James Earl Ray

Lore & Background

James Earl Ray was the eldest of nine children, born to George Ellis Ray and Lucille Ray in Alton, Illinois, with Irish, Scottish, and Welsh ancestry. He left formal schooling at age twelve. After serving in the U.S. Army in Germany following World War II, he was discharged in 1948 for ineptitude and lack of adaptability. His criminal career began with a 1949 burglary conviction in California, followed by armed robbery of a taxi driver in Illinois, and a mail fraud conviction for stealing money orders in Missouri, which led to four years at Leavenworth. In 1959, he was sentenced to twenty years for an armed robbery of a Kroger store in St. Louis. He escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary on April 23, 1967, by hiding in a bread truck. After escaping, he traveled under the alias Eric Starvo Galt, obtaining an Alabama driver’s license and purchasing a white 1966 Ford Mustang. He attempted to make pornographic films in Mexico, attended bartending school in Los Angeles, and volunteered at George Wallace’s segregationist presidential campaign headquarters. He bought a .38 revolver in Birmingham and later, on March 30, 1968, purchased a Remington Model 760 .30-06 rifle with a scope from an Alabama supply company. After the assassination, he fled to London, intending to settle in Rhodesia, but was captured there. He pleaded guilty in 1969 to avoid a possible death sentence and received 99 years in prison. He died on April 23, 1998, at age 70, from kidney disease and liver failure due to hepatitis C, having served twenty-nine years.

Reader's Guide

James Earl Ray's conviction for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. remains a subject of controversy and dispute. Although Ray pleaded guilty in 1969, he later made numerous unsuccessful attempts to withdraw his plea and be tried by a jury. In 1994, restaurant owner Loyd Jowers claimed he was part of a conspiracy to assassinate King and that Ray was a scapegoat. A 1999 Memphis civil trial jury unanimously concluded that Jowers was liable, that King was the victim of a conspiracy, and that various U.S. governmental agencies had conspired to murder King and frame Ray. The King family has consistently stated they believe Ray was innocent, pointing to Memphis Police Department Lieutenant Earl Clark as the true murderer, though the U.S. Ray's political alignment with segregationist views and his support for George Wallace's campaign contextualize his actions, but the unresolved questions about a broader conspiracy continue to shape historical debate. His legacy is thus tied both to the assassination itself and to enduring doubts about the official account.

Did You Know?

• Ray escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary on April 23, 1967, by hiding in a truck transporting bread from the prison bakery.
• After the assassination, Ray fled to London, where he was captured; he had planned to live in exile in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe).
• In a 1999 Memphis civil trial, a jury unanimously concluded that Loyd Jowers was liable for the assassination and that King was the victim of a conspiracy involving U.S. governmental agencies.