James Earl Ray
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<table class="infobox vcard" style="border-spacing:3px;width:22em;" cellspacing="3"> <tbody><tr> <th colspan="2" class="fn" style="text-align:center;font-size:125%;font-weight:bold;">James Earl Ray</th> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="text-align:center;">
Mug shot of Ray taken in 1955
</td> </tr> <tr> <th scope="row" style="text-align:left;">Born</th> <td>March 10, 1928
Alton, Illinois,
US</td> </tr> <tr> <th scope="row" style="text-align:left;">Died</th> <td>April 23, 1998 (aged 70)
Nashville, Tennessee</td> </tr> <tr> <th scope="row" style="text-align:left;">
Conviction(s)</th> <td>
Murder,
prison escape,
armed
robbery,
burglary</td> </tr> <tr> <th scope="row" style="text-align:left;">Penalty</th> <td>99 years imprisonment (one year was added after his re-capture for a total of 100 years)</td> </tr> <tr> <th scope="row" style="text-align:left;">Conviction status</th> <td>deceased</td> </tr> <tr> <th scope="row" style="text-align:left;">Spouse</th> <td>Anna Sandhu (divorced)</td> </tr> <tr> <th scope="row" style="text-align:left;">Parents</th> <td>James Gerald Ray</td> </tr> </tbody></table>
James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American criminal convicted of the assassination of
civil rights and
anti-war activist
Martin Luther King, Jr.
Ray was convicted on March 10, 1969, after entering a
guilty plea to forgo a jury trial. Had he been found guilty by
jury trial, he would have been eligible for the death penalty.<sup id="cite_ref-Huie_1-0" class="reference">
[1]</sup> He was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He later recanted his confession and tried unsuccessfully to gain a new trial. He died in prison of
hepatitis C.
Early life
James Earl Ray came from a poor family in
Alton, Illinois, and left school at age 15. He joined the
US Army at the close of
World War II and served in
Germany.
Initial convictions and first escape from prison
He was convicted of his first crime, a
burglary in
California, in 1949. In 1952 he served two years for
armed robbery of a taxi driver in
Illinois. In 1955, he was convicted of
mail fraud after stealing
money orders in
Hannibal, Missouri, and then forging them to take a trip to Florida. He served three years at
Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. In 1959 he was caught stealing $120 in an armed robbery of a St. Louis
Kroger store.<sup id="cite_ref-2" class="reference">
[2]</sup> Ray was sentenced to twenty years in prison for repeated offenses. He escaped from the
Missouri State Penitentiary in 1967 by hiding in a truck transporting bread from the prison bakery.<sup id="cite_ref-Gribben_3-0" class="reference">
[3]</sup>
Activity in 1967
Following his escape, Ray stayed on the move, going first to
St. Louis and then on to
Chicago,
Toronto,
Montreal, and
Birmingham. When he got to
Alabama, Ray stayed long enough to buy a 1966
Ford Mustang and get an Alabama driver’s license. He then drove to
Mexico, stopping in
Acapulco before settling down in
Puerto Vallarta on October 19, 1967.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference">
[4]</sup> While in Mexico, Ray, using the alias Eric Starvo Galt, attempted to establish himself as a porn director. Using mail-ordered equipment, he filmed and photographed local prostitutes. Frustrated with his results and jilted by the prostitute he had formed a relationship with, Ray left Mexico around November 16, 1967.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference">
[5]</sup>
Ray arrived in
Los Angeles on November 19. While in L.A., Ray attended a local bartending school and took dance lessons.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference">
[6]</sup> His chief interest, however, was the
George Wallace presidential campaign. Ray harbored a strong prejudice against African Americans and was quickly drawn to Wallace’s
segregationist platform. He spent much of his time in Los Angeles volunteering at the Wallace campaign headquarters in North Hollywood.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference">
[7]</sup> He also developed an interest in
Rhodesia, where
Ian Smith’s white minority regime was in power. He wrote to the American-Southern Africa Council on December 28, 1967, stating, “My reason for writing is that I am considering immigrating to Rhodesia.”<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference">
[8]</sup> The idea of living in Rhodesia stayed with Ray, and it would be his intended destination when he went on the run after
Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination.
Activity in early 1968
On March 5, 1968, Ray underwent a
rhinoplasty, performed by Dr. Russell Hadley.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference">
[9]</sup> On March 18, 1968, Ray left Los Angeles and began a cross-country drive to
Atlanta,
Georgia.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference">
[10]</sup>
Arriving in Atlanta on March 24, Ray checked into a rooming house.<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference">
[11]</sup> He eventually bought a map of the city.
FBI agents would later find this map when they searched the room in which he was staying in Atlanta. On the map, the locations of the church and residence of Martin Luther King Jr. were allegedly circled.<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference">
[12]</sup> However, according to
Dr. William Pepper, "The Atlanta map is nowhere related to Dr. King’s residence. It is three oblong circles that covered general areas."<sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference">
[13]</sup>
Ray was soon on the road again, and drove his Mustang to
Birmingham, Alabama. There, on March 30, 1968, he bought a
Remington Gamemaster 760 .30-06-caliber rifle and a box of 20 cartridges from the Aeromarine Supply Company. He also bought a Redfield 2x7
scope, which he had mounted to the rifle. He told the store clerks that he was going on a hunting trip with his brother. Ray had continued using the Galt
alias after his stint in Mexico, but when he made this purchase, he gave his name as Harvey Lowmeyer.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference">
[14]</sup>
After buying the rifle and accessories, Ray drove back to Atlanta. An avid newspaper reader, Ray passed his time reading the
Atlanta Constitution. The paper reported King’s planned return trip to
Memphis,
Tennessee, which was scheduled for April 1, 1968. On April 2, 1968, Ray packed a bag and drove to Memphis.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference">
[15]</sup>
.<sup id="cite_ref-22" class="reference">
[22]</sup>