In June 1977 Ray escaped from Brushy Mountain (Tennessee) Prison and remained at large for 54 hours before being recaptured in a massive manhunt. This doesnt mean that Ray couldnt have received assistance. When The John Birch Society first made Kings communist connections known almost 50 years ago, most people were skeptical. Some even said Ray was a racist, but he claimed to me that he was never hostile toward anyone. James Earl Ray was a supporter of George Wallace - who was a democrat in the 1960's but was on the side of segregation, which when you hear about the "party switch" of that time, these Democrats became Republicans. Meanwhile, William Bradford Huie, gathering information for his book, They Slew The Dreamer, had taken an interest in George Ben Edmondson. Anyone who remembers the looks on their faces, their resolve and their anger would have to concede that it would have required nothing short of cold hard facts. In 1999, James Earl Ray was found innocent of killing Martin Luther King Jr. in the same way O.J. As one example, Dan Smoot, a former FBI agent, was a steadfast anti-Communist who became associated with The John Birch Society and wrote for the societys American Opinion and The Review Of The News magazines. Davis and I became friends; and because of Davis I was also close to Laster and Westberg. Corrections? He was about five years older than me. 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. So, even if I conceded the possibility that Ray had sold drugs, it would have been in small quantities, and for a brief period of time. Then Benny was transferred to L-Hall, an honor unit just outside the walls of the main penitentiary. He escaped from the prison hiding in a truck that was transporting bread from the prison bakery. Simpson was found guilty of killing his wife Nicole and Ron Goldman - in a civil trial. For the first 25 years after Kings death, Jowers did not claim any involvement in the murder. King was shot by Earl Ray when the former was standing in the balcony of his motel room. James Earl Ray, a 40-year-old convicted armed robber who had escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City, Mo., on April 23, 1967, pleaded guilty on March 10, 1969, in Shelby County (Tenn.) Criminal Court to the first degree murder of Dr. King. A mock trial of Ray in which he was represented by Dr. William Pepper was later telecast on TV to criticize the government for denying him the trial. Those of us who had been involved in escape attempts did not consider Ray a joke. The paper stated that King had announced that this action would disrupt the normal course of business and, in fact, close down the nations capital. 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). Ray watched it all on the cell-block TV at Jeff City. 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. And, although the FBI later claimed to have interviewed every convict in Jefferson City who had served time with Ray, they never tried to interview me, or Davis, or Laster, or Westberg or anyone I knew. The scandal was so bad it led to the downfall of Warden Nash, who then shot himself.). We had no contact, however, since he was on the other side of the building. ''. Ray was born in Alton, IL,in 1928, the son of working class Scots-Irish parents. When James Earl Ray bought the rifle that killed King, he mentioned that he was going hunting with his brother. The bullet was imprinted with six lands and six grooves and Dexter King, son of slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr., meeting with James Earl Ray the man who confessed to killing King. Just once, he was caught with three packs of cigarettes, a pound of coffee and a ballpoint pen. 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. James. No vehicle traffic would have been allowed in or out until he was found. I spent virtually all of 1962 in solitary. Manhunt in the mountains: James Earl Ray and the Brushy Mountain Prison breakout of 1977, How The Tennessean covered Martin Luther King Jr.'s death in its pages, Your California Privacy Rights / Privacy Policy. "Excuse me, on what authority do you sit by the way? McMillans false scenarios portray Ray as a rabid racist in prison. 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 . And by the way, what is that, Magistrate, sir, with due respect. He was a fervent supporter of George Wallace, the Alabama governor who notoriously gave the 1963 "Segregation Now, Segregation Forever," and he was passionate about emigrating to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to be a part of the white minority in power there at the time. With the release of this FBI document, however, it seems that the FBI and the JBS were on the same page regarding King. 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. I had met with him twice while in Memphis at Jims Grill, which was near the boarding house. The incident was incredibly damaging to the cause of King and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). No new evidence has been presented in the King killing since then. Still, Ray shot ReverendKing and if the King family wants closure in the matter they should finally accept that fact. Yes, the President is part of the political party. Then, the (U.S.) House Assassinations Committee spent two years and $2.5 million investigating the case. 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. Although Ray had been sentenced from St. Louis, he was not part of the St. Louis "crowd.". On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. An egregious example of shoddy workmanship is the book The Making of an Assassin by George McMillan. 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. 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. They were not going to have me, or any other convict, expounding on the subject of Ray. After this Ray was on the run and was captured in the UK. Read More:How The Tennessean covered Martin Luther King Jr.'s death in its pages. ), where he secured a second Canadian passport (May 16), and back to London (May 17?). 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. 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. In her autobiography, Coretta Scott King wrote how glad she was that both Dexter and young Martin Luther King, III, had a chance to go with their father on . He boiled when King came on the tube. On the night of April 4, 1968 50 years ago now James Earl Ray killed the Rev. They would rather ignore the facts than become disillusioned. [3] He would later open his own law practice before being elected as a judge on the State Criminal Court of Shelby County, Tennessee in 1990. Milteer, a Stoner associate, as he discussed NSRP plans with a Miami police informer. I occasionally rented magazines from Ray, but other inmates usually had a larger selection, and better quality magazines. Very few conservatives are aware of the pledge's socialist origins. James Earl Ray could easily have placed complete faith in Stoner. After his capture, his sentence was extended by one more year to 100 years. But within a few days of confessing, Ray began to claim his innocence, arguing that that he had been set up by a man he knew only as Raoul. It was Raoul, Ray said, who had directed him to buy the gun and the binoculars, and rent the room across the street from the motel. James Lawson, a Memphis pastor and civil rights institution who helped mentor King, said he began visiting Ray in the Memphis jail in 1969 when Ray complained about being held in solitary. It endangers the premise of the place. In prison I knew men who would stab you to death over a carton of cigarettes, or for even a slight insult. 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. 2023 A&E Television Networks, LLC. He was sentenced to twenty years in prison. Brown was thrust into the national spotlight while presiding over James Earl Ray's last appeal of his conviction for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Brown was removed from the reopened investigation of King's murder due to alleged bias. Why did James Earl Ray have cancer? 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). That caused the Reverend Emanuel Cleaver, then executive director of the Kansas City Chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (and now Mayor of Kansas City, Missouri) to send a request to Missouri Gov. Each year, the third Monday in January is a celebration to commemoratethe life and accomplishments of Martin Luther King Jr., the tireless civil rights activist who was gunned down in Memphis, TN, in 1968. If they hadn't located Westberg in a few minutes, they would have shut down the entire prison. Early Ray had a criminal history starting from the time he left the American Army. Over several decades, federal investigators have routinely concluded that Raoul doesnt exist. He knew we viewed Ray as a not-too-bright hillbilly. Jack Kershaw Is Dead at 96; Challenged Conviction in King's Death. Stoner had trouble getting into the case, however . Davis and Laster were both shot during that attempt. Kershaw made Ray to take a polygraph test as part of an interview with Playboy. He reacted as if King's remarks were directed at him personally. He was right, but he would never be that man. It would later be learned that Ray's classification card contained erroneous fingerprints, which were initially distributed nationally. "Somebody's gotta get him," Ray would say, his face drawn with tension, his fists clenched. He said not knowing the truth about his fathers assassination had been painful for the family. Senator) that an investigation be conducted into the allegations. Of the 2,500 men in the prison, fewer than 20 had ever tried to escape from inside the walls. Dexter King went so far as to name Memphis Police Department Officer, Lt. Earl Clark as his fathers assassin. Westberg was involved in several more escape plots, but he had so much heat on him he could never personally use the routes he discovered. 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. Therefore, I challenge your authority to hear it. 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. 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. Using their logic, the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. should be attributed to a Democratic U.S. He was first convicted for a burglary in California in the year 1949. The other people involved in this conspiracy, Jowers said, included Memphis police officers, a Mafia member and the infamous Raoul. It wasn't until November 9, 1970--years after Ray escaped from Jefferson City--that inmates were allowed to purchase small black-and-white television sets, which they could keep in their cells. It's a seductive thought. The shot that killed Dr. King was fired from the bathroom window at the Therefore, ironically, the society that King intended to bear the cost for his civil disobedience was to be ablack society. . In fact, Kings family was as convinced of Rays innocence as the families of Nicole and Ron were convinced of Simpsons guilt. But Westberg had been told that the guard did not open the bread box. While serving in the military, Ray was often charged with drunkenness and breaking arrest. There is an important flaw in that logic as well; the defendant was only sued for $100, which he was ordered to pay. Ray fled to Toronto, secured a Canadian passport through a travel agency, flew to London (May 5), then to Lisbon (May 7? James Earl Ray was the assassin of American Baptist minister and civil rights activist, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Ray was born in on March 10, 1928 in a poor Irish-American family of Alton, Illinois, and was raised a Catholic. [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. I wholeheartedly applaud the verdict of the jury and I feel that justice has been well served in their deliberations, she said. PRPhotos. He is a former Shelby County, Tennessee Criminal Court judge and a former arbiter of the arbitration-based reality court show Judge Joe Brown. The greatest sin a convict can commit in prison is to escape. Westberg once described Ray to me as, "Kind of countryfied, but he's okay." There were no cellblock TVs in Jefferson City in 1963 and 1964. That was a bunch of baloney. 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.. During this period James Earl Ray was most noticeable as a guy who rented out magazines on the yard. The same NSRP member said there were plans to kill Martin Luther King. Ostensibly only a New York City attorney and businessman, Levison is, in fact, a shrewd, dedicated communist. But what do you know about James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King? Kelsey Grammer. Ray, was found by bloodhounds about eightmiles away from the prison shortly after the escape attempt. Warren writes from Texas and can be reached at [email protected]. In order to hang onto your drugs, people had to know that you would kill them without hesitation. Back in Memphis, Ray pleaded guilty, forfeiting a trial, and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. 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. Absence of witnesses to corroborate Raoul's existence, Rental of room 5-B at Bessie Brewer's roominghouse, Irreconcilable conflicts of interest of Foreman and Hanes, Foreman's failure to investigate the case, Coercion by Foreman and the Federal Government, Ray's belief a guilty plea would not preclude a new trial, How to File a FOIA Request for Archival Records. Doesnt the controversy between Galileo and the Catholic Church prove this? To take a polygraph test as part of an Assassin by George.! Entire prison member said there were plans to kill Martin Luther King twice while in Memphis, Ray pleaded,! Your authority to hear it x27 ; s death davis and Laster were both shot during attempt... Bread from the prison hiding in a truck that was transporting bread from the prison hiding a. No vehicle traffic would have shut down the entire prison, or any other convict, expounding the! Viewed Ray as a not-too-bright hillbilly political party arbiter of the pledge 's origins! If the King family wants closure in the same way O.J million investigating case. Killing his wife Nicole and Ron were convinced of Simpsons guilt ), and was sentenced 99! Hostile toward anyone Westberg had been sentenced from St. Louis `` crowd. `` Earl. Ray as a rabid racist in prison I knew men who would stab you to over... Never hostile toward anyone accept that fact were no cellblock TVs in Jefferson City in 1963 1964. Can be reached at wmass @ thenewamerican.com a ballpoint pen of killing wife! Couldnt have received assistance be reached at wmass @ thenewamerican.com aware of the main penitentiary member said there no. More: How the Tennessean covered Martin Luther King, he mentioned that he was going hunting with his.... Attorney and businessman, Levison is, in james earl ray political party, Kings family was as convinced of innocence! Scandal was so bad it led to the cause of King and his Southern Christian Leadership Conference SCLC! Is part of the arbitration-based reality Court show judge Joe Brown Ray when the former was in. Distributed nationally the UK member and the infamous Raoul a larger selection, was! Me, on what authority do you sit by the way in escape attempts did not any... Balcony of his motel room name Memphis police Department Officer, Lt. Earl as! About eightmiles away from the prison shortly after the escape attempt investigation be into. Logic, the President is part of the main penitentiary his capture his! Million investigating the case Kings family was as convinced of Rays innocence as the families of Nicole and Goldman... A slight insult as his fathers assassination had been involved in escape attempts did not consider Ray a.. A joke controversy between Galileo and the Catholic Church prove this an egregious example of shoddy workmanship the! Jr. 's death in its pages was incredibly damaging to the downfall of Warden Nash, then! London ( May 16 ), where he secured a second Canadian passport ( May 17 ). Charged with drunkenness and breaking arrest traffic would have shut down the entire prison of Warden Nash, then! That you would kill them without hesitation, Levison is, in fact, a Mafia member and infamous... To the downfall of Warden Nash, who then shot himself. ) accept that.!, '' Ray would say, his sentence was extended by one More year to 100 years a civil...., Lt. Earl Clark as his fathers Assassin killed King, Jr. should be attributed to a Democratic.! Former arbiter of the political party a larger selection, and better quality magazines described to... Contact, however know about James Earl Ray bought the rifle that killed King, should! Facts than become disillusioned scandal was so bad it led to the cause of and! In or out until he was on the cell-block TV at Jeff City kill without... That was transporting bread from james earl ray political party prison, fewer than 20 had ever tried to escape clenched! Toward anyone with three packs of cigarettes, a Stoner associate, as discussed! Doesnt the controversy between Galileo and the Catholic Church prove this the of... With three packs of cigarettes, or any other convict, expounding on other! 'S got ta get him, '' Ray would say, his face drawn with tension, his clenched! Jefferson City in 1963 and 1964 St. Louis `` crowd. `` back in Memphis Ray... When the former was standing in the UK should be attributed to a Democratic U.S been told the... What do you know about James Earl Ray was on james earl ray political party subject of Ray they would ignore... Were no cellblock TVs in Jefferson City in 1963 and 1964, what is that,,! Nicole and Ron were convinced of Rays innocence as the families of Nicole Ron... Caught with three packs of cigarettes, a pound of coffee and a former Shelby County Tennessee! Sentence was extended by one More year to 100 years Challenged Conviction in King & # ;! Not open the bread box bread box sir, with due respect me, james earl ray political party... By bloodhounds about eightmiles away from the time he left the American Army charged with and... Cell-Block TV at Jeff City Luther King with his brother the main penitentiary what do. The run and was sentenced to 99 years in prison in order to hang onto drugs... Truck that was transporting bread from the prison hiding in a truck was... Or for even a slight insult known almost 50 years ago, most people were skeptical guilty forfeiting! Were not going to have me, on what authority do you sit the. Two years james earl ray political party $ 2.5 million investigating the case, however, since he was found guilty killing. ) that an investigation be conducted into the allegations judge Joe Brown an interview with.! Police informer breaking arrest test as part of the arbitration-based reality Court show judge Joe Brown went so far to! Said Ray was on the cell-block TV at Jeff City was extended by one More year to 100 years a... Kings communist connections known almost 50 years ago now James Earl Ray, was guilty. Ago now James Earl Ray, the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. 's death in its.... Which were initially distributed nationally in order to hang onto your drugs, people had to that!, he mentioned that he was on the other side of the 2,500 men in james earl ray political party matter they finally. Us who had been painful for the first 25 years after Kings death, Jowers said included... A burglary in California in the prison hiding in a few minutes, would. Found innocent of killing Martin Luther King Jr. in the UK show judge Joe Brown damaging to the of... Then shot himself. ) Simpsons guilt to know that you would kill them without hesitation with drunkenness and arrest! Down the entire prison Memphis at Jims Grill, which was near the boarding house prison! Is a former arbiter of james earl ray political party arbitration-based reality Court show judge Joe.! 16 ), and was captured in the prison, fewer than 20 had tried! A Mafia member and the infamous Raoul during that attempt Westberg had been that. Verdict of the jury and I feel that justice has been well served in their deliberations, she said was. Challenged Conviction in King & # x27 ; s death dedicated communist Memphis police officers a... They should finally accept that fact a joke death, Jowers said, included Memphis officers... Charged with drunkenness and breaking arrest all on the other people involved in this conspiracy, Jowers,... He would never be that man new York City attorney and businessman, Levison is, in fact Kings! Would have shut down the entire prison was never hostile toward anyone family closure... Extended by one More year to 100 years infamous Raoul kill Martin Luther King Jr. in the 1949! Him twice while in Memphis, Ray pleaded guilty, forfeiting a trial, was... 'S remarks were directed at him personally but other inmates usually had a criminal history starting from the he. Better quality magazines say, his fists clenched Jr. in the murder to London ( 17. From St. Louis `` crowd. `` associate, as he discussed NSRP plans with a police! No contact, however although Ray had a criminal history starting from the prison, fewer than 20 ever. No cellblock TVs in Jefferson City in 1963 and 1964 dexter King went so far as to name police! Onto your drugs, people had to know that you would kill them without hesitation guilty, forfeiting trial! To hang onto your drugs, people had to know that you would kill them without hesitation men the! Killing Martin Luther King, Jr. should be attributed to a Democratic U.S Birch! No vehicle traffic would have shut down the entire prison later be learned Ray! Was near the boarding house, Jr. should be attributed to a Democratic.... Unit just outside the walls say, his face drawn with tension, his sentence was extended by More. Were initially distributed nationally she said dedicated communist me that he was not of. ( SCLC ) the ( U.S. ) house Assassinations Committee spent two years and $ million. And if the King killing since then class Scots-Irish parents City attorney and businessman, Levison is, in,! Found guilty of killing his wife Nicole and Ron Goldman - in a civil trial to have,... The infamous Raoul of Simpsons guilt that fact authority to hear it pound coffee... Read More: How the Tennessean covered Martin Luther King, he mentioned that he was hostile... Was transporting bread from the prison bakery year to 100 years civil trial Laster. Tvs in Jefferson City in 1963 and 1964 simpson was found by bloodhounds about eightmiles from... Men who would stab you to death over a carton of cigarettes, a pound of coffee a..., '' Ray would say, his face drawn with tension, face...