Born: 10-Mar-1928
Birthplace: Alton, IL
Died: 23-Apr-1998
Location of death: Nashville, TN [1]
Cause of death: Kidney failure [2]
Remains: Cremated (ashes scattered)

Gender: Male
Religion: Roman Catholic [3]
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Assassin

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Pled guilty in Martin Luther King's assassination

Military service: US Army

Discharged from the military for "ineptness and lack of adaptability".

Pleaded guilty to assassinating black civil rights Martin Luther King on 4 April 1968 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis. Recanted his confession three days after his conviction.

In 2000 a probe instigated by Attorney General Janet Reno concluded that there was no credible evidence to support Ray's conspiracy theory claim.

Said he didn't want to be buried or have his final resting place be in the United States, because of "the way the government has treated him".

"He couldn't have planned it alone. He wasn't smart enough for that." -- James Gerald Ray

[2] Kidney disease likely caused by hepatitis C contracted from a blood transfusion given after a stabbing at the Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary.

[3] James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, page 18.

Father: James Gerald Ray
Wife: Anna Sandhu (m. 13-Oct-1978, div. 1990)

    High School: (did not attend high school, dropped out in 8th grade)

    Disorderly Conduct
    Burglary California 1949
    Armed Robbery Illinois 1952
    Forgery 1955
    Inmate: Leavenworth Federal Penitentiary
    Armed Robbery Missouri 10-Oct-1959
    Vagrancy
    Escaped from Prison Jefferson City, MO 23-Apr-1967
    Rhinoplasty
    Murder Memphis, TN 4-Apr-1968
    Conspiracy
    Extradited from England, 1969
    Polygraphed
    Escaped from Prison 10-Jun-1977 (Brushy Mountain, recaptured 13-Jun)
    FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives
    Autopsy
    Risk Factors: Hepatitis C

Author of books:
Who Killed Martin Luther King? The True Story by the Convicted Assassin (1993, memoir)

Do you know something we don't?
Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile

Copyright ©2012 Soylent Communications