James Earl Ray
James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American fugitive who was convicted of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. After the assassination, Ray fled the United States and was captured in the United Kingdom. Ray was convicted in 1969 after entering a guilty plea—thus forgoing a jury trial and the possibility of a death sentence—and was sentenced to 99 years of imprisonment.
James Earl Ray | |
|---|---|
Mug shot of Ray taken on July 8, 1955 | |
| Born | March 10, 1928 Alton, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | April 23, 1998 (aged 70) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Known for | Being convicted for the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder Armed robbery Burglary Escape |
| Criminal penalty | 100 years imprisonment |
| Escaped | June 10–13, 1977 |
| Details | |
| Victims | Martin Luther King Jr., 39 |
| Date | April 4, 1968 |
In 1993, Loyd Jowers, the owner of a restaurant, publicly began claiming that he had been part of a conspiracy to assassinate King and that Ray was a scapegoat. In a Memphis civil trial in 1999, a jury unanimously concluded that Jowers was liable for the assassination, that King was the victim of a conspiracy, and that various United States governmental agencies had conspired to murder King and frame Ray for the assassination. The King family has consistently said that they believe Ray was innocent, though this conclusion was disputed by the United States Department of Justice with a 150-page report released in 2000. The King family has stated that they believe the true murderer was a Memphis Police Department officer, Lieutenant Earl Clark.