It was then learned he'd been the site engineer for the West German Pavilion at Expo '67 in Montreal. Davis and Laster were both shot during that attempt. In no uncertain terms, Byrd was calling on Johnson to stop Kings march on D.C. Warren Mass has served The New American since its launch in 1985 in several capacities, including marketing, editing, and writing. Kings convicted killer, James Earl Ray, pled guilty to his murder, received a life sentence, and died in prison of natural causes 29 years later. Thorpe Menn, then book editor of The Star, sent it to me to review. All three bore the fingerprints of an escaped convict named James Earl Ray. During the six years that James Earl Ray was an inmate at the Missouri State Penitentiary, he kept primarily to himself and, other than for the fact that he attempted to escape on more than one occasion, he had only one conduct violation during that entire time and that was for the possession of three packages of cigarettes, a ball point pen and one pound of coffeeIn addition, you might be interested to know that prior to the Governor's receiving your Mailgram, I personally discussed the allegations and conclusions in the, Shortly after Ray pled guilty to the King murder, Clay Blair's book. 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. During the six years that James Earl Ray was an inmate at the Missouri State Penitentiary, he kept primarily to himself and, other than for the fact that he attempted to escape on more than one occasion, he had only one conduct violation during that entire time and that was for the possession of three packages of cigarettes, a ball point pen and one pound of coffeeIn addition, you might be interested to know that prior to the Governor's receiving your Mailgram, I personally discussed the allegations and conclusions in the Time magazine article with the author himself, Mr. George McMillan. King family never believed that Ray was the actual murderer. Judge Horne began increasing the quantity of days Brown could be held in contempt after Brown continued disrupting the court. When James Earl Ray bought the rifle that killed King, he mentioned that he was going hunting with his brother. We knew that anytime you try to escape from a maximum-security prison you run the risk of being shot. The Galileo Case Revisited | Beyond the Cover. Benny taught me how to type. After his escape, Early Ray was continuously on the move and travelled across USA, Canada, and Mexico. But even if Ray had help, the evidence strongly pointed to him pulling the trigger. I watched my parents tough it out on a daily basis, and I saw that what really kept them going was making a difference to others. Hunter Pitts ODell, former National Committee member of the CPUSA, was employed by SCLC. He was a loner. He admitted to staying at the rooming house from where authorities said the bullet that struck Rev. Ten years after his death, Rays brother John Larry Ray wrote a book along with writer Lyndon Barsten called Truth At Last: The Untold Story Behind James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. But Westberg had been told that the guard did not open the bread box. For years after Ray's capture there was a close association between Stoner and Jerry Ray, James Earl Ray's brother. The New Times article also asserted that Jerry Ray, if he were involved, might have been duped himself-might have thought he was setting up something other than an assassination. James. The verdict did convict Loyd Jowers and "other parties known and unknown" for their parts in the vast US government conspiracy to assassinate King. In the 1950s, Ray became notorious as a petty criminal, and by the end of the decade he was a failed pornographer who had served some jail time and successfully completed a prison escape. I went to Memphis to deliver a rifle to this man called Raoul, Ray told me. The verdict did convict Loyd Jowers and "other parties known and unknown" for their parts in the vast US government conspiracy to assassinate King. 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. [3] Brown has spoken about how his upbringing shaped his philosophy. If this self-seeking rabble-rouser is allowed to go through with his plans here, Washington may well be treated to the same kind of violence, destruction, looting, and bloodshed.1. Weirich responded: "Its a sad day that someone that out of touch with reality considers himself a viable candidate for one of the important positions in Shelby County. Doesnt the controversy between Galileo and the Catholic Church prove this? In the year 1952, he served a two year prison sentence for the armed robbery of a cab driver. Even after Ray died in 1998 from complications caused by hepatitis C, the family continued to assert there was, as Coretta King said in 1999, overwhelming evidence that identified someone else, not James Earl Ray, as the shooter, and that Mr. Ray was set up to take the blame.. 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. Sometime before 4:00 p.m. on April 4, 1968, James Earl Ray parked his white Mustang on South Main Street and, under an assumed name, rented a room in the second floor rooming house directly above the grill. Updates? But it turned out that rather than discharging this key Red, he had transferred and promoted ODell to a higher post within Kings Southern Christian Leadership Conference. "[21], Brown was warned that he would be held in contempt before these comments. The damage to the clothing was consistent with the caliber As a loner, it would be impossible for Ray to deal large quantities of drugs, because one of the cliques would simply rob him, and there wouldn't be much he could do, alone, against a clique with a dozen members. 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. . (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. In fact, Kings family was as convinced of Rays innocence as the families of Nicole and Ron were convinced of Simpsons guilt. Back in Memphis, Ray pleaded guilty, forfeiting a trial, and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. [18][24][25], This article is about the person. Ray was not married and details of his relationships with any women are not known. It would later be learned that Ray's classification card contained erroneous fingerprints, which were initially distributed nationally. King was fired. 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. [8][9], Brown asserted that Weirichs "husband moved out and took the kids," and that "she needs to come out of the closet." In my interviews with him, I've found him to be eerily unflappable. PRPhotos. 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. He guided King in deciding whether to accept or reject public appearances. Westberg was the first to learn that the bread box wasn't searched. In one instance, the FBI sent him a tape that allegedly contained audio of him having an affair. Jimmy Carter, in full James Earl Carter, Jr., (born October 1, 1924, Plains, Georgia, U.S.), 39th president of the United States (1977-81), who served as the country's chief executive during a time of serious problems at home and abroad. In renouncing his guilt, Ray raised the spectre of a conspiracy behind Kings murder but offered scant evidence to support his claim. Ray was born in Alton, IL,in 1928, the son of working class Scots-Irish parents. Julia Brown, author of I Testify: My Years as an F.B.I. He is a male registered to vote in Wayne County, Michigan. He was unable to give me any specifics but just responded that "it was common knowledge.". Martin Luther King Jr.family that James Earl Ray did not kill this nations most prominent civil rights leader. His perceived inability to deal successfully with those problems led to an overwhelming defeat in his bid for reelection. He did not want to be buried in the USA because he considered that the American government did not treat him fairly. Happy 300th Birthday, Richard Price! James Earl Ray was an American assassin convicted for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. After his conviction, he spent all his life in prison. From 1961 through 1965 I used a substantial amount of amphetamine, and so did many of the people I associated with, and I never bought any from James Earl Ray. Weeks before Kennedy was killed an informant quoted an NSRP member saying it would happen, and providing details that coincide with what did happen in Dallas. 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). Jack Kershaw Is Dead at 96; Challenged Conviction in King's Death. Somehow, Ray managed to escape from prison on two different occasions. 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. Ray, was found by bloodhounds about eightmiles away from the prison shortly after the escape attempt. USA.gov, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration In 1997, Kings son Dexter met Ray in prison and asked him whether he had killed his father. Moreover, Jerry Ray and James Earl Ray are close. 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. Could Chinas Petroyuan Give Rise to a New World Energy Order? 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. Top of Page Each day he would go to the state capital to work as a programmer. In the five decades since Martin Luther King Jr.was shot dead by an assassin at age 39, his children have worked tirelessly to preserve his legacy, sometimes with sharply different views on how best to do that, an article in the March 30 Washington Post said. 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. 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. We had no contact, however, since he was on the other side of the building. 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. . The coffee was contraband. The restaurant owner named Memphis Police . Ray, although not personally motivated by racism, comes from a rural background where blacks are not highly regarded. In subsequent disclosures, Ray said that he was not the only person involved in the murder of King. In September 1961, I tried to escape and pulled six months in E-Hall, a 100-year-old building whose third floor was for solitary confinement. For some 50 years, the federal. ", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Joe_Brown_(judge)&oldid=1134528878, This page was last edited on 19 January 2023, at 03:56. 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. When I tried to mail my review to The Star, the prison officials refused to allow it to leave the prison. When ODells position as a member of the National Committee of the Communist Party was revealed in 1961, King supposedly fired him. I served my six months, got out and was put right back in for using amphetamine. 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. Simpson was found guilty of killing his wife Nicole and Ron Goldman - in a civil trial. Barely 48 hours later, on March 31st, Johnson would publicly announce that he would not seek reelection. In prison I knew men who would stab you to death over a carton of cigarettes, or for even a slight insult. six grooves with a right twist. After the publication of the Playboy story, Ray fired Kershaw when he found that Playboy paid him $11,000 for facilitating the interview. Ray confessed to the crime on March 10, 1969 and received a 99-year prison sentence, which increased to a 100-year sentence after he briefly escaped in 1977. Undercover Agent, was an undercover agent for the FBI in the Cleveland area. Four days after that, Martin Luther King, Jr. was dead. On the first one he'd fallen and stunned himself; on the second he'd hidden in a ceiling. James Earl Ray lowers his head as State Safety commissioner Greg O'Rear, white hat, and Highway Patrol Maj. Mickey McGuire, dark glasses, lead him to prison in Nashville, Tenn., March 11, 1969. Ray told me several times, and I have it on tape, that he bought the rifle that was used in the King slaying. Lee Harvey Oswald James Earl Ray Sirhan Sirhan . One of Kings sons Dexter had expressed his adamant belief that Ray was not his fathers assassin. 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.. The verdict in King vs. Jowers found a government conspiracy involving city, state, and federal agents complicit in the murder. Martin Luther King Jr. 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. Don told me later he was stunned; but he knew if he hesitated too long, a guard would catch Ray. 14. Ray was never that type. In that speech, none other than Robert Byrd pointed to the Memphis riots and the violent consequences as a warning to Johnson not to allow the marches King was planning on Washington in the coming weeks. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. In 1964 the prison started a computer programming class (so inmates could write programs for state computers). Christopher S. Bond (now U.S. He is a male registered to vote in Wayne County, Michigan. He employed such Communists as Bayard Rustin and Hunter Pitts ODell; and he worked closely with Carl Braden and James Dumbrowski. When authorities caught him in London, hed been planning to travel to Rhodesia, a former African state ruled by a white minority in present-day Zimbabwe. 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). He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity. James Earl Ray was raised as a catholic and had conservative religious beliefs from his childhood. You would also know who had just gotten a shipment of dope. The prison officials knew that Ray's escape, and involvement in the King assassination, would forever blemish their professional records as penologists. (Benny had taken two years of civil engineering in college.). Born in a poor family, Ray had a difficult childhood as his father could not support his family. On Feb. 17, 1997, while working for The Tennessean, I sat in the office of ReverendKings youngest son, Dexter, then chairman, president and chief executive officer of the King Center for Non Violent Social Change in Atlanta, as he told me why his family felt Ray should have a new trial. Senator) that an investigation be conducted into the allegations. 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. He knew we viewed Ray as a not-too-bright hillbilly. people lost faith in the political system. "doesn't know anything.". and condition of the Q64 bullet. 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. At the Tag Plant I met Jerry Ward Davis, an Oklahoman who'd been shot in 1959 after kidnapping several guards (along with Rollie Laster and Ronnie Westberg) during an attempted escape that involved the use of zip-guns. 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. . On June 8 he was apprehended by London police at Heathrow Airport as he was about to embark for Brussels; the FBI had established him as the prime suspect almost immediately after the assassination. Ray was one of a group of five inmates who escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in June 1977, which Kershaw claimed was additional proof that Ray had been involved in a conspiracy that had provided him with the outside assistance he would have needed to break out of jail. Early life [ edit] Stokely Carmichael of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), an extremist Black Nationalist organization, has conferred with King. Warden Swenson of the Jeff City prison immediately issued an edict that convicts could no longer correspond with editors. McMillans false scenarios portray Ray as a rabid racist in prison. Dr. Martin . He told Jerry and me that he'd actually gotten into the box once, but the guard missed him and launched a search. Ray replied that he did not commit the crime. It seems clear to me that there was a conspiracy to murder King, and that James Earl Ray was involved. As a former judge here, we have a rule in the 30th Judicial Districtit says every single Magistrate Referee has to be unanimously approved by every Circuit, Chancery, and Criminal Court Judge. To believe that the King family was motivated exclusively by publicity, one must believe that all of its members were involved in selling out the truth of their loved ones assassination for three figures. Although Ray had been sentenced from St. Louis, he was not part of the St. Louis "crowd.". Jerry Ray had moved in with Stoner, and shot an intruder who broke into Stoner's office which was in the same building as the living quarters. From the viewpoint of a man who served time with Ray in prison, then went on to become a journalist, and continued to follow the case, with some emphasis on Ray's mentality, how he escaped from prison, and why there is reason to believe white supremacists may have been behind King's murder. James Earl Ray was white. When the day came, Ray walked up to the bread box, got in, and asked a guy named Don to cover him. Because Ray had previously tried to escape by hiding out inside the prison, the officials assumed this was another bungled attempt, and they began a meticulous search of the prison, which covered 47 acres. Vote in Wayne County, Michigan, but the guard missed him and launched a.. To me to review was unable to give me any specifics but just responded that `` was!, then book editor of the Jeff city prison immediately issued an edict that convicts could no longer with..., however, since he was stunned ; but he knew if hesitated... His adamant belief that Ray was the first one he 'd been the site for..., Kings family was as convinced of Simpsons guilt into the box once, the! Star, sent it to leave the prison engineering in college. ) him a tape that allegedly audio. Memphis to deliver a rifle to this man called Raoul, Ray the... 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