Ray pleaded guilty to the murder, something he'd spend the rest of his life trying to reverse, and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He pleaded guilty to murder on the advice of his attorney in order to avoid a jury trial. In June 1977 Ray escaped from Brushy Mountain (Tennessee) Prison and remained at large for 54 hours before being recaptured in a massive manhunt. Simpson was found guilty of killing his wife Nicole and Ron Goldman - in a civil trial. James Earl is known for Fired Up! (2009), Gridiron Gang (2006) and The Lazarus Effect (2015). 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.". Kershaw convinced Ray to submit to a polygraph test as part of an interview with Playboy. He spent many hours volunteering at the campaign headquarters in North Hollywood. James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 April 23, 1998) was an American fugitive convicted for assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April4, 1968. [50], Ray died on April 23, 1998, at the age of 70, at the Columbia Nashville Memorial Hospital from complications related to kidney disease and liver failure caused by hepatitis C.[51] 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 framed him for murder. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! 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. James Earl Ray Biography. But Ray soon proved to be an inept criminal. He had Ulster Scots and Irish ancestry and had a Catholic . Did James Earl Ray Really Assassinate Martin Luther King Jr. Or Was He Set Up? He is a former Shelby County, Tennessee Criminal Court judge and a former arbiter of the arbitration-based reality court show Judge Joe Brown . They sued Jowers for participation in a conspiracy to murder King. Four days after that, Martin Luther King, Jr. was dead. In 1955, he was convicted of mail fraud after stealing money orders in Hannibal, Missouri. In the years following Ray's arrest, questions arose about his exact involvement in King's murder. 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 . James Earl Ray Martin Luther King Assassin--- === April 4, 1968 Martin Luther King was killed by a single rifle bullet on , while standing on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.Shortly after the shot was fired, witnesses saw a man believed to be James Earl Ray fleeing from a rooming house across the street from the Lorraine Motel. Updates? James Earl Jones is the American actor who voiced Darth Vader in the 'Star Wars' franchise. Ray dismissed Foreman as his attorney and thereafter derisively called him "Percy Fourflusher." And after he returned to Illinois and robbed a taxi driver at gunpoint for $11, police easily arrested him in a dead-end alleyway. He briefly escaped from prison in 1977 and survived a murder attempt in 1981. Please try again later. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. The House Assassinations Committee examining evidence in the killing of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images). James Earl Ray has 7 siblings in His family: John Larry Ray, Suzan Ray, Melba Ray, Marjorie Ray, Franklin Ray, Jerry Ray . For some 50 years, the federal government has maintained that James Earl Ray was the gunman who assassinated King that day. Kennedy's political opponents are believed to have received support from wealthy tycoons and the CIA agents in executing his assassination (Hald-Mortensen 75). [1], In February 1935, Ray's father, known by the nickname Speedy, passed a bad check in Alton, Illinois, and then moved to Ewing, Missouri, where the family changed their name to Raynes to avoid law enforcement. On March 28th, riots took place in Memphis and King was present; on March 29th, Democrat Senator Byrd threw down the gauntlet with Democrat president Lyndon Baines Johnson by delivering a fiery speech on the Senate Floor intended to get the president to stop Kings march; Johnson announced on March 31st that he would not seek reelection; a bullet would take the life of King days later on April 4th, one year to the day after delivering what many viewed as an incendiary speech at the time. He maintained that he was innocent of killing MLK until his own death in 1998. Until his last day, James Earl Ray denied the crime, saying that it was part of a larger conspiracy involving contacts from Canada and even insinuating that the U.S. government had a role in it as well. 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. Later, in the early 1990s, he suggested a conspiracy involving the government had been behind the assassination. 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. Over several decades, federal investigators have routinely concluded that Raoul doesnt exist. It didnt help that Rays story kept changing. 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. 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. Each year, the third Monday in January is a celebration to commemoratethe life and accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr., the tireless civil rights activist who was gunned down in Memphis, TN, in 1968. I Do Understand Racism'. With rates currently down to half that in 2018 (18%), these theories seem unlikely to go away any time soon. He signed an account of the murder in March 1969, and in exchange for his . Fifty years later, some questions linger about why exactly the civil rights leader was targeted and whether the shooter acted alone. En route to Americas northern border, he would soon escape to Canada on April 6th. They said he lacked credibility and seemed largely motivated by financial gain. Trending. No comments: Post a Comment. Then, Raoul threw it in the Mississippi River. If I ever get to the streets, I am going to kill him.. He was 70. While there, Ray attended a local bartending school and took dance lessons. 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. On June 11, 1977, while housed at the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, TN, Ray and five other inmates escaped. 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. Art Hanes Jr. thinks about the James Earl Ray case every day. 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. Top 250 Movies Most Popular Movies Top 250 TV Shows Most Popular TV Shows Most Popular Video Games Most Popular Music Videos Most Popular Podcasts. To people whod known Ray, the answer seemed obvious. He then drove to Mexico, stopping in Acapulco before settling in Puerto Vallarta on October 19, 1967. On July 19, he returned to U.S. and the following March he pleaded guilty to murdering King. His sister Marjorie died in a fire as a young child in 1933. In no uncertain terms, Byrd was calling on Johnson to stop Kings march on D.C. Along with his film debut in Dr. Strangelove , he scored a supporting role in the 1967 political drama The. Ray, was found by bloodhounds about eightmiles away from the prison shortly after the escape attempt. In 1952, he served two years for the armed robbery of a taxi driver in Illinois. Martin Luther King Jr. giving his last speech, Ive Been To The Mountaintop, on April 3, 1968. Speech of Senator Robert C. Byrd, Senate Journal, Appendix Two, March 29, 1968. The mock trial jury finally acquitted Ray. 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. A courtroom artist, Sandhu drew Ray during his trial for a prison escape attempt. Joseph Blakeney Brown Jr. (born July 5, 1947), known as Judge Joe Brown, is a former American lawyer and television personality. But officials dont believe Jowerss story. On June 10, 1977, Ray and six other convicts escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee. He maintained that he was innocent of killing MLK until his own death in 1998. And it is committed, as Barack Obama once promised, to fundamentally transforming America. Three days later, Ray recanted his confession. James Earl Ray, a career criminal who had briefly served in the U.S. Army, shot the advocate of non-violent resistance. Yes, the President is part of the. She graduated from Oberlin College, where she earned a double degree in American History and French. Its important to note that this verdict was not a criminal conviction, as is sometimes erroneously implied when this case surfaces online. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! He got a job back in Illinois at the International Shoe Company but was laid off in 1945. finds no conspiracy in King assassination", "Third Inquiry Affirms Others: Ray Alone Was King's Killer", "Autopsy confirms Ray died of liver failure". ), where he secured a second Canadian passport (May 16), and back to London (May 17?). 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 Indeed, Ray seemed to struggle from the start. He escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary in 1967 by hiding in a truck transporting bread from the prison bakery. But despite having a suspect in mind, it took investigators much longer to actually track him down. 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. Rays fingerprints were the only ones found on the gun, and there were no witnesses who had seen him with Raoul during the nine months they supposedly knew each other (Rays description of Raoul also changed a few times). He travelled there on a Canadian passport. 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. [28] He stayed briefly in Lisbon, Portugal, and returned to London. An international manhunt led to his capture in June 1968 at Heathrow Airport in London, where he was caught carrying two fake Canadian passports. 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. [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. 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. But Ray backed away from his confession just days later and insisted on his innocence in the decades that followed. U.S. House Select Committee on Assassinations, Martin Luther King Jr. Records Collection Act, King: A Filmed Record Montgomery to Memphis, The Witness: From the Balcony of Room 306, Martin Luther King and the Montgomery Story, Joseph Schwantner: New Morning for the World; Nicolas Flagello: The Passion of Martin Luther 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. A. 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. 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. 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. Ray's first conviction for criminal activity, a burglary in California, came in 1949. Second Edition, Tennessee Waltz - the Making of a Political Prisoner. Kings horrified associates point to the direction where they think the bullet came from as King lay dying at their feet. YouTubeJames Earl Ray in 1977. There, on March 30, 1968, he bought a Remington Model 760 Gamemaster .30-06-caliber rifle and a box of 20 cartridges from the Aeromarine Supply Company. 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.. That claim prompted the family to push unsuccessfully for a new trial. An avid newspaper reader, Ray passed his time reading The Atlanta Constitution. Ray's life outside the Army proved even less stable. James Earl Ray, a career criminal who had briefly served in the U.S. Army, shot the advocate of non-violent resistance. After his assassination, he was memorialized by Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Please attempt to sign up again. [19], Ray was soon on the road again and drove his Mustang to Birmingham, Alabama. Peanut farming, talk of politics, and devotion to the Baptist faith were . 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. But that biography doesnt explain why or how Ray moved from committing property crime and supporting racists, to killing a national icon. Unbeknownst to Ray, however, under the de facto moratorium in place since 1967 and following Furman v. Georgia, a death sentence would have been commuted as unconstitutional. In King vs. Loyd Jowers and conspirators unknown, there were 70 witnesses called; twelve jurors found in favor of the King family, which held a press conference after the verdict. He was sentenced to 99 years at the State penitentiary. He spent much of his time in Los Angeles volunteering at the Wallace campaign headquarters in North Hollywood. Who that James earl ray? 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. He maintained that he was innocent of killing MLK until his own death in 1998. 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. 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. Frustrated with his results and jilted by the prostitute with whom he had formed a relationship, Ray left Mexico on or around November 16, 1967, [11] arriving in Los Angeles three days later. Bettmann/Getty ImagesJames Earl Ray in 1966, two years before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Two years later, his young sister Marjorie, died in a fire after playing with matches and accidentally catching herself on fire. [36] However, Ray spent the remainder of his life unsuccessfully attempting to withdraw his guilty plea and secure a jury trial. 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