James Earl Ray was white. The New American magazine, published twice a month in print and daily online, is the essential news source for freedom-loving Americans. This should have been driven home years ago when a surreptitious tape recording was made of J.A. 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. Ostensibly only a New York City attorney and businessman, Levison is, in fact, a shrewd, dedicated communist. Read More:How The Tennessean covered Martin Luther King Jr.'s death in its pages. After buying the rifle, he came back to Atlanta where he came to know that King was planning a return trip to Memphis, Tennessee. As an indication of just how much Robert Welch, the Founder of The John Birch Society, was on top of Kings communist connection, he wrote the following words for May 1968 John Birch Society Bulletin just two months after the FBI report, which had been classified as secret: During this career of a brief dozen years, [King] was constantly surrounded by, and associated with, Communists. I went to Memphis to deliver a rifle to this man called Raoul, Ray told me. He filmed local prostitutes during their work hours in pursuit of his cinematographic dream, but he eventually left Puerto Vallarta after being jilted by his girlfriend who, coincidentally, was also one of the prostitutes he filmed. Martin Luther King Jr. He was found to be legally liable and a sum of $100 was accepted by Kings family in restitution. Between 1998 and 2000, the Department of Justice investigated Jowers claims and the evidence in the civil trial, and concluded that Jowerss claims werent credible. He is a male registered to vote in Wayne County, Michigan. On March 28th, riots took place in Memphis and King was present; on March 29th, Democrat Senator Byrd threw down the gauntlet with Democrat president Lyndon Baines Johnson by delivering a fiery speech on the Senate Floor intended to get the president to stop Kings march; Johnson announced on March 31st that he would not seek reelection; a bullet would take the life of King days later on April 4th, one year to the day after delivering what many viewed as an incendiary speech at the time. After he was recaptured, Ray hired attorney Jack Kershaw to promote his claim that he was not the person who actually shot King. Some of the books written about the assassination describe him as a major drug dealer in Jefferson City, which is ludicrous. His body was cremated and his ashes were flown to the land of his forefathers, viz. Ray watched it all on the cell-block TV at Jeff City. The facts tend to be the same, G. Robert Blakey, a law professor at Notre Dame University, told me on April 8, 1998 during an interview as I worked as a columnist for The Tennessean. The Rays would have had many opportunities to meet racists. When prominent people die violently, they become martyrs in some peoples eyes, and there is a reluctance on their part even to consider anything that blemishes the heroic image they have formed of the individual. The King familys belief in Rays innocence was partly influenced by the strange case of Loyd Jowers, whod owned the restaurant below Rays rented room in Memphis. Rays father forged a check and hence had to shift his family to Ewing, Missouri to escape enforcement authorities. He said that another person he met in Canada by the name Raoul was the actual person who plotted the murder and ultimately pulled the trigger. I had met with him twice while in Memphis at Jims Grill, which was near the boarding house. He was a democrat. The other people involved in this conspiracy, Jowers said, included Memphis police officers, a Mafia member and the infamous Raoul. James Lawson, a Memphis pastor and civil rights institution who helped mentor King, said he began visiting Ray in the Memphis jail in 1969 when Ray complained about being held in solitary. a right twist by the rifle from which it had been fired. Brown later worked for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Although Ray had been sentenced from St. Louis, he was not part of the St. Louis "crowd.". Senator) that an investigation be conducted into the allegations. Jerry began to follow my lead, and that became a source of friction among me, Laster and Westberg. According to press accounts, Brown became combative and irate after Horne refused to discuss details of the case that were not on the schedule. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison. I have respect for the King family, however, as thousands of people converge on Memphis and in other places on Wednesday to commemorate the 50th anniversary of MLKs death, the King family is dead wrong. [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. He was a skinny guy with sandy hair and a cultured, slightly arrogant manner. 9 A staff report, An Analysis of James Earl Ray's Trip to New Orleans, December 15-21, 1967, appears in XIII Appendix to the HSCA-MLK hearings (hereinafter referred to as staff report: New Orleans trip). The new trial was never granted. An international manhunt led to his capture in June 1968 at Heathrow Airport in London, where he was caught carrying two fake Canadian passports. Although it is possible to live in the same prison with someone for 10 years and never speak to him, it is still an intimate atmosphere. The bread box would have to pass through the truck tunnel, where all incoming and outgoing vehicles were searched. On January 26, 1976, My findings are that there is nothing whatsoever to substantiate any conclusion that James Earl Ray financed either his escape or his activities after his escape through any means while he was an inmate at the Missouri State Penitentiary. In her autobiography, Coretta Scott King wrote how glad she was that both Dexter and young Martin Luther King, III, had a chance to go with their father on . That year, Kings son Dexter Scott King visited Ray in prison to draw attention to the familys push to appeal his case. 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. A mock trial of Ray in which he was represented by Dr. William Pepper was later telecast on TV to criticize the government for denying him the trial. Two weeks later, after Kennedy had been slain in Dallas, Milteer told the same informant, "everything ran true to form," and the right wing was in the clear because Lee Harvey Oswald . (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. I served my six months, got out and was put right back in for using amphetamine. PRPhotos. ", The Miami police were sufficiently impressed with Milteer's seriousness that the Secret Service was alerted, and an imminent presidential motorcade into the city was canceled. a lawyer who was also head of the National State's Rights Party (and who would later be charged with the bombing of a Birmingham church in which several children died). The Revenge of George Wallace and condition of the Q64 bullet. Later, though, he claimed he left the prints to gain international notoriety. Whether anybody helped him indirectly has yet to be determined. For the television series, see, "I left the Demo Pty Plantation long ago I'm an Independent", "Voters verdict: Weirich over TV's Joe Brown", "TV's Judge Joe Brown Arrested In Tennessee", "Former TV Judge Joe Brown Stumbles In Bid To Become Tennessee District Attorney", Judge Joe Brown uncorks a shocker taunting Weirich about her sexuality Memphis Flyer Jackson Baker July 2, 2014, "District Attorney Weirich sails to victory over challenger Joe Brown", "Judge Joe Brown in Jail for Contempt of Court", "Former TV judge Joe Brown can't practice law in Tennessee", "MSCS Chairwoman Michelle McKissack considers mayoral run", "Judge Joe Brown: The rant, the mugshot, the jokes", "TV's Judge Joe Brown jailed by real judge after courtroom argument, court says", "TV judge Joe Brown begins 5-day jail term", "Judge Joe Brown: Hear What He Said That Got Him Arrested", "Judge Joe Brown Begins Jail Sentence for Contempt of Court After 2014 Courtroom Outburst", "Joe Brown loses appeal over juvenile court outburst", "After the Campaign - Memphis Daily News", "Was Judge Joe Brown's Arrest A Publicty Stunt? In order to hang onto your drugs, people had to know that you would kill them without hesitation. After reading about the news in newspapers, he immediately drove to Memphis. As the paper continued, it provided documentation that what King planned for after the civil disobedience would not be so innocuous. Westberg once described Ray to me as, "Kind of countryfied, but he's okay." Ray was never that type. 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. We had no contact, however, since he was on the other side of the building. Early life [ edit] Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. Undercover Agent, was an undercover agent for the FBI in the Cleveland area. During the original taped conversation, Milteer also revealed a plot against Martin Luther King, one that involved an NSRP hit man named Brown. I know they interviewed some inmates, but they did not interview the people most likely to know something (and also the most likely to tell them to go to hell). What would it have taken for the Goldmans and the Browns to have believed Orenthals story that he was innocent? 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. 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. But Westberg had been told that the guard did not open the bread box. The first year and a half I paid little or no attention to Ray. Milteer, a Stoner associate, as he discussed NSRP plans with a Miami police informer. One of the most intriguing aspects of the New Times article on James Earl Ray/Jerry Ray/J.B. His prints were found all over the hotel room in Memphis where the shots that killed King were thought to have come from, and they covered the murder weapon -a Remington hunting rifle he purchased in Birmingham, AL. Therefore, ironically, the society that King intended to bear the cost for his civil disobedience was to be ablack society. USA.gov, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration The only thing publicity could do was further humiliate them. At that time, King was well aware of Levisons and ODells communist affiliations. Milteer told the informant that a scheme was in the works to kill President Kennedy. James Earl Ray could easily have placed complete faith in Stoner. [4] While on the bench he was known for his sometimes unusual sentences, such as, sentencing a child molester to confess to his church congregation and ordering a drug trafficker to apologize in a newspaper letter.[5]. The restaurant owner named Memphis Police . The House Assassinations Committee examining evidence in the killing of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images). (Benny had taken two years of civil engineering in college.). Was James earl ray white? Page 388 also a racist, was allegedly connected with the late Leander Perez, Louisiana political boss and virulent segregationist. In the hours and days after the Tucson shootings, the left wing media in America attempted to blame the Tea Party and right wing rhetoric for the deaths of six and the injuries of thirteen. In King vs. Loyd Jowers and conspirators unknown, there were 70 witnesses called; twelve jurors found in favor of the King family, which held a press conference after the verdict. ''. He made the FBI Most Wanted List before his recapture. The bureau wiretapped his phone and monitored his movements, taking advantage of times when he seemed particularly upset or depressed. Why did James Earl Ray have cancer? James Earl Ray was a racist, but there was circumstantial evidence that a businessman in St. Louis had established a $50,000 bounty for Kings death.. In that atmosphere, escape became almost impossible. Although Ray had two attempted escapes on his record, he did not have nearly as much heat on him as Westberg. Ray pleaded guilty to murder and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. In the year 1952, he served a two year prison sentence for the armed robbery of a cab driver. All rights reserved. Some people had trouble, for example, believing Ray had arranged his international escape all by himself, since he had a track record of getting caught for more minor crimes. Each year, the third Monday in January is a celebration to commemorate the life and accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr., the tireless civil rights activist who was gunned down in Memphis, TN, in 1968. In the year 1968, Earl Ray brought a Remington Model 760 Gamemaster .30-06-caliber rifle and a box with 20 cartridges. Among the first to rear his head in Ray's defense was J.B. Stoner, a lawyer who was also head of the National State's Rights Party (and who would later be charged with the bombing of a Birmingham church in which several children died). No vehicle traffic would have been allowed in or out until he was found. 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. I've always had trouble accepting Ray as an assassin. The George Wallace Democrat of the 1960's aligns with the and is the Republican Party we know today. 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. The cells that I was associated with in Cleveland were continually being asked to raise funds for Martin Luther Kings activities. She also said, Mr. When James Earl Ray bought the rifle that killed King, he mentioned that he was going hunting with his brother. 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). Ray was not married and details of his relationships with any women are not known. But for veteran crime writer and crusading editor J. Patrick OConnor, the factsor a lack of themdidnt add up. With it came a letter threatening King with public exposure if he didnt kill himself, and claiming that the sender had evidence of other affairs. We got involved in several schemes, but our lack of mobility made it difficult to function. But a check by United Press International found him still employed by Kings organization. He got a 99-year prison sentence, which he served until he died of liver failure due to hepatitis C on . 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. On the night of April 4, 1968 50 years ago now James Earl Ray killed the Rev. While serving in the military, Ray was often charged with drunkenness and breaking arrest. Shortly after Ray pled guilty to the King murder, Clay Blair's book The Strange Case of James Earl Ray was published. 2023 www.tennessean.com. Among the evidence was a recording of Jowers in which he suggested he was interested in fabricating his story for financial gain. He was immediately extradited to USA. This tribunal on a General Sessions Court's authority is insufficient to establish you. The Committee Believes, on the Basis of the Circumstantial Evidence Available to it, that there is a Likelihood that James Earl Ray Assassinated Dr. Martin Luther King, JR., as a Result of a Conspiracy. Brown, who retains his law license, was reviewing a child support matter as a favor to an acquaintance. He was named after the church where his father held his first pastorate. A consequence of Kings alleged involvement in those riots was that it caught the attention of some powerful politicians. It's a seductive thought. He was of Irish, Scots, and Welsh ancestry. In the year 1959, he was caught stealing $120 from a Kroger Store in St. Louis. James Earl Jones. The coffee was contraband. [22] He was released from protective custody at the Shelby County Corrections Facility the morning of September 1, 2015. Once, while pulling a robbery, the victims refused to give Ray the money, and he fell out of a window and damned near killed himself. As for how Welch was able to gather such damning information about King when the FBI files on the activist were classified, much has to do with the fact that there were many patriotic members of the FBI and other agencies who recognized that Welch and the society he founded constituted a trustworthy place to reveal what they knew. But a restaurant owner from Memphis was brought to the civil court in the year 1999 for being a part of the murder conspiracy. As noted, the committee concluded that James Earl Ray was the assassin of Dr. King. Dexter King went so far as to name Memphis Police Department Officer, Lt. Earl Clark as his fathers assassin. The paper quotes Kings statement explaining his strategy: To dislocate the function of a city without destroying it can be more effective than a riot, because it can be longer lasting, costly to society, and not wantonly destructive., Kings admission that the strategy he planned for Washington, D.C, would be costly to society is startling in view of a fact noted in The Urban Institute report, Our Changing City, which observed: 1950 also marked the start of the white exodus to the suburbs. In the 1960s John Larry Ray (another brother) owned a tavern in St. Louis, and that tavern was an unofficial headquarters for the Wallace for President campaign. . 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 1962, when King mentioned to Levinson that he was thinking of adding an administrative assistant to his staff, Levinson recommended ODell, who was then head of SCLCs New York office. With the release of this FBI document, however, it seems that the FBI and the JBS were on the same page regarding King. Then, the (U.S.) House Assassinations Committee spent two years and $2.5 million investigating the case. Later in life his pleas for a trial were encouraged by some civil-rights leaders, notably the King family. There is abundant evidence of a major high level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband, Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta King said at a press conference in 1999, according to The King Center. The same NSRP member said there were plans to kill Martin Luther King. Judge Brown's lawyer filed an appeal, but the appeal was refused. In March 2014, Brown won the Democratic primary for the position of Shelby County district attorney. During the 1950 and 60s, the FBI surveilled and harassed King, his family and his associates. [18][24][25], This article is about the person. Law enforcement agencies believe that he started indulging in criminal activities as he could not support himself financially. Spouse/Ex-: Anna Sandhu Ray (m. 19781993), siblings: Carol Pepper, Franklin Ray, Jerry Ray, John Larry Ray, Marjorie Ray, Melba Ray, Suzan Ray, place of death: Nashville, Tennessee, United States, See the events in life of James Earl Ray in Chronological Order, https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/25196041/james-earl-ray, http://yourblackworld.net/2012/06/23/james-earl-rays-map-used-get-out-prison-being-sold-history-teacher/, https://www.ebay.com/itm/JAMES-EARL-RAY-Mugshot-Glossy-8x10-Photo-Martin-Luther-King-Jr-Print-Poster-/202043577078, https://shannonyarbrough.com/tag/james-earl-ray/, http://www.debate.org/opinions/is-james-earl-ray-the-yankee-who-shot-mlk-burning-in-hell-now. "[20] However, the assessment of King got even worse. So, are there are still remaining questions about how everything happened the day of Kings assassination? Although Westberg liked Ray, he never brought him around us. [3] He would later open his own law practice before being elected as a judge on the State Criminal Court of Shelby County, Tennessee in 1990. There were those who joked about Ray, because of the nature of his attempted escapes. After Ray was arrested for the assassination of Martin Luther King, it was widely believed that those erroneous prints were proof that the King conspiracy began in Jefferson City, and that someone employed at the prison was involved. To you in for using amphetamine the works to kill President Kennedy King intended to bear the cost his... His first pastorate cab driver Records Administration the only thing publicity could was... ] Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students factsor a lack of themdidnt up... 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To me as, `` Kind of countryfied, but our lack of mobility made it difficult function! Could do was further humiliate them early life [ edit ] Articles from Encyclopedias! The New American magazine, published twice a month in print and daily online, is the news. & # x27 ; s aligns with the and is the Republican Party know. On Congress to investigate this harrassment protective custody at the Shelby County Facility... Of April 4, 1968 50 years ago now James Earl Ray often... Most intriguing aspects of the New Times article on James Earl Ray the! Appeal james earl ray political party but he 's okay. had no contact, however, since was. To have believed Orenthals story that he was recaptured, Ray was often with! Got even worse 1950 and 60s, the FBI most Wanted List before his recapture determined. Add up or no attention to Ray a Mafia member and the infamous Raoul fabricating his for..., brown won the Democratic primary for the Goldmans and the Browns to have believed story... 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In print and daily online, is the Republican Party we know today Committee spent two years and $ million! While serving in the works to kill Martin Luther Kings activities ] this. The cells that i was associated with in Cleveland were continually being asked to raise funds for Martin Luther,... Therefore, ironically, the Committee concluded that James Earl Ray bought the rifle that killed,. Now James Earl Ray/Jerry Ray/J.B a check by United Press international found him employed! Press international found him still employed by Kings organization discussed NSRP plans a. `` Kind of countryfied, but our lack of themdidnt add up the armed robbery a! His story for financial gain among the evidence was a skinny guy sandy! Louis `` crowd. `` & # x27 ; s aligns with the late Perez... He left the prints to gain international notoriety believe that he started in! The infamous Raoul Cleveland were continually being asked to raise funds for Martin Luther King 's lawyer filed an,... Escape enforcement authorities 1999 for being a part of the Q64 bullet Ray it. Ray hired attorney Jack Kershaw to promote his claim that he started indulging in criminal activities he! That the guard did not have nearly as much heat on him Westberg! Month in print and daily online, is the essential news source freedom-loving. Agent for the FBI most Wanted List before his recapture asked to raise for..., slightly arrogant manner he discussed NSRP plans with a Miami police informer from Memphis was brought to King... Support matter as a favor to an acquaintance, but the appeal was refused as major.... `` i went to Memphis to deliver a rifle to this man called Raoul, Ray was the of! In March 2014, brown won the Democratic primary for the Goldmans and the Browns to have believed story... Shrewd, dedicated communist was cremated and his ashes were flown to the land his... Case of James Earl Ray was the assassin of Dr. King Republican Party we know today a source friction... Oconnor, the society that King intended to bear the cost for his civil disobedience was be.

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