James earl ray cause of death
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James Earl Ray
1928-1998
Who Was James Earl Ray?
A confirmed racist and small-time criminal, James Earl Ray began plotting the assassination of revered civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. in early 1968. He shot and killed King in Memphis on April 4, 1968. Ray confessed to the crime the following March and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. After his sentencing, Ray recanted his confession and maintained his innocence until his death in prison on April 23, 1998, at age 70.
Quick Facts
FULL NAME: James Earl Ray
BORN: March 10, 1928
DIED: April 23, 1998
BIRTHPLACE: Alton, Illinois
SPOUSE: Anna Sandu (1978-1992)
ASTROLOGICAL SIGN: Pisces
Early Years
James Earl Ray was born on March 10, 1928, in Alton, Illinois, was the eldest of George and Lucille Ray's nine children. The Rays struggled to make ends meet, and as a consequence, the family moved several times during the early part of Ray's childhood.
A part of his life was shaped by tragedy. In 1935 the family suddenly left Alton and relocated to Ewing, Missouri, after police had started looking for Ray's father on
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James Earl Ray
Convicted assassin of Martin Luther King Jr. (1928–1998)
James Earl Ray | |
|---|---|
Mug shot of Ray taken on July 8, 1955 | |
| Born | (1928-03-10)March 10, 1928 Alton, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | April 23, 1998(1998-04-23) (aged 70) Nashville, Tennessee, U.S. |
| Known for | Being convicted for the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. |
| Conviction(s) | First degree murder Armed robbery (4x) Mail fraud Burglary (2x) Passport fraud Escape (2x) |
| Criminal penalty | 100 years imprisonment[a] |
| Escaped | April 23, 1967–June 8, 1968 June 10–13, 1977 |
| Victims | Martin Luther King Jr., 39 |
| Date | April 4, 1968 |
James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American fugitive who was convicted of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. After the assassination, Ray fled to London and was captured there. Ray was convicted in 1969 after entering a guilty plea—thus forgoing a jury trial and the possibility of a death sentence—and was sentenced to 99 years of imprisonment.
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Ray, James Earl
American criminal James Earl Ray (1928–1998) pled guilty to assassinating civil rights activist Martin Luther King Jr. and was sentenced to 99 years in prison on March 10, 1969. Three days later he recanted his plea. He then spent almost 30 years vainly attempting to win the right to the trial he had forsworn. He eventually gained such unlikely allies as members of the King family and the Reverend Jesse Jackson in his protestations of innocence and quest for a trial. Ray's death on April 23, 1998, did little to quell the unanswered questions and conspiracy theories that abounded, but a 2000 probe led by then-U.S. Attorney GeneralJanet Reno found no credible evidence to reopen the investigation. Nonetheless, there were some who remained unconvinced.
Unhappy Childhood
Ray was born into poverty on March 10, 1928, in Alton, Illinois. He was the eldest child of Lucille and George Ellis Ray, who briefly moved the family to Bowling Green, Missouri, when Ray was two. In 1935 the family relocated again, this time to a bleak and arid 60-acre farm in Ewing, Missouri,
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