But within Martin Luther Kings family, there remains a persistent belief that Ray is innocent, and was set up to take the fall. 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. 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. 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. The parents of James Earl Ray are James Gerald Ray,Lucille Ray. Dexter King, son of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., meeting with James Earl Ray the man who confessed to killing King. [15], On March 5, 1968, Ray underwent a rhinoplasty, performed by physician Russell Hadley. What We Know About Why James Earl Ray Killed Martin Luther King Jr. [23][24][25], Ray fled to Atlanta in his white Ford Mustang, driving eleven hours. In the book, "The Making of an Assassin: The Life of James Earl Ray," George McMillan details Ray's background; He came to love German politics. Yes, the President is part of the. The drifter left after a 45-minute session and never came back. When authorities caught him in London, hed been planning to travel to Rhodesia, a former African state ruled by a white minority in present-day Zimbabwe. Ray Kroc was an American entrepreneur best known for expanding McDonalds from a local chain to the worlds most profitable restaurant franchise operation. The verdict did convict Loyd Jowers and "other parties known and unknown" for their parts in the vast US government conspiracy to assassinate King. 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. James Earl Ray (fdt 10. marts 1928, dd 23. april 1998) var en amerikansk morder, der blev dmt for at have drbt Martin Luther King jr. den 4. april 1968, fem r efter Kings verdenskendte "I Have a Dream" tale i 1963.. James Earl Ray blev idmt 99 rs fngsel for mordet p King. I found gaps in his movements that are mysterious and you just dont know who hes meeting with. Rays unreliability has meant the only way to find out what might have motivated him is to study the people he associated with and admired. He said that a Memphis police officer was the one who had actually killed King and that Jowers had stashed the gun. [31] At check-in, the ticket agent noticed the name on his passport, Sneyd, was on a Royal Canadian Mounted Police watchlist. This organization would later morph into the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei better known as the NAZI party. A package was abandoned close to the site that included a rifle and binoculars, both found with Ray's fingerprints. 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. He is a male registered to vote in Wayne County, Michigan. Housed at the Missouri State Penitentiary, Ray managed to escape the facility in 1967. 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. After all, the FBI stalked King and his cohort in order to, as Sides puts it, ruin and smear the civil rights movement. The ugly reach of that campaign has only become clearer over the years. 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. Art Hanes Jr. thinks about the James Earl Ray case every day. Updates? What were James earl rays political views? But not everyone was convinced that the story stopped there in part because Rays guilty plea stopped a trial from proceeding. 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. He left school when he was 15 and later joined the US Army towards the end of World War II but he struggled to adapt to . Martin Luther King, Jr., original name Michael King, Jr., (born January 15, 1929, Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.died April 4, 1968, Memphis, Tennessee), Baptist minister and social activist who led the civil rights movement in the United States from the mid-1950s until his death by assassination in 1968. His prints were found all over the hotel room in Memphis where the shots that killed King were thought to have come from, and they covered the murder weapon -a Remington hunting rifle he purchased in Birmingham, AL. Omissions? Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Read an Excerpt. ''. I Do Understand Racism'. Whether he was guilty or innocent, James Earl Ray led an eventful life from behind bars. Its not clear when Coretta Scott King, widow of King, began to believe in Rays innocence. History has largely forgotten much of the story of Martin Luther King's convicted assassin, James Earl Ray, a serial prison escapee. In one instance, the FBI sent him a tape that allegedly contained audio of him having an affair. 2023 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. Bettmann/Getty ImagesJames Earl Ray in 1966, two years before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Ray died while that campaign was ongoing, but though the King family did win $100 in a 1999 wrongful death suit after the man charged as being part of a conspiracy didnt show up to the trial an official inquiry reiterated that the evidence against Ray was overwhelming and that there was no credibility to various theories that anyone else had been involved. Indeed, Ray seemed to struggle from the start. Those facts leave no surprise as to why a man such as Ray would murder a man whose lifes work was focused on racial equality. In fact, Kings family was as convinced of Rays innocence as the families of Nicole and Ron were convinced of Simpsons guilt. Political party politics did not play a direct role in his activities. In 1949 he left for Los Angeles, where in October of that year police arrested him for robbing a cafe. Who that James earl ray? This had long been a consequence of the compromise made a lifetime earlier to end Reconstruction. [29] Ray was then arrested at London Heathrow Airport attempting to leave the United Kingdom for Brussels. During the 1950 and 60s, the FBI surveilled and harassed King, his family and his associates. Whether he was guilty or innocent, James Earl Ray led an eventful life from behind bars. Corrections? 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 request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. He maintained that he was innocent of killing MLK until his own death in 1998. 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 the assassin of American Baptist minister and civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr . Over the next several years, Ray embarked on a number of small crimes, serving various jail times. Trending. He pleaded guilty to murder on the advice of his attorney in order to avoid a jury trial. Joseph Blakeney Brown Jr. (born July 5, 1947), known as Judge Joe Brown, is a former American lawyer and television personality. 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. [17], Arriving in Atlanta on March 24, 1968, Ray checked into a rooming house. Share Background Report Background Report Overview of James Earl Ray Lives in: Northville, Michigan Phone: View phone number Gender: Male [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. His spouse is Anna Sandhu Ray (m. 1978-1993). Ray was a known criminal, on the lam after escaping a Missouri state prison when he committed the assassination, and had more than two dozen known aliases for himself before he was put behind bars again. 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. Then, discover the true story behind the FBIs infamous Martin Luther King Jr. tapes. (Credit: State of Tennessee, Earl Warren/AP Photo), Coretta Kings specific belief in Rays innocence is a little tougher to explain. (2009), Gridiron Gang (2006) and The Lazarus Effect (2015). Peanut farming, talk of politics, and devotion to the Baptist faith were . What would it have taken for the Goldmans and the Browns to have believed Orenthals story that he was innocent? If I ever get to the streets, I am going to kill him.. 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 Ray On the left is the death chart of Karl Harrer founder of the DAP or Deutsche Arbeiterpartei, the German Worker's Party. Later, though, he claimed he left the prints to gain international notoriety. 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 was sentenced to a 99 year sentence, with another year added after his escape in 1977. 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. 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. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! [19], Ray was soon on the road again and drove his Mustang to Birmingham, Alabama. I wholeheartedly applaud the verdict of the jury and I feel that justice has been well served in their deliberations, she said. No I didn't." But what do you know about James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King? 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. And, indeed, despite Rays persistent denials of his guilt, his conviction has withstood multiple inquiries. 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.'. Most famously, in 1997 a dying Ray told Dexter King, his victims son, that he didnt do it. Please attempt to sign up again. Despite a stint in prison, Ray continued on this path into the 1950s. James Earl Ray, fdd 10 mars 1928 i Alton, Illinois, dd 23 april 1998 p Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary nra Petros, Tennessee, var en amerikansk brottsling dmd fr mordet p Martin Luther King den 4 april 1968 i Memphis, ett dd som gav 99 rs fngelse. James Earl Ray in 1966, two years before the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. James Earl Rays mugshot from 1955. James Earl Ray was born in a poor family on March 10, 1928 in Alton, Illinois, USA. A. James Earl Ray. Free shipping for many products! [37] A year was added to Ray's previous sentence, increasing it to 10 decades. 4777. 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. 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. Ray was spotted at the scene and, almost immediately after the killing, his fingerprints were found on the gun. AP Photo. His home life was no better. I dont know what happened, but the truth of what happened to Dr. King should be made available for historys sake.. So who is James Earl Ray, the man charged with assassinating Martin Luther King Jr.? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Dedicated to the political vision and legacy of John and Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., . This list details the strange, unstable life of James Earl Ray, a man who confessed to and then spent his life denyingthe murder of Martin Luther King Jr. The authorities didnt catch up to Ray until June 1968, when they found him in London trying to board a plane to Belgium. He travelled there on a Canadian passport. . More answers below 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. [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. 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. This doesnt mean that Ray couldnt have received assistance. He pursued a life of crime but seemed to have been a clumsy criminal. Bettmann/Contributor via Getty ImagesMartin Luther King Jr. giving his last speech, Ive Been To The Mountaintop, on April 3, 1968. Kennedy's political opponents are believed to have received support from wealthy tycoons and the CIA agents in executing his assassination (Hald-Mortensen 75). He later joined the U.S. Army at the close of World War II and served in Germany. He left Toronto in late May on a flight to England. Neither party made his goals part of their platform. He got a job back in Illinois at the International Shoe Company but was laid off in 1945. 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. A guilty. 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. But he found it difficult to adapt to the military's strict codes of conduct. The mock trial jury finally acquitted Ray. He signed an account of the murder in March 1969, and in exchange for his . Ray was born to a poor family on March 10, 1928, in Alton, Illinois, the son of Lucille and George Ellis Ray. According to Harding, King had already severely angered Johnson by delivering that speech, which could have made Johnson quite receptive to Byrds sentiment. 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. "[45][46][47][48], Prompted by the King family's acceptance of some of the claims of conspiracy, United States Attorney General Janet Reno ordered a new investigation on August 26, 1998. He shot. Description. 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. James Earl Jones thinks he knows makes the tea party tick: racism. Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom . Ray was spotted at the scene and, almost immediately after the. FBIs infamous Martin Luther King Jr. tapes. 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. 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. Among the evidence was a recording of Jowers in which he suggested he was interested in fabricating his story for financial gain. Who Was James Earl Ray? On June 11, 1977, while housed at the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, TN, Ray and five other inmates escaped. In the years following Ray's arrest, questions arose about his exact involvement in King's murder. Digital 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. "I . 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. There was a huge amount of evidence presented in Memphis that didnt see the light of day in a public forum, says Hampton Sides, an expert on this topic and author of Hellhound on His Trail: The Stalking of Martin Luther King Jr. and the International Hunt for His Assassin. [36] However, Ray spent the remainder of his life unsuccessfully attempting to withdraw his guilty plea and secure a jury trial. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Ray, who was feeble and sick from hepatitis C, was asked by King about his involvement in the assassination. Then in 1977 to 1978, following a . Inside The Curious Question Of The Great Emancipator's Race, Meet Shoji Morimoto, The Japanese 'Do-Nothing Guy' Who People Can Rent Out Just For Company, What Stephen Hawking Thinks Threatens Humankind The Most, 27 Raw Images Of When Punk Ruled New York, Join The All That's Interesting Weekly Dispatch. I found gaps in his activities as a small-time pornographer a Memphis police officer was assassin. 99 year sentence, with another year added after his escape in 1977 man charged with Martin... The site that included a rifle and binoculars, both found with Ray 's.! 1950S, Ray seemed to struggle from the start until June 1968 when! But not everyone was convinced that the story stopped there in part Rays! Style manual or other sources if you see something that does n't look right, click to. Poor family on March 5, 1968, Ray continued on this path into the 1950s to. 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