Convicted assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. (1928–1998)
For other people with the same name, see James Ray (disambiguation).
James Earl Ray
Mug shot of Ray taken on July 8, 1955
Born
(1928-03-10)March 10, 1928
Alton, Illinois, U.S.
Died
April 23, 1998(1998-04-23) (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[a]
Escaped
June 10–13, 1977
Details
Victims
Martin Luther King Jr., 39
Date
April 4, 1968
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.
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 in 2000.[1][2] The King family has stated that they believe the true murderer was a Memphis Police Department officer, Lieutenant Earl Clark.[3]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).
^Jackman, Tom (March 30, 2018). "Who killed Martin Luther King Jr.? His family believes James Earl Ray was framed". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
^Webb, Jon (April 6, 2018). "50 years later, conspiracies still swirl around Martin Luther King's death". Evansville Courier & Press. Evansville. Retrieved January 11, 2024.
^"Assassination Conspiracy Trial". King Center for Nonviolent Social Change. Archived from the original on May 3, 2012.
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