Shortly after Ray pled guilty to the King murder, Clay Blair's book The Strange Case of James Earl Ray was published. This time, Ray rented an apartment for $100 a month at 1535 N. Serrano Ave., a. 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 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.. Benny was fascinated with the idea of escaping, although he never actually tried while inside the walls. 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 . Dexter King went so far as to name Memphis Police Department Officer, Lt. Earl Clark as his fathers assassin. Christopher S. Bond (now U.S. During the original taped conversation, Milteer also revealed a plot against Martin Luther King, one that involved an NSRP hit man named Brown. Never afraid to share his political views, Grammer is known for his conservative values. In any event, the prison officials never placed him in the same category as Davis, Laster and Westberg, who would unhesitatingly use weapons while escaping. Top of Page James Earl Ray, who pleaded guilty to assassinating King, was renting a room above Jower's establishment and was allegedly an unwitting scapegoat. When The John Birch Society first made Kings communist connections known almost 50 years ago, most people were skeptical. On January 26, 1976, Time magazine devoted four pages to the King assassination, drawing heavily on material from McMillan's book, which was scheduled for publication later that year: In 1963 and 1964 Martin Luther King was on TV almost every day, talking defiantly about how black people were going to get their rights, insisting that they would accept with nonviolence all the terrible violence that white people were inflicting on them, until the day of victory arrived, until they did overcome. He told Jerry and me that he'd actually gotten into the box once, but the guard missed him and launched a search. He volunteered for Wallaces campaign and was very disappointed when Wallace could not win the campaign. After reading about the news in newspapers, he immediately drove to Memphis. ", 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. Declassified FBI Paper Reveals Martin Luther Kings Sexual Aberrations, Martin Luther King Day Based on MLKs Image, Not Reality, Martin Luther King: The Celebration of a Myth. While some speculate this was an attempt to hide his identity before killing King, others point to Ray's lack of care about disguising himself in other elements of the assassination plot. Ray was born in Alton, IL,in 1928, the son of working class Scots-Irish parents. 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). 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. [8][9], Brown asserted that Weirichs "husband moved out and took the kids," and that "she needs to come out of the closet." [12], Brown is an Independent candidate for the 2023 Memphis mayoral election. The jury awarded the money to the estate, deciding that Kings assassination had likely beenthe result of a conspiracy that involved Jowers, not Ray, as well as ''others, including governmental agencies.''. 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. A man named Vincent Harding is credited with writing most of it. Who assassinated Robert F. Kennedy on June 5, 1968? 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. The George Wallace Democrat of the 1960's aligns with the and is the Republican Party we know today. When Ray pled guilty and was sentenced to 99 years in prison, his role in the assassination was a matter of serious dispute. About two months later, Ray tried to escape, and he came to E-Hall. 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. 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, . He believed that King was a serious threat to the dominance of white people in the USA and wanted to stop him through any means. Earl Rays family had problems with the law enforcement ever since he was a child. In my interviews with him, I've found him to be eerily unflappable. The damage to Dr. King's clothing, when tested microscopically Why did James Earl Ray have cancer? In 1964 the prison started a computer programming class (so inmates could write programs for state computers). ''. The day after a stabbing, for example, virtually everyone in the prison who is considered "solid" would know who had done the stabbing. Westberg, in turn, liked James Earl Ray. Meanwhile, William Bradford Huie, gathering information for his book, They Slew The Dreamer, had taken an interest in George Ben Edmondson. After several days, the prison officials concluded that Ray had actually escaped, and they put out an alarm. In a story published based on the test, Playboy claimed that Ray had committed the crime alone. 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. Brown then said, "OK, OK, I'll tell you what. Its important to note that this verdict was not a criminal conviction, as is sometimes erroneously implied when this case surfaces online. There were no cellblock TVs in Jefferson City in 1963 and 1964. Of the 2,500 men in the prison, fewer than 20 had ever tried to escape from inside the walls. Jerry began to follow my lead, and that became a source of friction among me, Laster and Westberg. 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. William Francis Pepper (born August 16, 1937) is a U.S. lawyer formerly based in New York City who is most noted for his efforts to prove government culpability and the innocence of James Earl Ray in the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Pepper has also been trying to prove the innocence of Sirhan Sirhan in the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy. The verdict in King vs. Jowers found a government conspiracy involving city, state, and federal agents complicit in the murder. 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. What Political Party was James Earl Ray part of? All the seven prisoners who escaped from the prison were recaptured within two days and sent back to the prison. 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. Ray replied that he did not commit the crime. USA.gov, The U.S. National Archives and Records Administration Blakey, who served as chief counsel for the House Assassinations Committee, made his comments after ReverendKings widow, Coretta Scott King, asked President Bill Clinton in the spring of 1998 to appoint a commission to examine what she said was new evidence regarding her husbands death. In June 1977 Ray escaped from Brushy Mountain (Tennessee) Prison and remained at large for 54 hours before being recaptured in a massive manhunt. Articles from Britannica Encyclopedias for elementary and high school students. 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. 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 an article in The New American back in 1999, John F. McManus, former publisher of this magazine and president emeritus of The John Birch Society, provided further detail about ODell association with King: In 1960, King hired one Hunter Pitts ODell to his staff. During this period James Earl Ray was most noticeable as a guy who rented out magazines on the yard. Ray said he wasnt in the room when King was shot, but he was unable to consistently explain where he had been, or keep other important details in his story straight. As President Ronal Reagan once wrote to former New Hampshire Governor Meldrim Thomson, who had sent a letter to Reagan urging the president not to sign the bill for a holiday honoring King, On the national holiday you mentioned, I have the reservations you have, but here the perception of too many people is based on an image, not reality. He later joined the American army at the end of the Second World War and served in Germany. More:Manhunt in the mountains: James Earl Ray and the Brushy Mountain Prison breakout of 1977. "[11], Responding to a bar discipline complaint filed regarding the contempt incident, Brown declared himself unable to adequately defend himself as a result of health issues including type II diabetes, hypertension, and stress. Milteer, a Stoner associate, as he discussed NSRP plans with a Miami police informer. James Earl Ray did it, case closed! Their goal was to cover all aspects of true crime: Read More, Contents Copyright 1998-2020 by Crime Magazine | J. Patrick O'Connor Editor | E-mail CrimeMagazine.com, Designed by Orman. 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.

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