James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was convicted of the assassination of American civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther
King, Jr., which occurred on April 4, 1968 in
Memphis, Tennessee. Ray also has the distinction of having been twice placed on the
FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list.
Capture and trial
A little more than two months after King's death, on June 8, 1968, Ray, an escaped convict who had broken out of the Missouri State
Penitentiary a year before the assassination, was captured at London's Heathrow
Airport while trying to leave the United Kingdom on a false Canadian passport in
the name of Ramon George Sneyd. Ray was quickly extradited to Tennessee and charged with
King's murder, confessing to the assassination on March 10,
1969, (though he recanted this confession three days later) and was sentenced to 99 years in
prison. On the advice of his attorney Percy Foreman, Ray took a guilty plea to avoid a
trial conviction and therefore the possibility of receiving the death penalty.
Ray later fired Foreman as his attorney (from then on derisively calling him "Percy Fourflusher") claiming that a man he met
in Montreal, Canada, using the alias "Raoul" had been deeply involved, as was his
brother Johnny, but not himself, further asserting that although he didn't "personally shoot Dr. King," he may have been
"partially responsible without knowing it," hinting at a conspiracy. He spent the remainder of his life attempting
(unsuccessfully) to withdraw his guilty plea and secure the trial he never had.
Escape
On June 11, 1977 Ray made his second appearance, this time as the 351st entry, on the FBI Most Wanted
Fugitives list. He and six other convicts had just escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros,
Tennessee on June 10, 1977. Shortly after, Ray testified
that he did not shoot King to the House Select Committee
on Assassinations. They were recaptured on June 13, of the same year, and returned to
prison.[1] One more year was added to his previous sentence
to total 100 years.
Retrial
In 1997 Martin Luther King's son
Dexter King met with Ray, and publicly supported Ray's efforts to obtain a retrial.
Loyd Jowers, a restaurant owner in Memphis, was brought to civil court and sued as being
part of a conspiracy to murder Martin
Luther King; Jowers was found liable, and the King family was awarded $100 in retribution as a sign that they were not
following the case for monetary reasons.
Dr. William Pepper remained James Earl Ray's attorney until Ray's death and then
carried on, on behalf of the King family. The King family does not believe Ray had anything to do with the murder of Martin
Luther King.[2]
Death
Ray died in prison on April 23, 1998, at the age of 70 from
complications related to kidney disease, caused by hepatitis C probably contracted as a
result of a blood transfusion given after a stabbing
while at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. It was also confirmed in
the autopsy that he died of liver failure.
References
Further reading
- Ray, James Earl, "Who Killed Martin Luther King?: The True Story by the Alleged Assassin," Washington D.C.: National Press
Books, 1992, ISBN 0915765934
- Pepper, William, "An Act of State: The Execution of Martin Luther King"
- Posner, Gerald, "Killing the Dream: James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr."
- Ray, James Earl with Saussy, Tupper, "Tennessee Waltz: The Making of a Political Prisoner"
- McMillan, George, "The Making of an Assassin"
- Heathrow, John, "Why Did He Do It?"
- Melanson, Dr. Phillip H., "The Martin Luther King Assassination: New Revelations on the Conspiracy and Cover-Up,
1968-1991"
- Green, Jim, "Blood and Dishonor on a Badge of Honor"
External links
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