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. The day after the trial ended, Coretta King held a press conference in Atlanta to praise the decision. Among the evidence was a recording of Jowers in which he suggested he was interested in fabricating his story for financial gain. 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. After his assassination, he was memorialized by Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Those who express skepticism at the results of the 1999 trial in which James Earl Ray was found innocent of assassinating King have an incredible hurdle to overcome the belief of the King family, which sides with Ray. Fifty years later, some questions linger about why exactly the civil rights leader was targeted and whether the shooter acted alone. After reading about James Earl Ray, learn about the first and only time that Martin Luther King Jr. met Malcolm X. Carter, who has rarely used his full name-James Earl Carter, Jr.-was born October 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. Both were aliases used by James Earl Ray. Though intelligent, he was quick to anger. 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. He enlisted in the U.S. Army but was discharged for ineptness and lack of adaptability to military service in 1948. They said he lacked credibility and seemed largely motivated by financial gain. The jury also affirmed overwhelming evidence that identified someone else, not James Earl Ray, as the shooter, and that Mr. Ray was set up to take the blame. More answers below James Earl Ray (born 1965) is listed at 42036 Queen Anne Ct Northville, Mi 48167and has no known political party affiliation. He left Toronto in late May on a flight to England. And it is committed, as Barack Obama once promised, to fundamentally transforming America. And he asserted that he did not "personally shoot Dr. King," but may have been "partially responsible without knowing it," hinting at a conspiracy. Kershaw convinced Ray to submit to a polygraph test as part of an interview with Playboy. Ray's life outside the Army proved even less stable. 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. Housed at the Missouri State Penitentiary, Ray managed to escape the facility in 1967. And after passing through Canada, Alabama, Mexico, and Los Angeles, he eventually made his way to Memphis, Tennessee in April 1968. To people whod known Ray, the answer seemed obvious. 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. Dexter King, son of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., meeting with James Earl Ray the man who confessed to killing King. By 1969, James Earl Jones was no stranger to either the movie or TV screens. 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. https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/james-earl-ray. Those prints were already among the FBIs records for wanted individuals. 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. [23][24][25], Ray fled to Atlanta in his white Ford Mustang, driving eleven hours. In 1949 he left for Los Angeles, where in October of that year police arrested him for robbing a cafe. I do think [Ray] had help, but I never found any proof that a group helped him, says Sides. [29] Ray was then arrested at London Heathrow Airport attempting to leave the United Kingdom for Brussels. 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. According to Harding, King had already severely angered Johnson by delivering that speech, which could have made Johnson quite receptive to Byrds sentiment. [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. What were James earl rays political views? 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. His sister Marjorie died in a fire as a young child in 1933. Just a few days later, however, James Earl Ray changed his story. [16] On March 18, 1968, Ray left Los Angeles and began a cross-country drive to Atlanta, Georgia. All Rights Reserved. [36] However, Ray spent the remainder of his life unsuccessfully attempting to withdraw his guilty plea and secure a jury trial. 17, 1968, FBI headquarters Murkin file 44-38861", "Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr", "Why assassin James Earl Ray returned to Toronto", "Ramon Sneyd denies that he killed Dr King", "Log Cabin Democrat: King assassin Ray dies after lifelong legal fight 4/24/98", "1969: Martin Luther King's killer gets life", "Federal Bureau of Investigation History of Knoxville Office", "Jack Kershaw Is Dead at 96; Challenged Conviction in King's Death", "Dr. King's Son Says Family Believes Ray Is Innocent", "Ray Acquitted In Mock Trial 25 Years After King Slaying", "Memphis Jury Sees Conspiracy in Martin Luther King's Killing", "Complete Transcript of the Martin Luther King, Jr. But officials dont believe Jowerss story. He escaped in 1967. 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. Despite a stint in prison, Ray continued on this path into the 1950s. Ray was spotted at the scene and, almost immediately after the killing, his fingerprints were found on the gun. James Earl Ray made several trips to Montreal, Canada in the 1960's where he was hypnotically programmed by MK-ULTRA Dr. Ewen Cameron, who worked at Allen Memorial Hospital out of McGill University. 2023 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. So who is James Earl Ray, the man charged with assassinating Martin Luther King Jr.? Ray was convicted on his 41st birthday after entering a guilty plea to forgo a jury trial. 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. Two years later, his young sister Marjorie, died in a fire after playing with matches and accidentally catching herself on fire. An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. James Earl Ray, a career criminal who had briefly served in the U.S. Army, shot the advocate of non-violent resistance. 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. King vs. Loyd Jowers and conspirators unknown. Two years later, his father abruptly decided to move the family from Alton to Ewing, Missouri, after he was caught passing a bad check. In fact, King's family was as convinced of Ray's innocence as the families of Nicole and Ron were convinced of Simpson's guilt. Over the next several years, Ray embarked on a number of small crimes, serving various jail times. For now, James Earl Rays legacy depends on who you believe. 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. Both Ray and King arrived in Memphis in early April. Ray had seven siblings. 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. the result of a conspiracy that involved Jowers, not Ray, as well as ''others, including governmental agencies. An avid newspaper reader, Ray passed his time reading The Atlanta Constitution. 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. He travelled there on a Canadian passport. But then, he filed a motion to withdraw his plea. Whats more, investigators determined that a white Mustang spotted leaving the scene was registered to a Mr. Eric Galt and the gun had been purchased by a Mr. Harvey Lowmyer. 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 Rhodesian government expressed its disapproval. Huie investigated this story and discovered that Ray lied about some details. INTERVIEW OF JAMES EARL RAY BY JOHN AUBLE, KST-TV ST LOUIS - National Archives and Records Administration 1977-11-03 - ARC 43297, LI 233-MLK-150170 - DVD Cop. Evidence does suggest that Ray had little stomach for the integration policies that were sweeping the country. 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. I Do Understand Racism'. Ray himself countered that he was not the only one involved in the crime. James. On the night of the shooting, I had left the rifle with Raoul.. In 1959, he was sentenced to 20 years for holding up a grocery store in St. Louis. But what do you know about James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King? [2] James Earl Ray was the oldest of nine children,[3] including John Larry Ray,[4] Franklin Ray, Jerry William Ray,[5] Melba Ray, Carol Ray Pepper, Suzan Ray, and Marjorie Ray. The bureau wiretapped his phone and monitored his movements, taking advantage of times when he seemed particularly upset or depressed. For 72 hours after his guilty plea, James Earl Ray stayed quiet. He maintained that he was innocent of killing MLK until his own death in 1998. 4 There was no trial because of his confession. On June 10, 1977, Ray and six other convicts escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee. King and his associates came to town on April 3 and checked into the Lorraine Motel. The drifter left after a 45-minute session and never came back. Hardcover, 480 pages. 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. But Ray offered no motive himself. [citation needed]. James Earl Jones is the American actor who voiced Darth Vader in the 'Star Wars' franchise. He pleaded guilty to murder on the advice of his attorney in order to avoid a jury trial. That year, Kings son Dexter Scott King visited Ray in prison to draw attention to the familys push to appeal his case. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. 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