James Earl Ray. Who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968? 2023 www.tennessean.com. Indeed, a former agent from the FBIs field office in Atlanta said the bureaus tracking of King was second only to the way they went after Jimmy Hoffa. In 1975, a group of former FBI agents called on Congress to investigate this harrassment. I grew up in one of the toughest neighborhoods in South Central Los Angeles. Also available from Amazon, With the purpose of writing about true crime in an authoritative, fact-based manner, veteran journalists J. J. Maloney and J. Patrick OConnor launched Crime Magazine in November of 1998. The incident was incredibly damaging to the cause of King and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). Kings convicted killer, James Earl Ray, pled guilty to his murder, received a life sentence, and died in prison of natural causes 29 years later. 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. James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to killing Dr. King; he challenged the plea and failed. For example, if you worked in the laundry you could charge people to starch and iron their clothes. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Brown_(judge)&oldid=1134528878, This page was last edited on 19 January 2023, at 03:56. It got so that the very sight of King would galvanize Ray. That description comes closer to Jerry Ray than to James Earl Ray. After buying the rifle, he came back to Atlanta where he came to know that King was planning a return trip to Memphis, Tennessee. He was a founder and the long-time chairman of the National States' Rights Party as well as the publisher of its newsletter, The Thunderbolt. . Stoner's hatred of blacks would not have been offensive to him Ray; he might have viewed it as a little extreme, but he would have admired Stoner for being a rebel and for having a network of trusted associates. There was, however, some question in our minds about Ray's coordination. Could Chinas Petroyuan Give Rise to a New World Energy Order? 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. Warren writes from Texas and can be reached at wmass@thenewamerican.com. You tend to know a great deal about people you've never met. 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. What Political Party was James Earl Ray part of? Its not clear when Coretta Scott King, widow of King, began to believe in Rays innocence. Los Angeles was the site of Ray's first arrest, for burglary, in 1949, and he ended up serving 90 days in jail. Now he is presumed to be guilty until he proves his innocence. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. Now confident that he could not be recognized, he again began a cross-country drive to Atlanta, Georgia. 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. At the Tag Plant I met Jerry Ward Davis, an Oklahoman who'd been shot in 1959 after kidnapping several guards (along with Rollie Laster and Ronnie Westberg) during an attempted escape that involved the use of zip-guns. FACT CHECK: We strive for accuracy and fairness. (Credit: State of Tennessee, Earl Warren/AP Photo), Coretta Kings specific belief in Rays innocence is a little tougher to explain. It would later be learned that Ray's classification card contained erroneous fingerprints, which were initially distributed nationally. James Earl Ray was born in a poor family on March 10, 1928 in Alton, Illinois, USA. Starting with his contribution to the presidential campaign of Wallace, Ray developed a strong animosity towards Martin Luther King Jr. The bullet was imprinted with six lands and six grooves and Drupal theme by ThemeSnap.com, That is why he could never have been a major drug dealer. His fathers name was George Ellis Ray and his mothers name was Lucille. When ODell was again exposed, King went through the same routine of announcing his dismissal. Ray watched it all on the cell-block TV at Jeff City. [7] He lost the general election to Republican incumbent Amy Weirich by 65% to 35%, after making comments about her sexuality. USA.gov, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration He was a fervent supporter of George Wallace, the Alabama governor who notoriously gave the 1963 "Segregation Now, Segregation Forever," and he was passionate about emigrating to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to be a part of the white minority in power there at the time. He boiled when King came on the tube. As with most cases, the answer is yes. The first year and a half I paid little or no attention to Ray. 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. In 1997, Kings son Dexter met Ray in prison and asked him whether he had killed his father. Judge Horne began increasing the quantity of days Brown could be held in contempt after Brown continued disrupting the court. people lost faith in the political system. For some 50 years, the federal government has maintained that James Earl Ray was the gunman who assassinated King that day. The verdict did convict Loyd Jowers and "other parties known and unknown" for their parts in the vast US government conspiracy to assassinate King. King said he liked the idea. "doesn't know anything.". Months later, he recanted his confession, without effect. Stoner certainly wasnt the only radical white supremacist running around, however-just the best known. The damage to the clothing was consistent with the caliber 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. period immediately preceding the assassination, James Earl Ray fled the scene of the crime immediately after the assassination, James Earl Ray's alibi for the time of the assassination, his story of "Raoul," 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. In the year 1952, he served a two year prison sentence for the armed robbery of a cab driver. James Earl Ray lowers his head as State Safety commissioner Greg O'Rear, white hat, and Highway Patrol Maj. Mickey McGuire, dark glasses, lead him to prison in Nashville, Tenn., March 11, 1969. Whatever noble goals King proclaimed, the subversive company he chose to keep severely neutralizes any good he may have aspired to and creates serious doubts about the sincerity of his stated mission. The prison officials knew that Ray's escape, and involvement in the King assassination, would forever blemish their professional records as penologists. So, even if I conceded the possibility that Ray had sold drugs, it would have been in small quantities, and for a brief period of time. The Q2 rifle-had general class characteristics of six lands and In one instance, the FBI sent him a tape that allegedly contained audio of him having an affair. However, immediately following King's killing, U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark announced that the killing was the work of a lone assassin. 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. 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. All three bore the fingerprints of an escaped convict named James Earl Ray. Dr. Martin . 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 PRPhotos. But even if Ray had help, the evidence strongly pointed to him pulling the trigger. What would it have taken for the Goldmans and the Browns to have believed Orenthals story that he was innocent? 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. Each day he would go to the state capital to work as a programmer. Along with the rifle, he also bought a 2X-7X scope to aim the target well. But a check by United Press International found him still employed by Kings organization. James. Brown then said, "OK, OK, I'll tell you what. "[10], In August 2015, Brown served five days in the Shelby County Jail after having been held in contempt of court in March 2014. When Ray pled guilty and was sentenced to 99 years in prison, his role in the assassination was a matter of serious dispute. The prosecutors have enough efficient evidence in establishing guilt against James Earl Ray concerning the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. First, James Earl Ray was in close enough vicinity of the Lorraine Hotel to successfully fire a clear shot to kill Dr. King from only a block away. In fact, Kings family was as convinced of Rays innocence as the families of Nicole and Ron were convinced of Simpsons guilt. James Earl Ray From the viewpoint of a man who served time with Ray in prison, then went on to become a journalist, . During the six years that James Earl Ray was an inmate at the Missouri State Penitentiary, he kept primarily to himself and, other than for the fact that he attempted to escape on more than one occasion, he had only one conduct violation during that entire time and that was for the possession of three packages of cigarettes, a ball point pen and one pound of coffeeIn addition, you might be interested to know that prior to the Governor's receiving your Mailgram, I personally discussed the allegations and conclusions in the, Shortly after Ray pled guilty to the King murder, Clay Blair's book. As a loner, it would be impossible for Ray to deal large quantities of drugs, because one of the cliques would simply rob him, and there wouldn't be much he could do, alone, against a clique with a dozen members. . [18][24][25], This article is about the person. Declassified FBI Paper Reveals Communist Associates of Martin Luther King, UN Biodiversity Beijing-Wall Street Convergence. Brown claimed that the sentence was excessive, and that he should have only been fined; Dan Michael, the Shelby County Juvenile Court chief magistrate that found Brown in contempt, responded that "This is not Hollywood. The explanation is much simpler. Dexter and his family too believed that he did not commit the crime and urged the government to grant a new trial to Ray. Jack Kershaw Is Dead at 96; Challenged Conviction in King's Death. 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. Moreover, Jerry Ray and James Earl Ray are close. There is an important flaw in that logic as well; the defendant was only sued for $100, which he was ordered to pay. A staunch segregationist, Earl Ray could not stomach the integration policies of King. [16] Brown surrendered to the Shelby County Sheriff on August 27, 2015, to serve his five-day sentence at the Shelby County Corrections Facility in Memphis. For years convicts had dreamed of escaping in the bread box, but everyone assumed it was searched in the truck tunnel (that they would poke steel rods through the garbage, for example). 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. 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. While he was still in Los Angeles, Ray had the desire to immigrate to Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe) where a white minority regime declared independence from England in the year 1965. Some in the community took offense to this assertion since the incident took place during Brown's Shelby County district attorney campaign and Brown brought his own lawyer with him during the 2014 incident, causing many to wonder if it was a ploy for publicity. It wasn't until November 9, 1970--years after Ray escaped from Jefferson City--that inmates were allowed to purchase small black-and-white television sets, which they could keep in their cells. The bureau wiretapped his phone and monitored his movements, taking advantage of times when he seemed particularly upset or depressed. Westberg, in turn, liked James Earl Ray. Their goal was to cover all aspects of true crime: Read More, Contents Copyright 1998-2020 by Crime Magazine | J. Patrick O'Connor Editor | E-mail CrimeMagazine.com, Designed by Orman. When ODells position as a member of the National Committee of the Communist Party was revealed in 1961, King supposedly fired him. Then other inmates would blame Don for Ray's capture. Benny Edmondson thought it was hilarious that William Bradford Huie thought he was "Raoul." There were no cellblock TVs in Jefferson City in 1963 and 1964. 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. (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." Since retiring from the staff several years ago, he has been a regular contributor to the magazine. He was deemed not fit for military service due to the lack of discipline. Indeed, to them the perception is reality. (Emphasis in original.). In subsequent disclosures, Ray said that he was not the only person involved in the murder of King. That caused the Reverend Emanuel Cleaver, then executive director of the Kansas City Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (and now Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri) to send a request to Missouri Gov. 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. He got a 99-year prison sentence, which he served until he died of liver failure due to hepatitis C on . Jerry Ray told me in the 1970s he had taken pictures of the countryside around the prison and had sent them into James Earl Ray. He made the FBI Most Wanted List before his recapture. Charley McCracken, a friend from the St. Louis City Jail, pointed him out to me in H-Hall, where the newly arriving convicts at the maximum-security penitentiary were oriented. Of the 2,500 men in the prison, fewer than 20 had ever tried to escape from inside the walls. He later joined the American army at the end of the Second World War and served in Germany. Weirich responded: "Its a sad day that someone that out of touch with reality considers himself a viable candidate for one of the important positions in Shelby County. He volunteered for Wallaces campaign and was very disappointed when Wallace could not win the campaign. a right twist by the rifle from which it had been fired. So, are there are still remaining questions about how everything happened the day of Kings assassination? 15. When the day came, Ray walked up to the bread box, got in, and asked a guy named Don to cover him. Also, after he moved to St. Louis he lived in south St. Louis, an area known for its racism. 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. Judge Horne did have the authority to hold him in contempt. In 1999, James Earl Ray was found innocent of killing Martin Luther King Jr. in the same way O.J. James Earl Ray was a racist, but there was circumstantial evidence that a businessman in St. Louis had established a $50,000 bounty for King's death." . A consequence of Kings alleged involvement in those riots was that it caught the attention of some powerful politicians. pleaded guilty to the first degree murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. These claims led Kings estate to sue Jowers in 1999 for a symbolic $100 in a wrongful death civil action. Certainly not enough to finance his travels to Mexico, Canada, England, etc., after his escape. This claim got some support from the 1978 special congressional committee which opined that Ray might not have acted alone in the assassination as it required meticulous planning. He was unable to give me any specifics but just responded that "it was common knowledge.". But a restaurant owner from Memphis was brought to the civil court in the year 1999 for being a part of the murder conspiracy. J.B. Stoner, however, would certainly have had the know-how for both, plus the white-supremacist background to explain why he would do it. As the paper notes: Through Levisons influence, other subversives were attracted to SCLC [The Southern Christian Leadership Conference, which King helped found]. bullet and also revealed the absence of nitrites (the presence of He decided to assassinate him to stop blacks from getting equal status to the whites. Such a conclusion must be drawn from a premise that the King family was willing to publicly, wrongfully, and unjustifiably vindicate Ray in order to accuse others simply to gain notoriety. James Earl Ray did it, case closed! Therefore, I challenge your authority to hear it. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. We miss you, James. McMillans false scenarios portray Ray as a rabid racist in prison. Westberg was involved in several more escape plots, but he had so much heat on him he could never personally use the routes he discovered. In order to hang onto your drugs, people had to know that you would kill them without hesitation. Those of us who had been involved in escape attempts did not consider Ray a joke. 10 Disturbing and Unexplained Facts About James Earl Ray, MLK's Assassin. [23] After his release, he compared himself to notable civil rights activists who spent significant time imprisoned for their activism like Martin Luther King Jr., Nelson Mandela, and Stokely Carmichael. 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. 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. After this Ray was on the run and was captured in the UK. (In the period 1963-64, there were 550 serious assaults inside Jefferson City, including hundreds of stabbings, which is why, An egregious example of shoddy workmanship is the book. 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. six grooves with a right twist. Levison has spent the major part of his life advancing communist interests. A man named Vincent Harding is credited with writing most of it. Barely 48 hours later, on March 31st, Johnson would publicly announce that he would not seek reelection. Wardens and guards know that an escape artist is a threat to their livelihood; more guards and wardens have lost their jobs because of escapes than for any other reason. The ballistics tests proved to be inconclusive and Ray remained in prison. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. A Democratic Senator from West Virginia delivered an extremely incendiary speech on the Senate Floor that was directed specifically at President Lyndon Johnson, also a Democrat. In 1997, King told Ray personally that both he and his family believed him. The New American magazine, published twice a month in print and daily online, is the essential news source for freedom-loving Americans. He was named after the church where his father held his first pastorate. But if you see something that doesn't look right, click here to contact us! Shortly after Ray pled guilty to the King murder, Clay Blair's book The Strange Case of James Earl Ray was published. Who Was James Earl Ray? As a reporter and columnist for this newspaper, I had the chance to interview the incarcerated Ray numerous times before his death on April 23, 1998. 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