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    You are at:Home»Society»Crime»March 10, 1969: Would You Plead Guilty to a Crime You Didn’t Commit?
    Crime

    March 10, 1969: Would You Plead Guilty to a Crime You Didn’t Commit?

    Major DanBy Major DanMarch 10, 2016Updated:February 21, 202026 Comments4 Mins Read
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    A Brief History

    On March 10, 1969, James Earl Ray pled guilty to the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr., he claimed he did not commit only 3 days later!

    Digging Deeper

    Digging deeper, we find the Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. shot to death by a sniper on April 4, 1968 while standing on the balcony of his Memphis hotel.

    In the ensuing frantic search for the perpetrator, a rifle owned by Ray was found across the street and Ray was quickly identified as a suspect.  A convicted armed robber, Ray was an escapee from prison in 1967 with a 20 year prison sentence. Ray traveled to Toronto, got a Canadian passport under an alias, and flew to London. Trying to get a flight out of London, Ray was arrested on June 8, 1968 after 2 months on the lam.  When arrested, Ray was found to have a second false passport under yet another alias.

    Returned to Tennessee for the murder of MLK, Ray pled guilty on March 10, 1969 purportedly on the advice of his attorney to avoid a death by electrocution sentence.

    Since Ray had 12 of his 20 year robbery sentence to serve anyway, and then whatever additional time he would get for escape, as well as whatever other crimes he committed buying the rifle and during his fleeing Memphis, he was looking at spending virtually all of his usable life in prison anyway.  With the uproar, riots and outrage in the US over the MLK assassination, Ray or his attorney may well have felt a fair trial was impossible.

    Although the evidence was overwhelming that Ray had at least something to do with the murder, Ray recanted his confession 3 days later and continued to profess his innocence until his death in 1998 from hepatitis C. Although never given a retrial, Ray had convinced the King family that there was a bigger conspiracy and he was the fall guy.

    King’s family sued a Memphis restaurateur (Lloyd Jowers) for wrongful death for his alleged complicity in the conspiracy to murder MLK and won a verdict against Jowers!

    Jowers had previously spoken publicly that there was a conspiracy to murder King and that a Memphis police officer fired the fatal shot!

    Ballistics tests of the rifle owned by Ray recovered that fateful night did not prove that it was the murder weapon (or that it was not), and despite the obvious implications that Ray virtually had to have had assistance in making his flight from the scene (all the money spent, etc.) a congressional committee investigating the assassination found no conspiracy and that Ray had acted alone.

    Another cracked aspect to the investigation of MLK’s murder is that the FBI was the investigating agency, even though it was well known that J. Edgar Hoover (FBI director) felt MLK was an enemy of the US and had maintained tight surveillance of him!

    Some of the conspiracy theories about this incident center on the obvious bias of the FBI.

    So, with ample reason to fear a death penalty and the prospect of spending most of his life in jail anyway, Ray had a logical reason to plead guilty even if he was not guilty.

    Many factors point to Ray being only part of a bigger conspiracy and the government has sealed the records until 2027!  Why???  What are they hiding?

    Question for students (and subscribers): Would you plead guilty to a crime you did not commit?  Who killed Martin Luther King, Jr.?  Please let us know in the comments section below this article.

    If you liked this article and would like to receive notification of new articles, please feel welcome to subscribe to History and Headlines by liking us on Facebook and becoming one of our patrons!

    Your readership is much appreciated!

    Historical Evidence

    For more information, please read…

    Barsten, Lyndon and John Larry Ray.  Truth At Last: The Untold Story Behind James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. Lyons Press, 2008.

    Posner, Gerald.  Killing the Dream : James Earl Ray and the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. Random House, 1998.

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    Major Dan
    Major Dan

      Major Dan is a retired veteran of the United States Marine Corps. He served during the Cold War and has traveled to many countries around the world. Prior to his military service, he graduated from Cleveland State University, having majored in sociology. Following his military service, he worked as a police officer eventually earning the rank of captain prior to his retirement.

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      <span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="1346 http://www.crackedhistory.com/?p=1346">26 Comments

      1. Avatar
        jprokay on March 10, 2014 11:19 am

        i think that the government should not have acted like they were hiding something because once they do that then it makes people wanting to believe that the government is hiding something and believe more of what the criminal.

        Reply
      2. Avatar
        Jessica Savage on March 10, 2014 11:33 am

        It is fascinating thinking that King’s murder could be part of some huge conspiracy that the government may have even been a part of. Looking even further into it, could the government had something to do with possibly “hiring” Ray knowing that he was going to be in jail for the rest of his life for previous crimes? What ever the cause I am interested for 2027 to see what records have to say on the mystery.

        Reply
      3. Avatar
        kelseysherman on March 10, 2014 12:07 pm

        It is ironic that the FBI was the investigating team for his murder when they did not even agree with his beliefs and felt that he was going against the government.

        Reply
      4. Avatar
        Morgan Wade on March 10, 2014 2:20 pm

        If it was his best option, it makes sense why he pleaded guilty. Even if he did not commit the crime, he made himself look more guilty by fleeing. Although the gun did not prove him guilty or not guilty, his actions made him seem guilty. It’s suspicious that the government was hiding things about this case.

        Reply
      5. Avatar
        E DiPasquale on March 10, 2014 3:01 pm

        I found this article to be very interesting. There is definitely a good chance the government could have been behind this. However, the evidence for Ray would surely lead someone to conclude that he in fact was the murderer, especially considering his past criminal record.

        Reply
      6. Avatar
        Sadie Zegarac on March 10, 2014 3:06 pm

        It’s a bit suspicious that records have been sealed, and some of the conspiracies have validity to the arguments they make. If it were in his best interest to plead guilty, given the circumstances, I think that it was the best thing to do. Even though conspiracies may have some validity to them, they aren’t taken as truth, so for now I choose to believe that Ray was rightfully guilty.

        Reply
      7. Avatar
        J Green on March 10, 2014 3:19 pm

        If I was faced I was faced with a charge that I know I didn’t commit I would plea not guilty and fight for my rights. Even if evidence did not put in my favor, if I know I didn’t commit the crime I would not give them the satisfaction of having me just say I was guilty. I found the article interesting because of how the records have been sealed off. The evidence did have a strong a case against Ray.

        Reply
      8. Avatar
        Madison Wright on March 10, 2014 3:34 pm

        I was originally a criminal justice major and I learned that 90% of cases are plea bargained. There are celebratory cases, such as this one, that earn massive media attention. Many people are given lighter sentences or avoid the death penalty by admitting guilt and foregoing a trial. If I was facing the death penalty with substantial evidence against me and the media proclaiming my guilt, I would do the same. I do not think he stood a fair chance with a trial. I have also read many conspiracy theories and I do not think this trial was one of them. If anything, I would assume the records were sealed due to the outback of public discontent that occurred and the legacy behind MLK. Many records are sealed and not debated. I think this one is only debated because it is a famous assassination.

        Reply
      9. Avatar
        Hannah Brewer on March 10, 2014 3:52 pm

        I cannot say I would want to plead guilty if I knew that I did not actually commit the crime. It’s a little suspicious how the records are sealed as well.

        Reply
      10. Avatar
        MO on March 10, 2014 4:14 pm

        I think this article is very interesting because I did not know much about the man who killed MLK. All we learned in school was that he was assassinated. I do not think he should have plead guilty if he was innocent. Plus, he already had to serve the rest of his time, why would pleading guilty make sense because if he was innocent, he would have a better chance of being released from prison rather than never getting out.

        Reply
      11. Avatar
        Deanna Nagle on March 10, 2014 9:16 pm

        I believe that the government had something to do with. I think the government does a lot of things that are bad and we donot know about. I am going to sound like a hippie i guess, but I do not trust the government.

        Reply
      12. Avatar
        Luke Lyden on March 10, 2014 9:58 pm

        It wouldn’t surprise me if the government was involved. I think the government is involved with a lot of tragedy’s in America. I would not confess to a crime I did not commit I would fight the justice system until I was found innocent for the crime I did not commit.

        Reply
      13. Avatar
        Matt Murphy on March 10, 2014 10:16 pm

        I could definitely see the government being involved with this, I would stand up against the government and judicial system. Very interesting.

        Reply
      14. Avatar
        MB on March 10, 2014 11:16 pm

        It does not surprise me at all if the government was involved in any of this. In todays society i think a lot of the tragedies have to do with the government and there is no way i would ever admit to a crime i never committed.

        Reply
      15. Avatar
        Owen on March 11, 2014 8:22 am

        Its no big shock to me that the government had a role in this assassination. There seem to be many speculations that they have played a role in recent tragedies today so it seems fitting that they were involved with MLK being killed.

        Reply
      16. Avatar
        BY on March 11, 2014 4:29 pm

        No, I would not want to admit to a crime I did not do. This is suspicious to me that these records are sealed until 2027 and I also think the government had something to do with the death of MLK.

        Reply
      17. Avatar
        James R. McCarren on March 11, 2014 7:02 pm

        It stinks that DR. Martin Luther King JR. was killed because he was a man that stood up to society and helped out the whole country in many ways with the African Americans. It stinks that he was killed and that man who killed him in Memphis gets to jail for killing a man in what he believed was right should go to jail.

        Reply
      18. Avatar
        Bricker on March 11, 2014 7:31 pm

        Why admit to a crime you did not commit? I am sure the government was not thrilled with Dr. Martin Luther King, but I am not sure if they were involved. His message was not a hate message, but one of peace to bring all races together, even though it seems people tend to misconstrue his message. We are still not united and it is very sad that their is so much intolerance and prejudice still in the world today. I believe that this was why there were so many riots after his speeches. We shall overcome did not mean that all African Americans would overcome. It meant that we need to overcome our prejudices and love our neighbors in spite of what denomination and race they may be.

        Reply
      19. Avatar
        Autumn Harmon on March 11, 2014 9:05 pm

        I would not admit to a crime that I did not do. The government did not like MLK and I hope they didn’t plan a role in this assassination and its weird that this case is sealed until 2027.

        Reply
      20. Avatar
        Donny G on March 12, 2014 10:02 am

        This is definitely an interesting article. It gives you another look at the possible conspiracy behind the death of such an influential person in the history of the United States. I know I would not admit to a crime i did not commit.

        Reply
      21. Avatar
        Katlyn Denissoff on March 12, 2014 12:52 pm

        I can’t believe someone would go through so much to lie about killing someone, I wonder what goes through a murders head for even thinking about killing someone. I do agree with his punishment because he brought it upon himself.

        Reply
      22. Avatar
        Halee Heironimus on March 12, 2014 9:41 pm

        It’s unbelievable what people do to commit a serious crime like this. I don’t even want to know what goes through their mind on a day-to-day basis.

        Reply
      23. Avatar
        Jessie Richter on March 12, 2014 9:45 pm

        It’s surprising that someone would go through all of that. It’s hard to even imagine what those type of people are thinking.

        Reply
      24. Avatar
        Gabriel M on March 21, 2014 11:17 am

        Why would you admit you murdered someone when you really didn’t? I think it was to cover the tracks of the real killer.

        Reply
      25. Avatar
        Natalyn B on April 24, 2014 4:42 pm

        I don’t know why someone would admit to doing something as horrible as murder when they didn’t. I’m trying to think of what situation I would have to be in to do something similar. Maybe if my family was threatened?

        Reply
      26. Avatar
        Alycia Krosnick on May 5, 2014 11:03 pm

        The actual killer must have had blackmail on this man. A lie detector test should fix all the questions when finding out who’s guilty and who’s not!

        Reply

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