James Earl Ray

James Earl Ray was convicted for the assassination of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and sentenced to 99 years in prison in 1969. Although he confessed to the murder and entered a plea of guilty, he recanted his confession shortly after, and said he only plead guilty on the advice of his lawyer, Percy Foreman, to escape a trial conviction and possible death sentence.

Fast Facts

1. Born: March 10, 1928
2. Died: April 23, 1998 of liver failure
3. Assassination occurred April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee,
4. Captured June 8, 1968 at Heathrow Airport in London, England
5. Previous arrests for burglary, armed robbery and forgery
6. Was a fugitive at the time of the assasination, having escaped from Missouri State Penitentiary the previous year
7. Escaped prison again in 1977, leading the FBI on a three-day manhunt

Wavering testimony

He admitted to renting a room in the rooming house from which the fatal shot was fired and buying a rifle similar to the murder weapon, but said he gave the gun to a man named "Raoul," who was the true murderer. Ray continually tried to withdraw his guilty plea and secure the trial he had originally avoided.

Conspiracy theories

He maintained that King's death and his conviction were the result of a larger conspiracy and government cover-up, theories which were explained in greater detail in his 1992 book, Who Killed Martin Luther King Jr.?: The True Story by the Alleged Assassin.

Quotes

1. "Well, first, I didn't kill Dr. King."
2. "(I didn't) personally shoot Dr. King, (but may have been) partially responsible without knowing it."

Categories