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James Earl Ray | |
|---|---|
 Ray testifying before the House Select Committee on Assassinations in 1979 | |
| Born | March 10, 1928 Alton, Illinois, United States |
| Died | April 23, 1998 Nashville, Tennessee, United States |
| Nationality | Statesian |
James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was a Statesian criminal who was accused of assassinating Martin Luther King Jr. on April 4, 1968. The House Select Committee on Assassinations claimed that he shot King in order to get a bounty from two St. Louis racists even though they were both dead.[1]
Early life
Ray briefly served in the Army but had only the lowest level of firearm experience.[1]
Ray escaped from a prison in Jefferson City, Missouri, in April 1967.[1]
MLK assassination
Background
On April 3, 1968, Ray booked into a rooming house owned by Bessie Brewer in Memphis, Tennessee, across from the Lorraine Motel. However, his fingerprints were never found in the room.[1]
Shooting
Map of the shooting area. Mainstream media claims that the shot came from the rooming house while many witnesses believe it was from the bushes next to the fire station.
Martin Luther King Jr. was shot in the face on April 4 on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel. Mainstream media claims that Ray shot King from the bathroom of the rooming house, which would have required him to be hanging out of the window while shooting.[1]
Aftermath
Ray was waiting in his car for his handler at the time of the shooting. Shortly after hearing the shot, his handler jumped into the backseat before jumping out a few blocks later. Ray then drove to Atlanta, Georgia, where he abandoned his car[1]
Police found a rifle wrapped in a bedspread in the doorway of the Canipe Amusement Company. The rifle had Ray's fingerprints, but its could not be matched to the bullet that killed King. Guy Canipe said that a person who did not match Ray's appearance dropped the rifle there two to five minutes before the shooting.[1]
Charles Quitman Stephens, another tenant in the rooming house, said he saw a man running out after the assassination, but said that his appearance did not match Ray's. Stephens's cab driver, James McCraw, said that the bathroom was empty at the time of the shooting. He also saw two white Mustangs, one with an Alabama plate and another with an Arkansas plate. Grace Walden, who was in the rooming house at the time, said the gunshot noise came from the bushy area between the motel and rooming house.[1]
After arriving in Toronto, Canada, a mysterious "fat man" gave Ray money. A month later, he flew to Portugal and then England.[1]
Imprisonment
Ray was captured in June 1968 while trying to board a flight in Brussels, Belgium. At his trial, he pled guilty and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Three days later, he fired his lawyer, Percy Foreman, saying that he pressured him into pleading guilty.[1]