Some witnesses, including then-New York Times reporter Earl Caldwell, said they saw a man moving in the thick bushes behind Jims Grill, below the bathroom. (In the event, the verdict referred only to "governmental agencies" rather than the U.S. government specifically, a term that could include anything from local police to the CIA.) Ray was born in 1928 and grew up outside St. Louis. In 1952, he served two years for the armed robbery of a taxi driver in Illinois. James Earl Ray was capture in Nashville,Tennesee. That claim prompted the family to push unsuccessfully for a new trial. The source of his money is the single biggest question.. The U.S. government was sued and found culpable for the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr., but the news media refused to report it. During a rainstorm on February 1, 1968, two black sanitation workers in Memphis lost their lives when the trucks compactor He got a 99-year prison sentence, which he served until he died of liver failure due to hepatitis C on Apr. Convicted assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. (19281998), Speeches, writings, movements, and protests, Initial convictions and first escape from prison, Martin Luther King Jr. assassination conspiracy theories, Interview with James Earl Ray by John Auble, United States House Select Committee on Assassinations, "James Earl Ray, 70, Killer of Dr. King, Dies in Nashville", "The assassin's brother: John Larry Ray marks time in Quincy, still trying to set the record straight", "James Earl Ray: The Man Who Killed Dr. Martin Luther King, chapter 3", "Report of laboratory, FBI headquarters to Memphis, Apr. (Video: The Washington Post). However, Jowers had long asserted he had no involvement in the event before suddenly and bizarrely claiming, twenty-five years after the fact, he had been paid to hire a hit man to kill Martin Luther King. All Rights Reserved. Pepper wrote three books outlining the conspiracy, most recently The Plot to Kill King in 2016, which were largely ignored by the media. In fact, the idea that there had been a conspiracy to kill King that, even if Ray fired the gun, he did so at the behest of larger forces began to spread right away, and not without some reason. Most black families lacked fathers with policies encouraging the breakdown of the family through welfare programs. The UK quickly extradited Ray to Tennessee, where he was charged with King's murder. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. After Coretta King and her family pleaded with President Bill Clinton in 1998 to reinvestigate the case, Attorney General Janet Reno assigned civil rights special counsel Barry Kowalski, who previously prosecuted the Los Angeles police officers in the Rodney King beating, to review the newest conspiracy allegations. Unbeknownst to Ray, however, a death sentence would have been commuted as unconstitutional under the de facto moratorium in place since 1967 and following Furman v. Georgia. Dexter King called his family together, his brother Martin said in an interview, and urged them to file a civil suit against Jowers as a means of seeking the truth. [52], Ten years later, Ray's other brother, John Larry Ray, co-authored a book with Lyndon Barsten titled Truth At Last: The Untold Story Behind James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.[39]. He was convinced that he would escape capture because of his intelligence and cunning, and he also believed that Governor of Alabama George Wallace would soon be elected to the presidency, so that Ray would only be confined in prison for a short time, pending a presidential pardon by Wallace. A bunch of self- centered people trashing Target stores? No one saw the actual shot fired. Ray dismissed Foreman as his attorney and thereafter derisively called him "Percy Fourflusher." Our investigation of these most recent allegations, as well as several exhaustive previous official investigations, found no reliable evidence that Dr. King was killed by conspirators who framed James Earl Ray. "I had nothing to do with killing your father," Ray said. Huie investigated this story and discovered that Ray lied about some details. No. As far as I knew, he was a common bandit who suddenly tried for his 15 minutes. The biggest notoriety he had was as an escape artist. Tennessee Who killed Martin Luther King Jr.? James Earl Ray began a record of scrapes, big and small, with the law serving terms in Joliet and Pontiac prisons in Illinois and Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary in Kansas. [17], Arriving in Atlanta on March 24, 1968, Ray checked into a rooming house. In 1959, he was caught stealing $120 in an armed robbery of a Kroger store in St. Given the minor sum of money awarded, a jury would have little incentive to not find in favor of an account supported by both sides of a flawed case. Ray died while that campaign was ongoing, but though the King family did win $100 in a 1999 wrongful death suit after the man charged as being part of a conspiracy didnt show up to the trial an official inquiry reiterated that the evidence against Ray was overwhelming and that there was no credibility to various theories that anyone else had been involved. [23][24][25], Ray fled to Atlanta in his white Ford Mustang, driving eleven hours. He escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary in 1967 by hiding in a truck transporting bread from the prison bakery. Our thorough investigation, Kowalski said recently, just like four official investigations before it, found no credible or reliable evidence that Doctor King was killed by conspirators who framed James Earl Ray. Is this who we now are? King was then assassinated by James Earl Ray, a Democrat. Magazines, Digital Fifty years later, some questions linger about why exactly the civil rights leader was targeted and whether the shooter acted alone. [6] Ray left school at the age of 12. Most famously, in 1997 a dying Ray told Dexter King, his victims son, that he didnt do it. The Republican Party fought the KKK with the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 to stop their terror, which was opposed by Democrats. A package was abandoned close to the site that included a rifle and binoculars, both found with Ray's fingerprints. Top of Page To understand why Biden feels this way, you must know the history of why Biden and the Democrat Party think they own the Black America. [32][33], Airport officials noticed that Ray carried another passport under a second name. That doesnt mean there are no questions left. They want to tease Black America just enough to have them turn out to vote and then see them again in four years. Consequently, Jowers has only confessed in circumstances where candor has not been required by law or where he has not been required to reconcile his prior inconsistencies. Was James earl ray white? John Campbell, who investigated the case for years in the Shelby County, Tenn., district attorneys office, said that Rays version of events kept changing. His office issued a report in 1998 saying Ray was responsible. Questions and speculation may always surround the assassination of Dr. King and other national tragedies. Housed at the Missouri State Penitentiary, Ray managed to escape the facility in 1967. I dont believe James Earl Ray killed my father. At the age of 16, Ray left his parents and returned to Alton, where he moved in with his grandmother and landed work in the dye room of the International Shoe Tannery. By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism. Jowers, however, has never made his conspiracy claims under oath. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our. He had a vehement hatred of folks of color.. Jowers stashed the rifle behind the bar and said it was later picked up by Raul and tossed in the Mississippi River. August 29, 1968 #286 One week on the list He shot and killed King in Memphis on April 4, 1968, confessing to the crime the following March. Even a 1978 special congressional committee said there was the "likelihood" that Ray did not act alone. In segregated D.C., few officials feared rioting. Kim LaCapria is a former writer for Snopes. In court, Ray answered the standard series of questions about whether he was knowingly and voluntarily admitting he committed murder. He continued to visit Ray until his death and presided over his funeral. Intermittently, rumors have circulated on social media holding that the United States government was found guilty in 1999 of conspiring to assassinate Martin Luther King, Jr. He also bought a Redfield 2x-7x scope, which he had mounted to the rifle. Im just going to try to sell it and make a buck, Red Strickland, an independent automobile dealer from Memphis, said at an auction Thursday after buying the Mustang once driven by James Earl Ray. The FBI had just caught James Earl Ray at Heathrow Airport in London. Those facts leave no surprise as to why a man such as Ray would murder a man whose lifes work was focused on racial equality. [13], He considered emigrating to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where a predominantly white minority regime had unilaterally assumed independence from the United Kingdom in 1965. Ray pleaded guilty to the murder of King on March 10, 1969. BND archives Ray blinked in the original photo. Louis. Over the next several years, Ray embarked on a number of small crimes, serving various jail times. This case overlooked so much contradictory evidence that never was presented, what other option did the jury have but to accept Mr. Pepper's version? Many leaders like Candace Owens in the black community have begun to spread the message of #Blexit, a movement that encourages Black America to leave the Democrat Party. In 1997, Dexter King went with Pepper to meet Ray in prison, and was photographed shaking Rays hand. [37] A year was added to Ray's previous sentence, increasing it to a full century. In a time of chaos, a breakout year for black athletes, At Folsom prison, Johnny Cash found his cause. Youre going to kill somebody and then drop the gun right there? Ray claimed that he had given the gun to Raul, but only Rays fingerprints were on the gun. And the total amount of damages you find for the plaintiffs entitled to is one hundred dollars. Martin Luther King Jr. met Malcolm X just once. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Ray's first conviction for criminal activity, a burglary in California, came in 1949. U.S. public has turned against Ukraine war intervention, Ceres needs safer bike lanes, more animal control, Angel Richardson's Christmas Parade | Studio209, CIF D-4AA State Championship: Escalon vs Northwood | The Blitz Season 10, CIF D5-AA Regional Championship: Hughson vs Ripon Christian | The Blitz Season 10. In 1949 he left for Los Angeles, where in October of that year police arrested him for robbing a cafe. WebJames Earl Ray Escapes. I dont know what happened, but the truth of what happened to Dr. King should be made available for historys sake.. With rates currently down to half that in 2018 (18%), these theories seem unlikely to go away any time soon. Im certainly clear that there has been a conspiracy, from the government down to the mafia there had to be more than one person involved in all of this. Ray was white and was quickly drawn to Wallace's segregationist platform. So, despite 50 years of evidence fingering James Earl Ray and a consensus about his role among most scholars who study King, some people remain unconvinced. [19], Ray was soon on the road again and drove his Mustang to Birmingham, Alabama. Blakey said recently he had tried to prove a conspiracy but could not. More Memphis witnesses came forward, including a former girlfriend of Jowers, who said she saw him with the rifle shortly after the gunshot rang out, and saw him break it down and place it in the bar. [42], In 1998, and continuing into 1999, Pepper represented the King family in a wrongful death civil suit against Memphis restaurant owner Loyd Jowers, whose restaurant was near the Lorraine Motel. Martin Luther King, a Republican, fought against Democrats and racism with President John F. Kennedy and Attorney General Robert Kennedy, Democrats, wiretapping both King and his organizer, A. Phillip Randolph. As Sides points out, it isnt surprising that members of Kings family and his fellow civil-rights leaders would have suspected that some larger government conspiracy to kill the minister must been at play. The Republican Party was formed in 1854 as an anti-slavery party with Abraham Lincoln as their first president. [29] Ray was then arrested at London Heathrow Airport attempting to leave the United Kingdom for Brussels. His son RFK Jr. doesnt believe it was Sirhan Sir How the assassinations of 1968 led the NRA to become the lobbying force it Two sprinters gave the black-power salute at the Olympics. I believe Ray was a bluedog democrat but according to Mr. Kings son there is some strong doubt as to whether he was the one who killed his dad. He insisted that a man he'd met in Canada, who went by the name of Raoul, had orchestrated the murder and ultimately shot King. Something triggered something in him, Sides says, but exactly what that trigger was is unclear. A courtroom artist, Sandhu drew Ray during his trial for a prison escape attempt. Assassination Conspiracy Trial", "The Execution of Martin Luther King William Pepper (ONE of TWO)", "The Execution of Martin Luther King, William Pepper (TWO of TWO)", "Justice Dept. "[45][46][47][48], Prompted by the King family's acceptance of some of the claims of conspiracy, United States Attorney General Janet Reno ordered a new investigation on August 26, 1998. A confirmed racist and small-time criminal, James Earl Ray began plotting the assassination of revered civil rights leader .css-47aoac{-webkit-text-decoration:underline;text-decoration:underline;text-decoration-thickness:0.0625rem;text-decoration-color:inherit;text-underline-offset:0.25rem;color:#A00000;-webkit-transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;transition:all 0.3s ease-in-out;}.css-47aoac:hover{color:#595959;text-decoration-color:border-link-body-hover;}Martin Luther King Jr. in early 1968. Biden sought support from follow segregationists in the fight against desegregated busing. 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. 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. [14] The notion of living in Rhodesia continued to appeal to Ray for several years afterwards, and it was his intended destination after King's assassination. All Rights Reserved. He has claimed that while in Montreal he met a man named Raul, of varying physical descriptions over the years, who enlisted him in several small gunrunning schemes, and instructed him to buy a rifle in Birmingham, Ala. On the afternoon of April 4, Ray checked into a boardinghouse in Memphis, with a bar called Jims Grill on the first floor. Kershaw convinced Ray to submit to a polygraph test as part of an interview with Playboy. We were living in the period of assassinations,Young said. 9 December 1999. In the U.S. Senate, Democrat Majority Leader, Robert KKK Byrd, was a former Grand Kleagle, a recruiter, for the KKK and opposed every policy benefiting Black America. For example, in an impromptu, recorded conversation with a state investigator, Jowers characterized a central feature of his story that someone besides Ray shot Dr. King with a rifle other than the one recovered at the crime scene as "bullshit." .css-m6thd4{-webkit-text-decoration:none;text-decoration:none;display:block;margin-top:0;margin-bottom:0;font-family:Gilroy,Helvetica,Arial,Sans-serif;font-size:1.125rem;line-height:1.2;font-weight:bold;color:#323232;text-transform:capitalize;}@media (any-hover: hover){.css-m6thd4:hover{color:link-hover;}}Idaho Murders: What Led Police to Bryan Kohberger, Adnan Syed: A Complete Timeline of His Trial, Appeal and Killing of Hae Min Lee. Ray replied, "No. [38] The tests ultimately proved inconclusive. At one point, he claimed a person named Raul told him to kill King, but theres no convincing proof of such an idea, according to Sides. If the King family wanted a rubber stamp of their own view of the facts, they got it.". Investigators announced that James Earl Ray, an escaped prisoner, had fatally shot King. I wholeheartedly applaud the verdict of the jury and I feel that justice has been well served in their deliberations. In recent years,Pepper has tracked down witnesses in Memphis who support his theory of the case: that J. Edgar Hoover used his longtime assistant, Clyde Tolson, to deliver cash to members of the Memphis underworld, that those shadowy figures then hired a sharpshooting Memphis police officer, and that officer not Ray fired the fatal shot. There were things in Memphis that were suspicious and raised questions in my mind, Lawson said. As noted in the New York Times' report of the verdict, the one-sided presentation of the case allowed for no other result: John Campbell, an assistant district attorney in Memphis, who was not part of the civil proceedings but was part of the criminal case against Mr. Ray, said, "I'm not surprised by the verdict. Campbell said Jowers had been recorded saying that he would tailor his story for financial gain. Conspiracies have long gripped the American imagination, from JFKs assassination in 1963 to Deputy White House Counsel Vince Fosters suicidein 1993 to Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Richs slayingin 2016. No vast sums of money were awarded (the Kings sought only $100), and Ray was not exonerated. By 1924, the KKK was part of the Democrats party platform as they marched in unison in New York City to the Democrat National Convention. 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.). Estate of Martin Luther King, Jr., Inc. v. CBS, Inc. Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), African American founding fathers of the United States, Statue of Martin Luther King Jr. (Pueblo, Colorado), Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, San Francisco. He was constantly in and out of prison so he never voted. He was a segregationist but neither a Republican or a Democrat. No I didn't." He can be emailed at mantecarepublicans@yahoo.com, Ceres a cleaner place now due to beefed up Code Enforcement staff, CUSD keeping watchful eye on declining student enrollment, City prepares for new digs for Public Works, Adamsville: Stanislaus County's short-lived & forgotten county seat, CUSD honors standout classified and confidential employees, Espinoza, Breshears represent Hawks at State, Tough draw for CHS girls in soccer playoffs, CV boys advance to Division-I semifinal round, CV grad Velasquez wraps up UC Davis soccer career, Theyre not getting away with it in Ceres. Ray told this version of the assassination and his flight during the following two months to journalist William Bradford Huie. However, President Trump has pumped fear into the Democrats as his policies are benefiting Black America. Experts have also studied Rays movements leading up to the assassination, including a mysterious trip to New Orleans that March and a move to Atlanta, the funding and logistics of which raise questions. For the King family and others in the civil rights movement, the FBIs obsession with King in the years leading up to his slaying in Memphis on April 4, 1968 pervasive surveillance, a malicious disinformation campaign and open denunciations by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover laid the groundwork for their belief that he was the target of a plot. Jowers also abandoned his initial allegation that he received $100,000 with which he hired a hit man to kill Dr. King, claiming instead that he merely held the money for the conspirators. Your answer to that one is also yes. Did the news media, led by Walter Cronkite, lose the war in Vietnam? Its still a mystery to me, Bernice King said. Ray was convicted in 1969 after entering a guilty pleathus forgoing a jury trial and the possibility of a death sentenceand was sentenced This material may not be reproduced without permission. [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. WebJames Earl Ray deceased in prison; was a U.S. prisoner, and a British prisoner, apprehended June 8, White was arrested after a citizen recognized him from an article in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat newspaper. No vast sums of money were awarded ( the Kings sought only 100... Prison, and was photographed shaking Rays hand and was quickly drawn to Wallace 's segregationist.. Year police arrested him for robbing a cafe appears in the period of assassinations Young! 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