Title: James Earl Ray Papers

Date/Date Range :   1968-1998

Extent: 2.0 linear feet

Abstract:

This collection houses letters, news clippings, official papers, and other items documenting James Earl Ray's life between the Martin Luther King assassination in 1968 and Ray's death in 1998. They concern his attempts to prove his innocence and his life in prison.

Call number: MS-3147

Repository: University of Tennessee Special Collections Library, Knoxville, TN

Aquisition Information:

Collection is property of Special Collections

Access Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Copyright:

The copyright interests in this collection remain with the creator. For more information, contact the Special Collections Library.

Preferred Citation:

[Identification of Item], James Earl Ray Papers, MS-3147. University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Special Collections Library.

Collection consists of two series in two boxes:

1. Series I: Letters and News Clippings, 1968-1998
2. Series II: Other Papers, 1968-1998

James Earl Ray was born on March 24, 1928 in Alton, Illinois. After dropping out of high school, he became a small-time criminal. He shot and killed Martin Luther King, Jr., on April 4, 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee. He pleaded guilty to the killing and received a 99-year prison sentence. Ray later he claimed he was innocent and that he was involved in a larger conspiracy, but he could not provide sufficient evidence to reopen his case; however, he convinced the King family of his version of events towards the end of his life. In 1977 he escaped from prison, but was recaptured several days later. He died in Nashville on April 23, 1998.

This collection houses letters, news clippings, official papers, and other items documenting James Earl Ray's life between the Martin Luther King assassination in 1968 and Ray's death in 1998. They concern his attempts to prove his innocence and his life in prison. Among the letters are correspondence with James's brother Jerry Ray and a woman named Lori (with various last names); most concern Ray's attempts to prove his innocence in the assassination and his insistence that a conspiracy was responsible for the crime. Most of the news clippings were included in his correspondence and include editorials sympathetic to him and articles on his legal battles. Other documents include legal papers, Ray's death certificate, a wanted notice, and documents recording life at Brushy Mountain Prison.

• Ray, James Earl, 1928-1998.
• King, Martin Luther, Jr., 1929-1968.
• Imprisonment -- Tennessee.
• Prisoners -- Tennessee.
• Prisoners -- Correspondence.