I think there was a major conspiracy to remove Doctor King from the American scene, said Rep. John Lewis (D-Ga.), a 78-year-old civil rights icon. His claim was that the assassination was the result of a conspiracy of the otherwise unidentified man named "Raul who was a blond Cuban. Biography and associated logos are trademarks of A+E Networksprotected in the US and other countries around the globe. King was then assassinated by James Earl Ray, a Democrat. The screen from the bathroom window was found on the ground below. Conspiracies have long gripped the American imagination, from JFKs assassination in 1963 to Deputy White House Counsel Vince Fosters suicidein 1993 to Democratic National Committee staffer Seth Richs slayingin 2016. In a criminal trial the guilt of the defendant must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt, but in a civil suit the plaintiff need only support his claim with a preponderance of evidence to prevail. Over the next several years, Ray embarked on a number of small crimes, serving various jail times. "[45][46][47][48], Prompted by the King family's acceptance of some of the claims of conspiracy, United States Attorney General Janet Reno ordered a new investigation on August 26, 1998. Ray began claiming that a man he had met in Montreal back in 1967, who used the alias "Raul," had been involved in the assassination. This article was published more than4 years ago. Digital They started the Ku Klux Klan as their league of fear to keep Black America in their place through terror, murdering black Republicans and implementing segregation, Jim Crow Laws, and Black Codes. More to the point, however, Jowers (who didn't even testify) was the only named party in the civil suit brought by the King family, and the judgment awarded in that case was a paltry $100, widely described as a token award to mark the trial's outcome. WebJack Kershaw. He drove away in a white Ford Mustang before the area was barricaded, went to Atlanta and then to Canada and England before being arrested in July 1968. Joe Biden recently stated to Black America if you arent voting for me, you aint black. This arrogant comment is a reflection of how Biden and the Democrat Party feel about Black America. Some witnesses, including then-New York Times reporter Earl Caldwell, said they saw a man moving in the thick bushes behind Jims Grill, below the bathroom. What was milliard fillmore's The Republican Party fought the KKK with the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 to stop their terror, which was opposed by Democrats. The full transcript of the trial remains posted on the King Centers website. Ray hired Jack Kershaw as his new attorney, and Kershaw publicly argued and promoted Ray's claim that he was not responsible for the assassination of King. U.S. public has turned against Ukraine war intervention, Ceres needs safer bike lanes, more animal control, Angel Richardson's Christmas Parade | Studio209, CIF D-4AA State Championship: Escalon vs Northwood | The Blitz Season 10, CIF D5-AA Regional Championship: Hughson vs Ripon Christian | The Blitz Season 10. [2] James Earl Ray was the oldest of nine children,[3] including John Larry Ray,[4] Franklin Ray, Jerry William Ray,[5] Melba Ray, Carol Ray Pepper, Suzan Ray, and Marjorie Ray. He was constantly in and out of prison so he never voted. He was a segregationist but neither a Republican or a Democrat. [6] Ray left school at the age of 12. King was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine outside room 306 when a single rifle bullet was fired into his lower jaw at 6:01 p.m. The Democrats opposed all Amendments. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. In a statement about the 1999 civil suit, Coretta Scott King cited several unrelated and unspecified agents in her description of the parties she believed were responsible for her husband's murder: There is abundant evidence of a major high level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband, Martin Luther King, Jr. And the civil court's unanimous verdict has validated our belief. Pepper was sued once for defamation, by an Army soldier he accused of participating in the conspiracy, and a South Carolina judge entered an $11 million default judgment against him in 2000. And the total amount of damages you find for the plaintiffs entitled to is one hundred dollars. Write to Olivia B. Waxman at olivia.waxman@time.com. Given the minor sum of money awarded, a jury would have little incentive to not find in favor of an account supported by both sides of a flawed case. [12] His chief interest, however, was the George Wallace presidential campaign. But Rays sudden guilty plea stopped all official investigations. The Justice Department also found the evidence presented in the civil trial to be lacking in credibility: The evidence introduced in King v. Jowers to support various conspiracy allegations consisted of either inaccurate and incomplete information or unsubstantiated conjecture, supplied most often by sources, many unnamed, who did not testify. An unexpected error has occurred with your sign up. James Earl Ray is infamous for assassinating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. Today, Planned Parenthood is predominately in the black community with half of all black pregnancies ending in an abortion. This verdict is not only a great victory for my family, but also a great victory for America. In the mock trial, the prosecutor was Hickman Ewing. Ray was spotted at the scene and, almost immediately after the killing, his fingerprints were found on the gun. 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. Please try again later. The paper reported King's planned return trip to Memphis, Tennessee, which was scheduled for 1st April, 1968. Ray died while that campaign was ongoing, but though the King family did win $100 in a 1999 wrongful death suit after the man charged as being part of a conspiracy didnt show up to the trial an official inquiry reiterated that the evidence against Ray was overwhelming and that there was no credibility to various theories that anyone else had been involved. The family wasnt seeking money, just information. Even a 1978 special congressional committee said there was the "likelihood" that Ray did not act alone. For the King family and others in the civil rights movement, the FBIs obsession with King in the years leading up to his slaying in Memphis on April 4, 1968 pervasive surveillance, a malicious disinformation campaign and open denunciations by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover laid the groundwork for their belief that he was the target of a plot. I dont believe James Earl Ray killed my father. Snopes and the Snopes.com logo are registered service marks of Snopes.com. The jury also affirmed overwhelming evidence that identified someone else, not James Earl Ray, as the shooter, and that Mr. Ray was set up to take the blame. [31] At check-in, the ticket agent noticed the name on his passport, Sneyd, was on a Royal Canadian Mounted Police watchlist. Pepper first visited Ray in prison in 1978 along with Ralph Abernathy, one of Kings closest associates. Now weve got to do something about this, weve got to give them something, just enough to quiet them down, not enough to make a difference. Johnson continued, Ill have those ni**ers voting Democrat for the next 200 years.. [10], While in Mexico, Ray, using the alias Eric Starvo Galt, attempted to establish himself as a pornographic film director. Kings two other surviving children, Dexter, 57, and Martin III, 60, fully agree that Ray was innocent. [37] A year was added to Ray's previous sentence, increasing it to a full century. He had a vehement hatred of folks of color.. He had Irish, Scottish and Welsh ancestry and had a Catholic upbringing. Frederick Rudolph Yokom. His family believes James Earl Ray was f Arnold Hirsch, influential historian of urban segregation, dies at 69. Ballistics tests could not prove that the rifle dropped outside the boardinghouse, a Remington .30-06 Gamemaster, either did or didnt fire the fatal shot, because the gun did not create distinctive grooves on the bullet, as most guns do. Andrew Young, the former U.N. ambassador and Atlanta mayor who was at the Lorraine Motel with King when he was shot there, agrees. He was trying to depart the United Kingdom for Angola, Rhodesia, or apartheid South Africa[30] using the falsified Canadian passport. Dexter King called his family together, his brother Martin said in an interview, and urged them to file a civil suit against Jowers as a means of seeking the truth. All Rights Reserved. We were living in the period of assassinations,Young said. Ray died in prison on April 23, 1998. Ray had been treated for liver disease over the years and according to the Tennessee Department of Correction, he died from that and kidney failure. Please attempt to sign up again. [38] The tests ultimately proved inconclusive. Do you also find that others, including governmental agencies, were parties to this conspiracy as alleged by the defendant? James Earl Ray was white. FBI agents later found this map when they searched the room in which he was staying. [38], In 1997, King's son, Dexter, met with Ray at the prison and asked him, "I just want to ask you, for the record, did you kill my father?" "I believe you," Dexter responded and shook his hand. They were recaptured on June 13. By the 1960s, Democrats like Governor George Wallace and Bull Conner fought against civil rights and turned hoses on black protesters. I think that contributed to the sense of conspiracy, like a What are they hiding? kind of thing. (Sides also appears in the PBS American Experience documentary on this subject, Roads to Memphis, airing Tuesday.). Was James earl ray white? He is the one who sits in leadership and is the most powerful person of a country. [21], After purchasing the rifle and accessories, Ray drove back to Atlanta. Why do you assume he was a Democrat? By that time, the Dixiecrats were rapidly becoming Republicans - so if he WAS a registered democrat, it was ju But he found it difficult to adapt to the military's strict codes of conduct. Loyd Jowers was a Memphis restaurant owner who inserted himself into the narrative about King's death in the course of a 1993 television interview during which he claimed to have been party to a larger conspiracy to assassinate King. After Byrd, the racist recruiter for the KKK died in 2010, Biden did his eulogy and praised the former Grand Kleagle as his mentor and dear friend.. However, President Trump has pumped fear into the Democrats as his policies are benefiting Black America. However, Jowers had long asserted he had no involvement in the event before suddenly and bizarrely claiming, twenty-five years after the fact, he had been paid to hire a hit man to kill Martin Luther King. Even those who believe that Ray, who died in prison in 1998, killed King tend to think that he received assistance from someone, whether it was his two brothers or the FBI or the mafia. On the map, the locations of the church and residence of Martin Luther King Jr. were circled. Ray told Huie that he purposefully left the rifle with his fingerprints on it in plain sight at the crime scene because he wanted to become a famous criminal. Check here if you would like to receive subscription offers and other promotions via email from TIME group companies. We are going to continue our conversation about the King assassination. [39][40][41] William Pepper, a friend of King during the last year of his life, represented Ray in a mock trial televised by HBO in an attempt to grant him the trial he never received. Hoover once told a group of reporters, on the record, that King was the most notorious liar in the country., You are done: A secret letter to Martin Luther King Jr. sheds light on FBIs malice. The Rays struggled to make ends meet, and as a consequence, the family moved several times during the early part of Ray's childhood. Ray met Anna Sandhu in 1977. Who killed Martin Luther King Jr.? Coretta King and Abernathy, aware of the FBI campaign, immediately suspected FBI involvement after Kings death. Democrats, Biden still trying to enslave Black America. That thank you got her censured by Democrats to silence her as she stated Democrats have ousted her from the Democrat Party and hinder her abilities to do her job. [29] Ray was then arrested at London Heathrow Airport attempting to leave the United Kingdom for Brussels. WebJames Earl Ray Escapes. For those lucky black children who werent aborted, Biden and the Democrats to this day block school choice for black families who want to take their children out of failing schools. There is abundant evidence, Coretta King said after the verdict, of a major, high-level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband. The jury found the mafia and various government agencies were deeply involved in the assassination. I wholeheartedly applaud the verdict of the jury and I feel that justice has been well served in their deliberations. Two years later, his young sister Marjorie, died in a fire after playing with matches and accidentally catching herself on fire. Rendering their verdict on December 8 of that year, the jury found that Jowers and others, including government agencies, had conspired to murder King, and he was therefore legally liable to pay compensation to the King family. He broke out of prisons so many times that he earned the nickname the Mole.. You come up with a better outcome, with evidence to support it, Ill support your theory. He remains adamant that Ray was the gunman but likely had help that should have been investigated in 1968 and was not. Among those who could have been pardoned was James Earl Ray, who just a decade before had assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. in Memphis. For both our family and the nation, Coretta King said after the verdict, we had to get involved, because the system did not work.. That weapon was not the weapon, Martin Luther King III said. This case overlooked so much contradictory evidence that never was presented, what other option did the jury have but to accept Mr. Pepper's version? According to Jowers, a Memphis produce dealer, who was involved with the Mafia, gave him $100,000 to hire an assassin and assured him that the police would not be at the scene of the shooting. Im certainly clear that there has been a conspiracy, from the government down to the mafia there had to be more than one person involved in all of this. Another is the shaky foundation on which the conspiracy theory rests is a matter of some nuance. Furthermore, according to these rumors, the reason this relatively new information (King was murdered on 4 April 1968) comes as a surprise to many is the "mainstream media" intentionally suppressed it after the government's role in King's death was exposed: It's common for exaggerated claims to contain a few elements of truth, and that factor comes into play in this conspiracy theory rumor for a few reasons. What Biden and the Democrats have done through the years is offer appetizers to Black America without ever delivering the full course meal. He also initially sought compensation for his story, and his friends and relatives acknowledge that he hoped to make money from his account. The photo still haunts us with what was lost. [13], He considered emigrating to Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe), where a predominantly white minority regime had unilaterally assumed independence from the United Kingdom in 1965. The UK quickly extradited Ray to Tennessee, where he was charged with King's murder. Ray had continued using the Galt alias after his stint in Mexico, but when he made this purchase, he gave his name as Harvey Lowmeyer. Jowers further maintained that Ray did not shoot Dr. King and that he did not believe Ray knowingly participated in the conspiracy. By 1924, the KKK was part of the Democrats party platform as they marched in unison in New York City to the Democrat National Convention. John Campbell, who investigated the case for years in the Shelby County, Tenn., district attorneys office, said that Rays version of events kept changing. His office issued a report in 1998 saying Ray was responsible. Magazines, Digital Your answer to that one is also yes. He spent many hours volunteering at the campaign headquarters in North We found no reliable evidence to support Jowers' allegations that he conspired with others to shoot Dr. King from behind Jim's Grill. (In the event, the verdict referred only to "governmental agencies" rather than the U.S. government specifically, a term that could include anything from local police to the CIA.) Housed at the Missouri State Penitentiary, Ray managed to escape the facility in 1967. We strive for accuracy and fairness.If you see something that doesn't look right,contact us! Those prints were already among the FBIs records for wanted individuals. [22], According to the FBI, on 4th April, 1968 Ray killed civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. with a single shot fired from his Remington rifle, while King was standing on the second-floor balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. "I had nothing to do with killing your father," Ray said. [citation needed]. He has spoken around the world to anyone who will listen, including recently at the National Civil Rights Museum at the Lorraine Motel, where King was killed. The largest government investigation, led by the House Select Committee on Assassinations under chief counsel Robert Blakey, theorized in 1979 that Ray committed the killing in the hope of collecting a $50,000 bounty offered by supporters of then-presidential candidate George Wallace in St. Louis, where Rays brothers lived. He confessed to the crime on March 10, 1969, his 41st birthday,[34] and after pleading guilty he was sentenced to 99 years in prison.[35]. Best Known For: James Earl Ray is infamous for assassinating civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in 1968. It pains my heart, said Bernice King, 55, the youngest of Martin Luther Kings four children and the executive director of the King Center in Atlanta, that James Earl Ray had to spend his life in prison paying for things he didnt do.. 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