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. In fact, Kings family was as convinced of Rays innocence as the families of Nicole and Ron were convinced of Simpsons guilt. The first year and a half I paid little or no attention to Ray. Those who express skepticism at the results of the 1999 trial in which James Earl Ray was found innocent of assassinating King have an incredible hurdle to overcome the belief of the King family, which sides with Ray. There is an important flaw in that logic as well; the defendant was only sued for $100, which he was ordered to pay. After buying the rifle, he came back to Atlanta where he came to know that King was planning a return trip to Memphis, Tennessee. The jury was clearly convinced by the extensive evidence that was presented during the trial that, in addition to Mr. Jowers, the conspiracy of the Mafia, local, state and federal government agencies, were deeply involved in the assassination of my husband.. He told the clerks at the Aeromarine Supply Company in Brimingham, Alabama (from where he brought the rifle) that he was going on a hunting trip with his brother. The House Assassinations Committee examining evidence in the killing of Martin Luther King, Jr. (Credit: Bettmann Archive/Getty Images). Our editors will review what youve submitted and determine whether to revise the article. Shortly after Ray pled guilty to the King murder, Clay Blair's book The Strange Case of James Earl Ray was published. James Earl White (born July 16, 1964) is a former member of the Texas House of Representatives for District 19, which encompassed Polk, Hardin, Jasper, Newton, and Tyler counties. Also available from Amazon, With the purpose of writing about true crime in an authoritative, fact-based manner, veteran journalists J. J. Maloney and J. Patrick OConnor launched Crime Magazine in November of 1998. The damage to the clothing was consistent with the caliber He was a democrat. After this Ray was on the run and was captured in the UK. After Kings violent death, and the sealing of most government files related to King, the natural tendency of people to not want to speak ill of the dead set in. The cartridge case (Q3) found in the Q2 rifle had been fired [16] Brown surrendered to the Shelby County Sheriff on August 27, 2015, to serve his five-day sentence at the Shelby County Corrections Facility in Memphis. An hour later, he was declared dead. I've seen it happen again and again. The next section of the FBI paper was subheaded Strong Communist Influence. It pulled no punches in stating: Another complicating factor in the picture is the degree of communist influence on King. The prison officials knew that Ray's escape, and involvement in the King assassination, would forever blemish their professional records as penologists. James Earl Ray pleaded guilty to killing Dr. King; he challenged the plea and failed. Then, the (U.S.) House Assassinations Committee spent two years and $2.5 million investigating the case. Using their logic, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. should be attributed to a Democratic U.S. 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. Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. Certainly not enough to finance his travels to Mexico, Canada, England, etc., after his escape. Early life [ edit] There were always convict clerks assigned to the reception area, and the fingerprints could have been switched--either because Ray had paid someone to do it, or, just as likely, because some convict wanted to help Ray beat the system. In March 2014, Brown won the Democratic primary for the position of Shelby County district attorney. He earned a bachelor's degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles and a Juris Doctor from UCLA School of Law. 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. Based on the results of a civil trial in 1999, Byrds speech would have almost necessarily have played an even more direct role if the verdict is to be accepted. Ray watched it all on the cell-block TV at Jeff City. He volunteered for Wallaces campaign and was very disappointed when Wallace could not win the campaign. In my interviews with him, I've found him to be eerily unflappable. Judge Horne began increasing the quantity of days Brown could be held in contempt after Brown continued disrupting the court. Ray was never that type. Speech of Senator Robert C. Byrd, Senate Journal, Appendix Two, March 29, 1968. King's convicted killer, James Earl Ray, pled guilty to his murder, received a life sentence, and died in prison of natural causes 29 years later. PRPhotos. It endangers the premise of the place. The verdict did convict Loyd Jowers and "other parties known and unknown" for their parts in the vast US government conspiracy to assassinate King. But among legal and historical scholars, there is a broad consensus that James Earl Ray, though he may not have acted alone, is the gunman who shot Martin Luther King. 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. It is clear why tyrants wish to keep people from learning about Price and reading the powerful words he wrote defending freedom and Is Christianity the enemy of science? But a check by United Press International found him still employed by Kings organization. You tend to know a great deal about people you've never met. [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. Dr. Martin . In order to hang onto your drugs, people had to know that you would kill them without hesitation. Benny taught me how to type. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison. But within Martin Luther Kings family, there remains a persistent belief that Ray is innocent, and was set up to take the fall. I occasionally rented magazines from Ray, but other inmates usually had a larger selection, and better quality magazines. Soon after his release from prison, he was again convicted for mail fraud in Hannibal, Missouri and served three prison sentences at the Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary. None. The murder of Lee Harvey Oswald had closed the door to an open trial that might have answered the question of whether Oswald acted alone, or was part of a conspiracy. In the meantime James Earl Ray had also heard about the bread box, probably through Westberg. 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. Brown, who retains his law license, was reviewing a child support matter as a favor to an acquaintance. 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. The Galileo Case Revisited | Beyond the Cover. Meanwhile, William Bradford Huie, gathering information for his book, They Slew The Dreamer, had taken an interest in George Ben Edmondson. Stoner had trouble getting into the case, however, because no mainstream lawyer wanted anything to do with him. McMillan is the primary source for the widespread belief that Ray was a major drug dealer in Jeff City; that he smuggled large sums of money out of prison; that he used that money to finance his travels after his escape. Over the years, as book after book has been published on the King case, numerous conspiracy theories have been advanced: that the FBI was involved; that the CIA feared King would come out in opposition to the Vietnam War; that rival black leaders felt King's non-violent approach was a hindrance to black progress; that white supremacists wanted him out of the way for obvious reasons. HISTORY reviews and updates its content regularly to ensure it is complete and accurate. Just once, he was caught with three packs of cigarettes, a pound of coffee and a ballpoint pen. No vehicle traffic would have been allowed in or out until he was found. 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. The US will celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr on Monday, January 18, 2021, remembering all of the tremendous strides the activist-led in promoting civil liberties for all Americans. The crisis at the Democratic National Convention marked a . (Benny had taken two years of civil engineering in college.). This is why I believe they steered FBI investigators toward convicts who really didn't know anything. Read More:How The Tennessean covered Martin Luther King Jr.'s death in its pages. Who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968? I've always had trouble accepting Ray as an assassin. The only thing publicity could do was further humiliate them. Rays fingerprints were the only ones found on the gun, and there were no witnesses who had seen him with Raoul during the nine months they supposedly knew each other (Rays description of Raoul also changed a few times). The introduction to the paper observed that since 1956, King had occupied a prominent role in the drive for equal rights for Negroes in the Untied States. It continued by noting, The course King chooses to follow at this critical time could have momentous impact on the future of race relations in the United States, and for that reason this paper has been prepared to give some insight into the nature of the man himself as well as the nature of his views, goals, objective, tactics, and the reason therefore., The papers summary of Kings planned Washington Spring project is contrary to the image of King painted by most historians as a man who employed only the most peaceful means. Stoner is the following: Over the years, state and federal authorities have come to suspect that Stoner's violent rhetoric cannot be dismissed merely as fascist ravings. He was immediately extradited to USA. We got involved in several schemes, but our lack of mobility made it difficult to function. One of the most intriguing aspects of the New Times article on James Earl Ray/Jerry Ray/J.B. He was of Irish, Scots, and Welsh ancestry. However, immediately following King's killing, U.S. Attorney General Ramsey Clark announced that the killing was the work of a lone assassin. Such a conclusion must be drawn from a premise that the King family was willing to publicly, wrongfully, and unjustifiably vindicate Ray in order to accuse others simply to gain notoriety. The day after a stabbing, for example, virtually everyone in the prison who is considered "solid" would know who had done the stabbing. Ray spent the rest of his life in prison and suffered with kidney and liver ailments in his last years. Dexter and his family too believed that he did not commit the crime and urged the government to grant a new trial to Ray. On the night of the shooting, I had left the rifle with Raoul.. Brown later worked for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He is the one who sits in leadership and is the most powerful person of a country. The facts are these. Riots erupted in Memphis; one person was killed and sixty were injured. He escaped from the prison hiding in a truck that was transporting bread from the prison bakery. The box was picked up, and Ray successfully escaped on April 23, 1967. [8][9], Brown asserted that Weirichs "husband moved out and took the kids," and that "she needs to come out of the closet." 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. Shortly before his seventh birthday, in 1935, his father passed a bad check and the Rays fled to Ewing, Missouri, where they changed their name to Raynes to avoid . The 20-page paper, which was classified as secret, was reviewed by the FBI/JFK Task Force in 1994, which denied the release of its contents. He was a founder and the long-time chairman of the National States' Rights Party as well as the publisher of its newsletter, The Thunderbolt. 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). Born in a poor family, Ray had a difficult childhood as his father could not support his family. No new evidence has been presented in the King killing since then. If it hadn't been for the two escape attempts, Ray would almost certainly have been paroled by the time he actually did escape. For some 50 years, the federal. The paper then listed some of the ways Levison had supported and influenced King, as far back as 1956: He actively involved himself in fundraising drives for King. There were those who joked about Ray, because of the nature of his attempted escapes. [6] It was during this time that Brown caught the attention of the producers of Judge Judy. Barely 48 hours later, on March 31st, Johnson would publicly announce that he would not seek reelection. James Earl Ray, (born March 10, 1928, Alton, Illinois, U.S.died April 23, 1998, Nashville, Tennessee), American assassin of the African American civil-rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Ray had been a small-time crook, a robber of gas stations and stores, who had served time in prison, once in Illinois and twice in Missouri, and received a suspended sentence in Los Angeles. Later, though, he claimed he left the prints to gain international notoriety. Ray replied that he did not commit the crime. The scandal was so bad it led to the downfall of Warden Nash, who then shot himself.). Updates? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Stoner campaigned for several political offices as a Southern Democrat in order to promote his white supremacist agenda. McMillans false scenarios portray Ray as a rabid racist in prison. He made the FBI Most Wanted List before his recapture. In 1999, James Earl Ray was found innocent of killing Martin Luther King Jr. in the same way O.J. 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. Charley McCracken, a friend from the St. Louis City Jail, pointed him out to me in H-Hall, where the newly arriving convicts at the maximum-security penitentiary were oriented. Ray died on April 23, 1998 at the Columbia Nashville Memorial Hospital due to Hepatitis C at the age of 70. An hour later, he was declared dead. Thorpe Menn, then book editor of The Star, sent it to me to review. My review took issue with many assumptions in the book, such as those centering on Ray's involvement with drugs in prison, and how he escaped from Jefferson City. Ostensibly only a New York City attorney and businessman, Levison is, in fact, a shrewd, dedicated communist. Jack Kershaw Is Dead at 96; Challenged Conviction in King's Death. James Earl Ray. And by the way, what is that, Magistrate, sir, with due respect. Don told me later he was stunned; but he knew if he hesitated too long, a guard would catch Ray. In the course of our conversation, I pressed him for details regarding drug sales or any other illegal activities in which staff and/or inmates might have been involved. "[10], In August 2015, Brown served five days in the Shelby County Jail after having been held in contempt of court in March 2014. Westberg was the first to learn that the bread box wasn't searched. One week prior to Kings assassination on April 4, 1968 he had gone to Memphis to show support for local sanitation workers. it near 424 South Main Street, It is highly probable that James Earl Ray stalked Dr. King for a Ray fled from the scene immediately and could not be located immediately by the police. Simpson was found guilty of killing his wife Nicole and Ron Goldman in a civil trial. He is a male registered to vote in Wayne County, Michigan. He was first convicted for a burglary in California in the year 1949. Stoner's hatred of blacks would not have been offensive to him Ray; he might have viewed it as a little extreme, but he would have admired Stoner for being a rebel and for having a network of trusted associates. Ray was born in Alton, IL,in 1928, the son of working class Scots-Irish parents. Some in the community took offense to this assertion since the incident took place during Brown's Shelby County district attorney campaign and Brown brought his own lawyer with him during the 2014 incident, causing many to wonder if it was a ploy for publicity. James Earl Ray, who pleaded guilty to assassinating King, was renting a room above Jower's establishment and was allegedly an unwitting scapegoat. it from Birmingham, Ala., to Memphis, Tenn., where he rented a room at 422 1/2 South Main Street, and moments after the assassination, he dropped James Earl Ray From the viewpoint of a man who served time with Ray in prison, then went on to become a journalist, . The damage to Dr. King's clothing, when tested microscopically More:Manhunt in the mountains: James Earl Ray and the Brushy Mountain Prison breakout of 1977. There are records of Ray receiving plastic surgery in Los Angeles about a month before Kings murder in Memphis. 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. The FBI paper then named another communist whose name is very familiar to those who have read articles about Kings communist connections in The New American, its predecessor magazine, American Opinion, and the monthly bulletins of The John Birch Society, the parent organization of both publications. But almost immediately after her husbands assassination, she suspected that the FBI, which had investigated the murder, was involved in it. James Earl Ray, an escaped American convict, is arrested in London, England, and charged with the assassination of African American civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. On April 4,. At that time, King was well aware of Levisons and ODells communist affiliations. The coffee was contraband. The Q64 bullet was a .30-06 caliber bullet of Remington-Peters manufacture. Westberg once described Ray to me as, "Kind of countryfied, but he's okay." The bullet was imprinted with six lands and six grooves and He escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary on April 23, 1967; and in Memphis, Tennessee, nearly a year later, on April 4, 1968, from a window of a neighbouring rooming house, he shot King, who was standing on the balcony of a motel room. Yes, the President is part of the political party. Julia Brown, author of I Testify: My Years as an F.B.I. As with most cases, the answer is yes. You would also know who had just gotten a shipment of dope. PRPhotos. Stokely Carmichael of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), an extremist Black Nationalist organization, has conferred with King. Findings on Martin Luther King, Jr. A year before, hed escaped from Missouri State Penitentiary while serving a 20-year sentence, and was on the lam at the time King was shot. They would rather ignore the facts than become disillusioned. 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