When prominent people die violently, they become martyrs in some peoples eyes, and there is a reluctance on their part even to consider anything that blemishes the heroic image they have formed of the individual. After Kings violent death, and the sealing of most government files related to King, the natural tendency of people to not want to speak ill of the dead set in. With it came a letter threatening King with public exposure if he didnt kill himself, and claiming that the sender had evidence of other affairs. Ray, whose previous history as a criminal was notable only for its ineptness, fled to Canada after the killing, assumed a new identity complete with credentials, then fled to England where he was arrested trying to fly out to another country. The 12-person jury verdict unanimous exonerated the "patsy" James Earl Ray for any role in the assassination of MLK. But what do you know about James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King? Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Riots erupted in Memphis; one person was killed and sixty were injured. Even though he played an elitist liberal psychiatrist on "Frasier," Kelsey Grammer is a Republican in real life. assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.: The assassin: James Earl Ray, 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). bullet and also revealed the absence of nitrites (the presence of He was right, but he would never be that man. Brown apparently raised his voice and interrupted a magistrate judge while representing a woman seeking child support in Shelby County Juvenile Court. He made the FBI Most Wanted List before his recapture. "[11], Responding to a bar discipline complaint filed regarding the contempt incident, Brown declared himself unable to adequately defend himself as a result of health issues including type II diabetes, hypertension, and stress. I served my six months, got out and was put right back in for using amphetamine. On the night of November 29, 1988, near the impoverished Marlborough neighborhood in south Kansas City, an explosion at a construction site killed six of the citys firefighters. This tribunal on a General Sessions Court's authority is insufficient to establish you. On 30 January 1961, Dexter Scott King, the third child of Martin and Coretta Scott King, was born. McMillan is the primary source for the widespread belief that Ray was a major drug dealer in Jeff City; that he smuggled large sums of money out of prison; that he used that money to finance his travels after his escape. Benny was fascinated with the idea of escaping, although he never actually tried while inside the walls. His perceived inability to deal successfully with those problems led to an overwhelming defeat in his bid for reelection. The first time I saw James Earl Ray, he had just arrived at the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City. He employed such Communists as Bayard Rustin and Hunter Pitts ODell; and he worked closely with Carl Braden and James Dumbrowski. He filmed local prostitutes during their work hours in pursuit of his cinematographic dream, but he eventually left Puerto Vallarta after being jilted by his girlfriend who, coincidentally, was also one of the prostitutes he filmed. Said Byrd: Yesterday, Mr. President, the Nation was given a preview of what may be in store for this city by the outrageous and despicable riot that Martin Luther King helped to bring about in Memphis, Tenn. She told a congressional subcommittee that while she was a member of the Communist Party, she knew Martin Luther King to be closely connected with the Communist Party. Brown joined The American Opinion Speakers Bureau, and while on the lecture circuit, she told audiences that King was the hero of Americas Communists. Stoner certainly wasnt the only radical white supremacist running around, however-just the best known. After his escape, Early Ray was continuously on the move and travelled across USA, Canada, and Mexico. Jack Kershaw Is Dead at 96; Challenged Conviction in King's Death. Its important to note that this verdict was not a criminal conviction, as is sometimes erroneously implied when this case surfaces online. Warren writes from Texas and can be reached at wmass@thenewamerican.com. The new trial was never granted. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. All the seven prisoners who escaped from the prison were recaptured within two days and sent back to the prison. On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Over the years, as book after book has been published on the King case, numerous conspiracy theories have been advanced: that the FBI was involved; that the CIA feared King would come out in opposition to the Vietnam War; that rival black leaders felt King's non-violent approach was a hindrance to black progress; that white supremacists wanted him out of the way for obvious reasons. "doesn't know anything.". James Earl Ray was white. Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. He was found to be legally liable and a sum of $100 was accepted by Kings family in restitution. 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. He later joined the American army at the end of the Second World War and served in Germany. There was one week in 1968 when much happened. PRPhotos. Declassified FBI Paper Reveals Communist Associates of Martin Luther King, UN Biodiversity Beijing-Wall Street Convergence. rear of a roominghouse at 422 1/2 South Main Street, Memphis, Tenn. James Earl Ray purchased the rifle that was used to shoot Dr. King and transported But they are unanimous on one key point: James Earl Ray did not kill Martin Luther King.. I'll be out of here very shortly on a Petition for Habeas Corpus and I'll bring up all these problems and guess what, you might not be operating tomorrow. Los Angeles was the site of Ray's first arrest, for burglary, in 1949, and he ended up serving 90 days in jail. Stokely Carmichael of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), an extremist Black Nationalist organization, has conferred with King. The paper then listed some of the ways Levison had supported and influenced King, as far back as 1956: He actively involved himself in fundraising drives for King. In one instance, the FBI sent him a tape that allegedly contained audio of him having an affair. James Earl Ray. Four days after that, Martin Luther King, Jr. was dead. Manhunt in the mountains: James Earl Ray and the Brushy Mountain Prison breakout of 1977, How The Tennessean covered Martin Luther King Jr.'s death in its pages, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. On Feb. 17, 1997, while working for The Tennessean, I sat in the office of ReverendKings youngest son, Dexter, then chairman, president and chief executive officer of the King Center for Non Violent Social Change in Atlanta, as he told me why his family felt Ray should have a new trial. it from Birmingham, Ala., to Memphis, Tenn., where he rented a room at 422 1/2 South Main Street, and moments after the assassination, he dropped Julia Brown, author of I Testify: My Years as an F.B.I. Its not clear when Coretta Scott King, widow of King, began to believe in Rays innocence. The massive publicity surrounding Benny's capture caused Gold Medal Books to contact him and ask him to write 20,000 words of autobiographical data, so they could bring out an "instant" paperback book about him. In the five decades since Martin Luther King Jr.was shot dead by an assassin at age 39, his children have worked tirelessly to preserve his legacy, sometimes with sharply different views on how best to do that, an article in the March 30 Washington Post said. The King familys belief in Rays innocence was partly influenced by the strange case of Loyd Jowers, whod owned the restaurant below Rays rented room in Memphis. In the meantime James Earl Ray had also heard about the bread box, probably through Westberg. He simply hounded you (not that Ray was a coward, or afraid to fight, but he wasn't the type to start the fight). 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. James Earl Ray was an American assassin convicted for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. After his conviction, he spent all his life in prison. On January 26, 1976, Time magazine devoted four pages to the King assassination, drawing heavily on material from McMillan's book, which was scheduled for publication later that year: In 1963 and 1964 Martin Luther King was on TV almost every day, talking defiantly about how black people were going to get their rights, insisting that they would accept with nonviolence all the terrible violence that white people were inflicting on them, until the day of victory arrived, until they did overcome. The facts are these. Since Ray's arrest for the assassination, he has become mythified. There was, however, some question in our minds about Ray's coordination. Hunter Pitts ODell, former National Committee member of the CPUSA, was employed by SCLC. "[20] Among the first to rear his head in Ray's defense was J.B. Stoner, a lawyer who was also head of the National State's Rights Party (and who would later be charged with the bombing of a Birmingham church in which several children died). There is abundant evidence of a major high level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband, Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta King said at a press conference in 1999, according to The King Center. He reacted as if King's remarks were directed at him personally. 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. Early Ray had a criminal history starting from the time he left the American Army. A year before, hed escaped from Missouri State Penitentiary while serving a 20-year sentence, and was on the lam at the time King was shot. James Earl Ray, (born March 10, 1928, Alton, Illinois, U.S.died April 23, 1998, Nashville, Tennessee), American assassin of the African American civil-rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Ray had been a small-time crook, a robber of gas stations and stores, who had served time in prison, once in Illinois and twice in Missouri, and received a suspended sentence in Los Angeles. And by the way, what is that, Magistrate, sir, with due respect. Further information about this communist was found in the book, Its Very Simple: The True Story of Civil Rights, by the late author and speaker Alan Stang. The George Wallace Democrat of the 1960's aligns with the and is the Republican Party we know today. This time, Ray rented an apartment for $100 a month at 1535 N. Serrano Ave., a. Over the years, parties other than Ray have filed additional lawsuits related to the assassination. The King family started to publicly voice the opinion in 1997. Christopher S. Bond (now U.S. Also, after he moved to St. Louis he lived in south St. Louis, an area known for its racism. Moreover, Jerry Ray and James Earl Ray are close. Milteer told the informant that a scheme was in the works to kill President Kennedy. Brown later worked for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He was a democrat. 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. Once, while pulling a robbery, the victims refused to give Ray the money, and he fell out of a window and damned near killed himself. The bread box would have to pass through the truck tunnel, where all incoming and outgoing vehicles were searched. https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/james-earl-ray-30416.php. Although Benny was eventually released from prison and returned to work for the engineering firm he'd been employed by at the time of his arrest in Canada, interest in him by then had died out, and the book was never published. In the course of our conversation, I pressed him for details regarding drug sales or any other illegal activities in which staff and/or inmates might have been involved. King said he liked the idea. Ray pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. If it hadn't been for the two escape attempts, Ray would almost certainly have been paroled by the time he actually did escape. He is the one who sits in leadership and is the most powerful person of a 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. He paid for a nose job in cash. In the year 1977, Ray escaped from the prison for the second time along with six other convicts from the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary located in Petros, Tennessee. A man named Vincent Harding is credited with writing most of it. (In the period 1963-64, there were 550 serious assaults inside Jefferson City, including hundreds of stabbings, which is why Time magazine called it the "bloodiest 47 acres in America." In my interviews with him, I've found him to be eerily unflappable. He might have eked out enough money to meet his basic needs (he didn't smoke), but not much more than that. In fact, Kings family was as convinced of Rays innocence as the families of Nicole and Ron were convinced of Simpsons guilt. The bullet was imprinted with six lands and six grooves and On January 26, 1976, My findings are that there is nothing whatsoever to substantiate any conclusion that James Earl Ray financed either his escape or his activities after his escape through any means while he was an inmate at the Missouri State Penitentiary. Why did James Earl Ray have cancer? Ireland. The murder of Lee Harvey Oswald had closed the door to an open trial that might have answered the question of whether Oswald acted alone, or was part of a conspiracy. It was even rumored that on the second attempt he'd gotten tired of hiding out, and had deliberately set off an alarm so he could get caught and get something to eat. (153) 9 A staff report, An Analysis of James Earl Ray's Trip to New Orleans, December 15-21, 1967, appears in XIII Appendix to the HSCA-MLK hearings (hereinafter referred to as staff report: New Orleans trip). On July 19, he returned to U.S. and the following March he pleaded guilty to murdering King. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison. At the same time I was getting more involved in art, and my thoughts were turning away from escape and toward trying to make parole. PRPhotos. So Westberg, who was assigned to work in the kitchen at that time, figured a man could get in the bread box, have a tray of bread placed on top of him, and pass right out of the prison (the box also had a lid over the top tray of bread). As a former judge here, we have a rule in the 30th Judicial Districtit says every single Magistrate Referee has to be unanimously approved by every Circuit, Chancery, and Criminal Court Judge. The 20-page paper, which was classified as. Therefore, ironically, the society that King intended to bear the cost for his civil disobedience was to be ablack society. James Earl Ray knowingly, intelligently, and voluntarily Later, though, he claimed he left the prints to gain international notoriety. 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. Anyone who remembers the looks on their faces, their resolve and their anger would have to concede that it would have required nothing short of cold hard facts. He is a male registered to vote in Wayne County, Michigan. I've seen it happen again and again. The day after a stabbing, for example, virtually everyone in the prison who is considered "solid" would know who had done the stabbing. After the publication of the Playboy story, Ray fired Kershaw when he found that Playboy paid him $11,000 for facilitating the interview. When James Earl Ray bought the rifle that killed King, he mentioned that he was going hunting with his brother. 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