[43] [44], Coretta Scott King said, "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. 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. In no uncertain terms, Byrd was calling on Johnson to stop Kings march on D.C. Please try again later. Man Ray was primarily known for his photography, which spanned both the Dada and Surrealism movements. Actor: Fired Up!. I found gaps in his movements that are mysterious and you just dont know who hes meeting with. James Earl Ray, Playboy Interview - A Candid Conversation About Conspiracy and Escape, September 1977 Written by Kennedys&King. In the mock trial, the prosecutor was Hickman Ewing. 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]. Somehow, Ray managed to escape from prison on two different occasions. His sister Marjorie died in a fire as a young child in 1933. 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. But officials dont believe Jowerss story. It contained a pair of binoculars, a newspaper with a story about King staying at the Lorraine Motel, and a .30-06 Remington Gamemaster that had fired one shot. James Earl Ray was born in a poor family on March 10, 1928 in Alton, Illinois, USA. Four days after that, Martin Luther King, Jr. was dead. He was 70. James Earl Ray's FBI wanted poster featured 1960 booking shots and a list of nine aliases. And what actually happened on that terrible day in Memphis? There is an important flaw in that logic as well; the defendant was only sued for $100, which he was ordered to pay. Less than a year after the assassination, Ray pleaded guilty to the crime. Ray himself countered that he was not the only one involved in the crime. 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. 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. Share Background Report Background Report Overview of James Earl Ray Lives in: Northville, Michigan Phone: View phone number Gender: Male They said he lacked credibility and seemed largely motivated by financial gain. James Earl Ray (1928-1998) Some of us may have heard of Dr. Pepper's efforts, as attorney for the King Family, to defend James Earl Ray (the man wrongly imprisoned for the assassination of Dr. King) as part of an effort to bring the actual killers to justice. Ray had continued using the Galt alias after his stint in Mexico, but when he made this purchase, he gave his name as Harvey Lowmeyer. Free shipping for many products! Three months later to the day, the man in Von Koss' office whose actual name was James Earl Ray fatally shot King on the . He briefly escaped from prison in 1977 and survived a murder attempt in 1981. 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. Findings by federal authorities and the House Select Committee on Assassinations are confident about some things. Ray was convicted in 1969 after entering a guilty pleathus forgoing a jury trial and the possibility of a death sentenceand was sentenced to . 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. 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. With rates currently down to half that in 2018 (18%), these theories seem unlikely to go away any time soon. James Earl Jones is the American actor who voiced Darth Vader in the 'Star Wars' franchise. On April 4, 1967 a year to the day prior to Kings assassination King delivered his Beyond Vietnam speech at Riverside Baptist Church in New York City. Since then, many members of Kings family and some of his closest supporters have come to believe Rays story and that a larger conspiracy had actually killed King. 10 Disturbing and Unexplained Facts About James Earl Ray, MLK's Assassin Ryleigh Nucilli January 17, 2017 83.5k views10 items Each year, the third Monday in January is a celebration to commemorate the life and accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr., the tireless civil rights activist who was gunned down in Memphis, TN, in 1968. Ray was born into a poor family on March 10, 1928, in Alton, Illinois. What were James earl rays political views? He claimed that, as a fugitive, he had met a blond Cuban named Raoul or Raul. Ray said he worked for Raoul in a gun-running enterprise, and he bought a .30-06 hunting rifle for him in Birmingham, Alabama. Ray was convicted on his 41st birthday after entering a guilty plea to forgo a jury trial. The 12-person jury verdict unanimous exonerated the "patsy" James Earl Ray for any role in the assassination of MLK. James Earl Ray, a career criminal who had briefly served in the U.S. Army, shot the advocate of non-violent resistance. Ray began claiming that a man he had met in Montreal back in 1967, who used the alias "Raul," had been involved in the assassination. On April 4, 1968, Ray stood in the bathtub of the bathroom, balanced his rifle on a window ledge and shot King as the civil rights leader was standing on a balcony outside of his motel room. [21], After purchasing the rifle and accessories, Ray drove back to Atlanta. The mock trial jury finally acquitted Ray. Its important to note that this verdict was not a criminal conviction, as is sometimes erroneously implied when this case surfaces online. Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren was a former California governor who also headed the commission that investigated the JFK assassination. They'll arrive at your door as innocent as children, longing for the past. On July 19, he returned to U.S. and the following March he pleaded guilty to murdering King. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. But not everyone was convinced that the story stopped there in part because Rays guilty plea stopped a trial from proceeding. Ray said he wasnt in the room when King was shot, but he was unable to consistently explain where he had been, or keep other important details in his story straight. 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 . 10 Disturbing and Unexplained Facts About James Earl Ray, MLK's Assassin. Soon, they seemed to have their answer. Ray met Anna Sandhu in 1977. Whats more, Ray claimed that he only pled guilty to the assassination because his lawyer and the FBI had pressed him to do so. James Earl Ray, a 40-year-old convicted armed robber who had escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City, Mo., on April 23, 1967, pleaded guilty on March 10, 1969, in Shelby County (Tenn.) Criminal Court to the first degree murder of Dr. King. A former theater and television producer, Edward remains active in charity. The King family started to publicly voice the opinion in 1997. In that speech, none other than Robert Byrd pointed to the Memphis riots and the violent consequences as a warning to Johnson not to allow the marches King was planning on Washington in the coming weeks. But within Martin Luther Kings family, there remains a persistent belief that Ray is innocent, and was set up to take the fall. Using mail-ordered equipment, he filmed and photographed local prostitutes. James Earl Jones thinks he knows makes the tea party tick: racism. You have reached your limit of 4 free articles. Housed at the Missouri State Penitentiary, Ray managed to escape the facility in 1967. Two years later, his family moved about an hour and a half away to Bowling Green, MO and then by 1935, they moved again to Ewing, MO where Ray lived through grade school. Did James Earl Ray Really Assassinate Martin Luther King Jr. Or Was He Set Up? By then, Ray was long gone. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). James Earl Jones was the voice of Darth Vader What political part was Hitler part of? The next day, Ray checked into a room in a boarding house just across the street from where King was staying, according to the Washington Post. James Earl Ray was born on March 10, 1928, in Alton, IL. Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. v. CBS, Inc. Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), Statue of Martin Luther King Jr. (Pueblo, Colorado), Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, San Francisco. FBIs infamous Martin Luther King Jr. tapes. 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. By 1969, James Earl Jones was no stranger to either the movie or TV screens. 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. They were recaptured on June 13. (Credit: State of Tennessee, Earl Warren/AP Photo), Coretta Kings specific belief in Rays innocence is a little tougher to explain. [32][33], Airport officials noticed that Ray carried another passport under a second name. What Political Party was James Earl Ray part of? First, a little background on James Earl Ray's upbringing to set up his path to St. Louis. Not long before Ray's death, Dexter King, Dr. King's son, visited the man presumed to be his father's killer. The authorities didnt catch up to Ray until June 1968, when they found him in London trying to board a plane to Belgium. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Martin Luther King Jr. giving his last speech, Ive Been To The Mountaintop, on April 3, 1968. He travelled there on a Canadian passport. In 1999, James Earl Ray was found innocent of killing Martin Luther King Jr. in the same way O.J. 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. James Earl Ray, the petty criminal who confessed to assassinating Martin Luther King Jr., then recanted and spent decades seeking a trial, died April 23, 1998, of liver failure. Over several decades, federal investigators have routinely concluded that Raoul doesnt exist. Ray was a racist and was quickly drawn to Wallace's segregationist platform. Two years later, his young sister Marjorie, died in a fire after playing with matches and accidentally catching herself on fire. [23][24][25], Ray fled to Atlanta in his white Ford Mustang, driving eleven hours. [19], Ray was soon on the road again and drove his Mustang to Birmingham, Alabama. In fact, Kings family was as convinced of Rays innocence as the families of Nicole and Ron were convinced of Simpsons guilt. These claims led Kings estate to sue Jowers in 1999 for a symbolic $100 in a wrongful death civil action. AP Photo. 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. 2023 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. 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. While there, Ray attended a local bartending school and took dance lessons. On June 11, 1977, while housed at the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, TN, Ray and five other inmates escaped. That investigation declassified scores of memos detailing the bureaus abusive behavior, but did not reveal any evidence that the FBI had formally plotted his death. Hardcover, 480 pages. [6] Ray left school at the age of 12. I think that contributed to the sense of conspiracy, like a What are they hiding? kind of thing. (Sides also appears in the PBS American Experience documentary on this subject, Roads to Memphis, airing Tuesday.). 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. Whether he was guilty or innocent, James Earl Ray led an eventful life from behind bars. King died about an hour later. Its not clear when Coretta Scott King, widow of King, began to believe in Rays innocence. But that biography doesnt explain why or how Ray moved from committing property crime and supporting racists, to killing a national icon. 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. 6:03 AM. 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. They quickly found the rifle with Rays fingerprints on it. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our. The Rays struggled to make ends meet, and as a consequence, the family moved several times during the early part of Ray's childhood. 1928. Ray died at Columbia Nashville Memorial Hospital in Nashville, Tennessee, on April 23, 1998. James Earl Ray killed Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. Louis. Four decades later, Sides, an editor-at-large for Outside magazine and the author of the historical books Ghost Soldiers and . [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. As with most cases, the answer is yes. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Over the decades, the story twisted and turned. 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 jury awarded the money to the estate, deciding that Kings assassination had likely beenthe result of a conspiracy that involved Jowers, not Ray, as well as ''others, including governmental agencies.''. CAPTION: Ray was apprehended (harnessed and handcuffed) for the murder of Martin Luther King Jr., in 1968 . Evidence does suggest that Ray had little stomach for the integration policies that were sweeping the country. 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. Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. 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