (2006) and The Lazarus Effect (2015). Hardcover, 480 pages. The mock trial jury finally acquitted Ray. But then, he filed a motion to withdraw his plea. 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.'. 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. The other people involved in this conspiracy, Jowers said, included Memphis police officers, a Mafia member and the infamous Raoul. Ray told this version of the assassination and his own flight during the following two months to journalist William Bradford Huie. Whats more, Ray claimed that he only pled guilty to the assassination because his lawyer and the FBI had pressed him to do so. Labels: James Earl Ray, MAGA, Martin Luther King Jr., Racism, Republican Party, Republicans. 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. 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. Ray was convicted in 1969 after entering a guilty pleathus forgoing a jury trial and the possibility of a death sentenceand was sentenced to . When Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee, the United States erupted into chaos and countless activists demanded to know who had killed the iconic civil rights leader. By then, Ray was long gone. He briefly escaped from prison in 1977 and survived a murder attempt in 1981. He briefly escaped from prison in 1977 and survived a murder attempt in 1981. [16] On March 18, 1968, Ray left Los Angeles and began a cross-country drive to Atlanta, Georgia. In October 1974, James Earl Ray attempted to recant his confession for the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr., in Memphis, Tennessee. He shot and killed Martin Luther King on April 4, 1968. He later joined the U.S. Army at the close of World War II and served in Germany. 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. Kershaw convinced Ray to submit to a polygraph test as part of an interview with Playboy. Ray was born in Alton, IL,in 1928, the son of working class Scots-Irish parents. In addition to his segregationist beliefs, he also saw a big payday, some historians have said, in killing Black leaders like H. Rap Brown, Stokely Carmichael and, of course, King. He drifted around the Midwest, committing more crimes. Findings by federal authorities and the House Select Committee on Assassinations are confident about some things. 23, 1998, at the age of 70. Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Digital 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! 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. Ray Kroc was an American entrepreneur best known for expanding McDonalds from a local chain to the worlds most profitable restaurant franchise operation. Evidence does suggest that Ray had little stomach for the integration policies that were sweeping the country. 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. Among the evidence was a recording of Jowers in which he suggested he was interested in fabricating his story for financial gain. On the night of the shooting, I had left the rifle with Raoul.. 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. Author weaves memoir with fictional account of MLK's killer on the lam. [22], 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 Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. James Earl Jones thinks he knows makes the tea party tick: racism. Later, in the early 1990s, he suggested a conspiracy involving the government had been behind the assassination. "I . Had he been found guilty by jury trial, he would have been eligible for the death penalty. 6:03 AM. [29] Ray was then arrested at London Heathrow Airport attempting to leave the United Kingdom for Brussels. Neither party made his goals part of their platform. 1. Simpson was found guilty of killing his wife Nicole and Ron Goldman in a civil trial. Martin Luther's goal, at least initially, was to repeal Jim Crow segregation laws where they existed. 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. He was of Irish, Scots, and Welsh ancestry. All three bore the fingerprints of an escaped convict named James Earl Ray. 2. He paid for a nose job in cash. It is descended into a woke, neo-socialist, radically green party. Ray was arrested at Londons Heathrow Airport on June 8, 1968, a few weeks after the crime. Ray died at Columbia Nashville Memorial Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 23, 1998. James Earl. Later in life his pleas for a trial were encouraged by some civil-rights leaders, notably the King family. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! A guilty. That some Americans didnt trust and still dont trust the governments conclusion on Kings murder says a lot about what was going on in America in the 1960s and 70s, when the Vietnam War and Watergate torpedoed Americans trust in government. 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. Less than a year after the assassination, Ray pleaded guilty to the crime. 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. James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 - April 23, 1998) was an American claimed to have been responsible for the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr, which he was convicted of.Ray was convicted on his 41st birthday after entering a guilty plea to forgo a jury trial. For 72 hours after his guilty plea, James Earl Ray stayed quiet. Ray was a racist and was quickly drawn to Wallace's segregationist platform. Ray, was found by bloodhounds about eightmiles away from the prison shortly after the escape attempt. He escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary in 1967 by hiding in a truck transporting bread from the prison bakery. James Earl Ray, Playboy Interview - A Candid Conversation About Conspiracy and Escape, September 1977 Written by Kennedys&King. After this, Ray was on the run and was captured in the UK. font size decrease font size increase font size; . That year, Kings son Dexter Scott King visited Ray in prison to draw attention to the familys push to appeal his case. Contents 1 Early life and education 2 Career 3 Personal life 3.1 Legal issues The source of his money is the single biggest question.. Indeed, Ray seemed to struggle from the start. 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. ''. The Rays struggled to make ends meet, and as a consequence, the family moved several times during the early part of Ray's childhood. In 1935 the family suddenly left Alton and relocated to Ewing, Missouri, after police had started looking for Ray's father on a forgery charge. (biography.com) He admitted that he killed Martin Luther King, so he . In renouncing his guilt, Ray raised the spectre of a conspiracy behind Kings murder but offered scant evidence to support his claim. And after he returned to Illinois and robbed a taxi driver at gunpoint for $11, police easily arrested him in a dead-end alleyway. Ray himself countered that he was not the only one involved in the crime. After his assassination, he was memorialized by Martin Luther King Jr. Day. He said that a Memphis police officer was the one who had actually killed King and that Jowers had stashed the gun. 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. 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. 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]. The Nazi party Is the president part of the political party? And Ray even pled guilty to murdering King after he was arrested. Ray, who was feeble and sick from hepatitis C, was asked by King about his involvement in the assassination. Please attempt to sign up again. By 1969, James Earl Jones was no stranger to either the movie or TV screens. His home life was no better. CAPTION: Ray was apprehended (harnessed and handcuffed) for the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., in 1968 . And teachers at his school where Ray often showed up barefoot and in ragged clothes noted that he violated all regulations. 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 paper reported King's planned return trip to Memphis, Tennessee, which was scheduled for April 1, 1968. 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. That doesnt mean there are no questions left. [28] He stayed briefly in Lisbon, Portugal, and returned to London. But while at the Missouri State Penitentiary, Ray took a fateful step. Ray confessed to the crime on March 10, 1969 and received a 99-year prison sentence, which increased to a 100-year sentence after he briefly escaped in 1977. [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. To people whod known Ray, the answer seemed obvious. In 1961, Russian spy Gordon Lonsdale used a false Canadian passport for his espionage activities in England, as did his associates in the British naval . And from years of hopes, hopes that were shattered and crumbled with the steps of that Negro Baptist Church." James Earl Ray was a Democrat. YouTube James Earl Ray in 1977. 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. Then, the House Assassinations Committee spent two years and $2.5 million investigating the case., James Earl Ray did it, case closed! He left Toronto in late May on a flight to England. James Earl Ray hated him. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. On June 10, 1977, Ray and six other convicts escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee. 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. [36] However, Ray spent the remainder of his life unsuccessfully attempting to withdraw his guilty plea and secure a jury trial. [8] He was sentenced to twenty years in prison for repeated offenses. There was one week in 1968 when much happened. It was a theory she maintained until her death in 2006 that has so far never been proven. What We Know About Why James Earl Ray Killed Martin Luther King Jr. In June 1977 Ray escaped from Brushy Mountain (Tennessee) Prison and remained at large for 54 hours before being recaptured in a massive manhunt. 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. But among legal and historical scholars, there is a broad consensus that James Earl Ray, though he may not have acted alone, is the gunman who shot Martin Luther King. Updates? While there, he started a new life of crime. 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. Political party politics did not play a direct role in his activities. 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. A staff writer for All That's Interesting, Kaleena Fraga has also had her work featured in The Washington Post and Gastro Obscura, and she published a book on the Seattle food scene for the Eat Like A Local series. Huie investigated this story and discovered that Ray lied about some details. Description. 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. 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. I had met with him twice while in Memphis at Jims Grill, which was near the boarding house. The bullet whizzed through the night and hit King in the jaw, causing him to collapse. Along with his film debut in Dr. Strangelove , he scored a supporting role in the 1967 political drama The. [37] A year was added to Ray's previous sentence, increasing it to 10 decades. He got a 99-year prison sentence, which he served until he died of liver failure due to hepatitis C on Apr. Wednesday marks 50 years since Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated on the second-floor balcony near his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, where he had been supporting black sanitation workers on strike for better pay and working conditions. James Earl Ray on July 19, 1968, shortly after he was arrested for killing MLK. Menu. 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. 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. In 2011, the only irony greater than the left blaming right wing rhetoric for the violence perpetrated by an individual having no affiliation with the right, might be that the rhetoric of some very powerful people on the left may have had a direct role in the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. That is, of course, if one applies the logic of the left. First, a little background on James Earl Ray's upbringing to set up his path to St. Louis. Pointing to the FBIs deep hatred of King, they suggest that his assassination was part of a larger conspiracy. But within a few days of confessing, Ray began to claim his innocence, arguing that that he had been set up by a man he knew only as Raoul. It was Raoul, Ray said, who had directed him to buy the gun and the binoculars, and rent the room across the street from the motel. No comments: Post a Comment. He was believed to have been en route to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), which was at the time a haven for white supremacists. Ray risikerede ddsstraf, sfremt han . Kings horrified associates point to the direction where they think the bullet came from as King lay dying at their feet. But not everyone was convinced that the story stopped there in part because Rays guilty plea stopped a trial from proceeding. Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles. An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. 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.