A man named Vincent Harding is credited with writing most of it. In 1964 the prison started a computer programming class (so inmates could write programs for state computers). 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. 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. According to press accounts, Brown became combative and irate after Horne refused to discuss details of the case that were not on the schedule. King is aware of the possibility of violence because one of his aides proclaimed recently to the press, Jail will be the safest place in Washington this spring.. I first met Benny Edmondson at the Algoa Reformatory in 1956, where he was teaching typing at the school. The cells that I was associated with in Cleveland were continually being asked to raise funds for Martin Luther Kings activities. She also said, Mr. Although Ray had been sentenced from St. Louis, he was not part of the St. Louis "crowd.". 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. ", 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. In renouncing his guilt, Ray raised the spectre of a conspiracy behind Kings murder but offered scant evidence to support his claim. B. In the year 1952, he served a two year prison sentence for the armed robbery of a cab driver. In the year 1968, Earl Ray brought a Remington Model 760 Gamemaster .30-06-caliber rifle and a box with 20 cartridges. After Kings violent death, and the sealing of most government files related to King, the natural tendency of people to not want to speak ill of the dead set in. He was about five years older than me. Why did James Earl Ray have cancer? A two month long manhunt spanning five countries was launched by the law enforcement agencies to nab him. James Earl Ray was a racist, but there was circumstantial evidence that a businessman in St. Louis had established a $50,000 bounty for King's death." . Ray told me several times, and I have it on tape, that he bought the rifle that was used in the King slaying. The FBI paper then named another communist whose name is very familiar to those who have read articles about Kings communist connections in The New American, its predecessor magazine, American Opinion, and the monthly bulletins of The John Birch Society, the parent organization of both publications. Therefore, I challenge your authority to hear it. After the assassination, King's family did not trust the findings of the FBI, which had harassed the civil rights leader while he was alive. "[20] All Rights Reserved. Four days after that, Martin Luther King, Jr. was dead. And by the way, what is that, Magistrate, sir, with due respect. There were no cellblock TVs in Jefferson City in 1963 and 1964. Still, Ray shot ReverendKing and if the King family wants closure in the matter they should finally accept that fact. On April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot while standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. Stoner had trouble getting into the case, however, because no mainstream lawyer wanted anything to do with him. Levison has spent the major part of his life advancing communist interests. FBI investigators at the time traced the shot to a rooming house across the street, and witnesses directed them to a large bundle dropped on the sidewalk after the shooting. But what do you know about James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King? 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. It got so that the very sight of King would galvanize Ray. Among the files related to the JFK assassination that were recently released was an FBI research paper dated March 12, 1968, with the subject line Martin Luther King, Jr.: A Current Analysis. The paper was written just a month before the controversial civil-rights activist was shot and killed on April 4, 1968. But almost immediately after her husbands assassination, she suspected that the FBI, which had investigated the murder, was involved in it. 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. In fact, Kings family was as convinced of Rays innocence as the families of Nicole and Ron were convinced of Simpsons guilt. [17] In audio obtained by WREG[18] and an available transcript on eonline.com,[19] Brown can be heard arguing that the judge didn't have the authority to sit on the bench. Ray spent the rest of his life in prison and suffered with kidney and liver ailments in his last years. 1. When ODells position as a member of the National Committee of the Communist Party was revealed in 1961, King supposedly fired him. The box was picked up, and Ray successfully escaped on April 23, 1967. There is abundant evidence of a major high level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband, Martin Luther King, Jr., Coretta King said at a press conference in 1999, according to The King Center. There it was once again: A belief from the Rev. He even changed his family name to Raynes in order to avoid the law enforcement agencies. He edited most of the chapters of Kings book Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community? [4] While on the bench he was known for his sometimes unusual sentences, such as, sentencing a child molester to confess to his church congregation and ordering a drug trafficker to apologize in a newspaper letter.[5]. We had no contact, however, since he was on the other side of the building. Its important to note that this verdict was not a criminal conviction, as is sometimes erroneously implied when this case surfaces online. That description comes closer to Jerry Ray than to James Earl Ray. Kershaw and Ray approached the United States House Select Committee on Assassinations and got approval for the conduct of ballistics tests. . 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. Starting with his contribution to the presidential campaign of Wallace, Ray developed a strong animosity towards Martin Luther King Jr. Westberg once described Ray to me as, "Kind of countryfied, but he's okay." When prominent people die violently, they become martyrs in some peoples eyes, and there is a reluctance on their part even to consider anything that blemishes the heroic image they have formed of the individual. Ray was also Stoner's bodyguard and chauffeur. The day after a stabbing, for example, virtually everyone in the prison who is considered "solid" would know who had done the stabbing. He made the FBI Most Wanted List before his recapture. James Earl Ray (born 1965) is listed at 42036 Queen Anne Ct Northville, Mi 48167 and has no known political party affiliation. He boiled when King came on the tube. Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting. Warren Mass has served The New American since its launch in 1985 in several capacities, including marketing, editing, and writing. I went to Memphis to deliver a rifle to this man called Raoul, Ray told me. Corrections? The scandal was so bad it led to the downfall of Warden Nash, who then shot himself.). Although Westberg liked Ray, he never brought him around us. He told Jerry and me that he'd actually gotten into the box once, but the guard missed him and launched a search. Sometime before 4:00 p.m. on April 4, 1968, James Earl Ray parked his white Mustang on South Main Street and, under an assumed name, rented a room in the second floor rooming house directly above the grill. Among the evidence was a recording of Jowers in which he suggested he was interested in fabricating his story for financial gain. During the six years that James Earl Ray was an inmate at the Missouri State Penitentiary, he kept primarily to himself and, other than for the fact that he attempted to escape on more than one occasion, he had only one conduct violation during that entire time and that was for the possession of three packages of cigarettes, a ball point pen and one pound of coffeeIn addition, you might be interested to know that prior to the Governor's receiving your Mailgram, I personally discussed the allegations and conclusions in the, Shortly after Ray pled guilty to the King murder, Clay Blair's book. I wholeheartedly applaud the verdict of the jury and I feel that justice has been well served in their deliberations, she said. Of the 2,500 men in the prison, fewer than 20 had ever tried to escape from inside the walls. [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. it near 424 South Main Street, It is highly probable that James Earl Ray stalked Dr. King for a As a former judge here, we have a rule in the 30th Judicial Districtit says every single Magistrate Referee has to be unanimously approved by every Circuit, Chancery, and Criminal Court Judge. Drupal theme by ThemeSnap.com, That is why he could never have been a major drug dealer. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). [6] It was during this time that Brown caught the attention of the producers of Judge Judy. Christopher S. Bond (now U.S. Its not clear when Coretta Scott King, widow of King, began to believe in Rays innocence. I'll be out of here very shortly on a Petition for Habeas Corpus and I'll bring up all these problems and guess what, you might not be operating tomorrow. After his capture, his sentence was extended by one more year to 100 years. In only two decades, the white population fell by over 300,000; DC became majority-black in the late 1950s.. Updates? He was sentenced to 99 years at the State penitentiary. This list details the strange, unstable life of James Earl Ray, a man who confessed to and then spent his life denyingthe murder of Martin Luther King Jr. But they are unanimous on one key point: James Earl Ray did not kill Martin Luther King.. [13], Brown is twice divorced and has two sons from his first marriage.[14]. Rays father forged a check and hence had to shift his family to Ewing, Missouri to escape enforcement authorities. During the 1950 and 60s, the FBI surveilled and harassed King, his family and his associates. . Joseph Blakeney Brown Jr. (born July 5, 1947), known as Judge Joe Brown, is a former American lawyer and television personality. six grooves with a right twist. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. He decided to assassinate him to stop blacks from getting equal status to the whites. rear of a roominghouse at 422 1/2 South Main Street, Memphis, Tenn. James Earl Ray purchased the rifle that was used to shoot Dr. King and transported and other allegedly exculpatory evidence are not worthy of belief. Stoner's hatred of blacks would not have been offensive to him Ray; he might have viewed it as a little extreme, but he would have admired Stoner for being a rebel and for having a network of trusted associates. King family never believed that Ray was the actual murderer. While he was still in Los Angeles, Ray had the desire to immigrate to Rhodesia (now called Zimbabwe) where a white minority regime declared independence from England in the year 1965. nitrites would have indicated a close-range discharge). He volunteered for Wallaces campaign and was very disappointed when Wallace could not win the campaign. Milteer told the informant that a scheme was in the works to kill President Kennedy. James Earl Ray could easily have placed complete faith in Stoner. Twice a week we compile our most fascinating features and deliver them straight to you. Very few conservatives are aware of the pledge's socialist origins. He began to call him Martin "Lucifer" King and Martin Luther "Coon." This is the real thing and as an officer of the court he should have known better. Benny and I studied programming together, and in 1966 we worked in the programming office together. He was right, but he would never be that man. His perceived inability to deal successfully with those problems led to an overwhelming defeat in his bid for reelection. Ray, although not personally motivated by racism, comes from a rural background where blacks are not highly regarded. Although Benny was eventually released from prison and returned to work for the engineering firm he'd been employed by at the time of his arrest in Canada, interest in him by then had died out, and the book was never published. In 1967, he returned to the United States (Los Angeles) from Mexico and took dancing classes in a bartending school. Brown claimed that the sentence was excessive, and that he should have only been fined; Dan Michael, the Shelby County Juvenile Court chief magistrate that found Brown in contempt, responded that "This is not Hollywood. Judge Brown's lawyer filed an appeal, but the appeal was refused. "[21], Brown was warned that he would be held in contempt before these comments. 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