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James Earl Ray is the man accused and convicted of killing Martin Luther King, Jr. He confessed and was convicted of the murder. This is not a simple open and closed case, though, with plenty of controversy even today.
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 James Earl Ray was born on March 10, 1928 to a poor family and died in prison on April 23, 1998 of hepatitis C. He was an American with a history of criminal activity including armed robbery. James Earl Ray was arrested and convicted for the assassination of civil rights and anti-war activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
James Earl Ray was arrested, and later decided to plead guilty to avoid a jury trial, which also kept him from being eligible for the death penalty. He was convicted on March 10, 1969 and was sentenced to 99 years in prison.
Three days later, Ray recanted his confession. He spent considerable time trying to win a new trial, but was unsuccessful.
Did James Earl Ray Assassinate Martin Luther King, Jr.?
Some very close members of Martin Luther King's family don't believe James Earl Ray had anything to do with the assination of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Dexter Scott King, Martin Luther King's second son, met with Ray in 1997 and after meeting with him he publicly supported a new trial for James Earl Ray.
James Earl Ray - 1955 mug shot.
Coretta Scott King, Martin Luther King, Jr's widow declared "there is abundant evidence of a major high level conspiracy in the assassination of my husband, Martin Luther King, Jr...the conspiracy of the Mafia, local, state and federal government agencies, were deeply involved in the assassination of my husband. The jury also affirmed overwhelming evidence that identified someone else, not James Earl Ray, as the shooter, and that Mr. Ray was set up to take the blame."
After Dexter King and other family members made public statements, a reporter told Dexter "there are many people out there who feel that as long as these conspirators remain nameless and faceless there is no true closure, and no justice." Dexter replied, "No, he [Mr. Lloyd Jowers] named the shooter. The shooter was the Memphis Police Department Officer, Lt. Earl Clark who he named as the killer. Once again, beyond that you had credible witnesses that named members of a Special Forces team who didn't have to act because the contract killer succeeded, with plausible denial, a Mafia contracted killer".
Clearly there are close members of the King family who are convinced James Earl Ray wasn't the shooter and instead was the stooge.
...James Earl Ray is widely considered to be the sole killer of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and he was convicted for the murder...
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James Earl Ray was born on March 10, 1928 to a poor family and died in prison on April 23, 1998 of hepatitis C. He was an American with a history of criminal activity including armed robbery. James Earl Ray was arrested and convicted for the assassination of civil rights and anti-war activist Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.