Notes

Abbreviations Used for Frequently Occurring Citations

MURKIN: The volumes of files concerning the FBI’s investigation of the murder of Martin Luther King, Jr., maintained at the FBI reading room, Washington, D.C.

MLK FBI: The volumes of files concerning the FBI’s monitoring of Martin Luther King, Jr., maintained at the FBI reading room, Washington, D.C.

OPR FBI: The 20 boxes of files of the Department of Justice’s Office of Professional Responsibility Task Force Review of the FBI’s Security and Assassination Investigations of Martin Luther King, maintained at the National Archives, College Park, Maryland.

Sanitation Strike Archives: Files of the J. W. Brister Library, Monograph Series, The Memphis Multi-Media Archival Project, the 1968 Sanitation Workers’ Strike, maintained at the Special Collections, McWhether Library, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee.

Attorney General File: Documents maintained as the active case file on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., in the office of the district attorney general, Memphis, Tennessee.

HSCA Rpt.: Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations of the U.S. House of Representatives, Ninety-Fifth Congress, 1979 (edition printed by Bantam Books).

HSCA vol.: The thirteen Martin Luther King, Jr., volumes of Hearing and Appendices of the House Select Committee on Assassinations, 1979, referred to by volume and page number (U.S. Government Printing House edition).

McMillan/Southern Historical Collection: The nine boxes of research papers of the late author George McMillan, maintained as collection 4271 at the Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina.

20,000 Words: After Ray’s arrest in June 1968, his first attorneys, Arthur Hanes, Sr., and Arthur Hanes, Jr., as well as his second attorney, Percy Foreman, entered into contracts with author William Bradford Huie. Under the arrangements, intended mostly to pay for Ray’s legal costs, Ray provided written material to Huie covering the periods before and after the assassination. The materials Huie received have come to be known as the “20,000 Words.” A complete set was published in 1979 as a volume of the House Select Committee on Assassinations report (vol. XII), and any reference to the 20,000 Words in this book refers to that published version.

A Note About the Use of George McMillan Archives

Author George McMillan began researching a book on the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., shortly after the 1968 murder, and worked on it for seven years. His book, The Making of an Assassin, was published by Little, Brown in 1976. During the research, he obtained more access to the Ray family than any other author or journalist. James was the only one who refused to talk to him. “Jimmy would never tell anybody anything about himself,” Jerry Ray told McMillan. “It’s been like that since he was a little boy.” But Ray’s father, sisters, and brothers all cooperated, with the most extensive help coming from Jerry, with whom McMillan talked frequently on the phone and also met several dozen times.

McMillan, as did other authors on the case, tried early on to make exclusive deals with the Rays so that he could write the “official” story. Jerry repeatedly made it clear that the Rays would not talk without some payment. “A book comes in with a lot of money,” he told McMillan on one occasion, “and I’m only making $115 a week. I guess you know all of us are poor. We haven’t a cent.”

From 1969 to 1972, McMillan made various offers to the Rays, normally proposing a $4,000 to $5,000 payment to each, but a deal was never consummated. However, while the Rays stalled, refusing to give anybody exclusivity, they collected money from half a dozen writers. McMillan, while never getting the sole access he desired, nevertheless paid James’s father $1,000, his sister Carol $1,000, $500 to his brother John, and more than $4,000 to Jerry. Yet McMillan’s efforts were not in vain. The Ray family told him some explosive things, including that James shot King, that the family knew of his plans nearly a year before, and that Jerry had even received a telephone call the night before boasting of the next day’s assassination.

However, after McMillan’s book was published, the Ray family denounced it in unison. Jerry sued McMillan for $2.2 million for libel and fraudulent conversion of materials belonging to the Rays. (McMillan was the only author sued, but Jerry and John Ray talked about beating up other authors—William Bradford Huie and Clay Blair—whose books they did not like.) That lawsuit was dismissed since Jerry had earlier accepted $500 to sign a broad legal release for any claims he might have had against McMillan or his publisher. James Earl Ray also sued McMillan for libel but his case was dismissed when a judge determined he was “libel-proof.” Notwithstanding the unsuccessful legal efforts, Jerry has said that he made everything up in order to fool McMillan—“There isn’t one word of truth in his whole book,” Jerry wrote to Little, Brown. The Rays’ denunciation has cast some doubt on the value of the McMillan papers regarding the family’s admissions.

However, the author and his wife, Trisha, were the first researchers to examine the entire McMillan collection since the family donated it to the Southern Historical Collection at the University of North Carolina. In the history that is laid out of the relationship between the Rays and McMillan, it is evident that McMillan did in fact gain an unprecedented level of trust with the family. Priscilla McMillan, then George’s wife, and a renowned author in her own right (Marina and Lee, Harper & Row, 1977), told the author, “George had spent much of his life at the bottom, and therefore he really, really understood and liked the Rays. They picked up on that, that he was not talking down to them. He became a friend and they responded to it. Jerry actually wanted to live with us, to move in. He stayed with us once at a hotel, and was so sad to leave the next morning. He had finally found some feeling of family. And George liked him even though he knew Jerry was capable of shooting someone. He knew the Rays had a different idea of the truth and they could lie, but they didn’t view it as lying. You just had to be very careful with what they told you and make sure you checked everything.”

A careful review of the McMillan papers reveals that during the early years of his relationship with the Rays—when they trusted him completely—McMillan received their unfiltered feelings, opinions, and recollections. The Rays, especially Jerry, emphasized their friendship with the author, and being naive about how their words would eventually look in print, had remarkably frank discussions with him. As McMillan’s research progressed, the Rays began suspecting he was not doing a book favorable to James. For instance, by mid-1970, the Rays had heard rumors that McMillan had consulted a number of psychiatrists as part of his research. As Jerry told McMillan in a June 1970 telephone conversation, James had “heard you were consulting shrinks and he knows that any book written with a shrink around is going to be a sex book because that is all those shrinks are interested in is sex.” That marked the beginning of a nearly two-year period in which the family was warier in its dealings with McMillan—they were generally as open, but talked to him on fewer occasions.

By mid-1972, the family was turning against him. Some, like James’s sister Carol, eventually asked the phone company to stop McMillan from calling her. She angrily told McMillan that he should expose the injustices done to her brothers and father, rather than go ahead and write a book about “somebody killing a nigger in Memphis.”

However, Jerry, instead of cutting away from McMillan, maintained the relationship even past the publication, but his letters became belligerent. At one stage, he warned McMillan, “Do something for your country and come over to the Honest side, the American public isnt foolish as you Book writers think, Neither are the Black Savsges.” Another time, Jerry told him, “I hate how you try to run the poor white down but on the other hand a Nigger cant do no wrong.”

It is during this period that Jerry pulled pranks and told some lies, always trying to get paid for his new “information.” For instance, he sent McMillan on a futile chase for a neo-Nazi—Rudolf Stroheim—that James had supposedly known in Germany. There was no such person. He did the same regarding another person who supposedly knew something about the case, a fictional character named Emmett Daniels. In 1975, Jerry sold Ray “family” pictures to McMillan: They turned out to be old photos of strangers the Rays had bought in an antique store.

Jerry Ray uses those demonstrably false examples to charge that everything else he told McMillan was also a lie. However, none of Jerry’s lies took place before mid-1972, and most occurred in 1974 and 1975. Before then, Jerry’s trust, as well as that of the rest of the Ray family, was intact and unchallenged. Their hesitation developed only midway through the research, and their full fury only after the publication of McMillan’s book, in which James is identified as the lone assassin. Then, expectedly, they had to decide how to attack the book and distance themselves from their own integral assistance. Jerry also had good legal reasons to denounce the book and what he had told McMillan. If McMillan was accurate, then Jerry could be indicted for being part of the King assassination. “If this stuff was true,” Jerry nervously told the Chicago Sun-Times after the book’s publication, “if we were sitting around plotting murders, they’d get me for conspiracy.”

The Rays denunciation of the McMillan book must also be seen in light of their subsequent belief that all book writers from major publishing companies were probably working for the government, and hence were doing books that, as James said, “were the only ones that convicted me.” Jerry told a congressional committee, “McMillan is an FBI writer, a pro-FBI writer, and his wife is a CIA writer.” John speculated that another writer on the case, Gerold Frank, was paid either by “the Wealthy East or the FBI.” James himself complained about the “U.S. judicial system’s operations, in league with dominant publishing companies in railroading innocent defendants.”

Mark Lane, the conspiracy buff who was James Earl Ray’s attorney before the House Select Committee during the late 1970s, joined in the attack. Lane contended that the evidence for McMillan concocting some of his conversations with Jerry Ray is that “During several conversations with Jerry Ray I noticed that although his manner was informal in general, he referred to his brother almost invariably as James. Yet, in McMillan’s book, all of the reconstructed conversations attributed to Jerry find him referring to his brother as Jimmy.” But Lane never examined the McMillan archive, including the many letters from family members to McMillan—all of them from the late 1960s and early 1970s refer to Jimmy. Even in his first arrest in Los Angeles, James gave the police his nickname as “Jimmy.”

Every attempt has been made in this book to verify the information Jerry Ray and other family members gave McMillan, and their statements given from 1968 to mid-1972 are judged to be truthful. As for later remarks from the Rays, each is judged on its own merits and is used only if it is confirmed by something the Rays independently told McMillan in the earlier period, or if the author obtained additional corroboration of its truthfulness.

Chapter 1: “I Am a Man”

1. The 1,300 strikers included 1,100 in sanitation and 230 in asphalt, sewers, and drains.

2. The first attempt at unionization, in 1963, failed when the city simply fired several of the key organizers. In 1966, the sanitation and sewer workers were awarded a charter—Local 1733—by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.

3. James Lawson interview with David Yellin and Bill Thomas, July 1, 1968, “James Lawson,” Tape 1, WMC-TV Studio, Carton 22, Sanitation Strike Archives.

4. Ibid.

5. On June 21, 1964, James Chaney, a black teenager from Philadelphia, Mississippi, together with Andrew Goodman and Michael Schwerner, white students from New York City, disappeared after an arrest for speeding. On August 4, their bullet-ridden bodies were discovered, buried in a nearby earthen dam.

6. Billy Kyles interview with author, August 2, 1997.

7. Ibid.

8. James Lawson interview with David Yellin and Bill Thomas, July 1, 1968, “James Lawson,” Tape 1, WMC-TV Studio, Carton 22, Sanitation Strike Archives.

9. Billy Kyles interview with author, August 2, 1997.

10. Testimony of Ralph Abernathy, August 14, 1978, HSCA vol. 1, p. 13.

11. During the first week of March, there seemed a possibility for a settlement. Some of Loeb’s closest friends had persuaded him to send a letter to Jesse Epps, setting forth the city’s maximum concessions. Although less than the workers wanted, it might have ended the walkout. However, before the letter was sent, one of the local newspapers, The Commercial Appeal, ran a story with the headline “Loeb May Offer Compromise.” Refusing to appear as though he had buckled at all under the strikers’ demands, Loeb did not send the letter, and the strike remained a standoff.

12. James Lawson interview with David Yellin and Bill Thomas, July 1, 1968, “James Lawson,” Tape 1, WMC-TV Studio, Carton 22, Sanitation Strike Archives.

13. Gerold Frank, An American Death (New York: Doubleday & Co., 1972), p. 17.

14. Billy Kyles interview with author, August 2, 1997.

15. Frank, An American Death, pp. 17-18.

16. Jim Lawson interview with Joan Beifuss and David Yellin, July 8, 1970, “James Lawson,” Tape 243, Series X, 1 of 2, Carton 1 of 2, 140, p. 5, Sanitation Strike Archives.

17. Billy Kyles interview with author, August 2, 1997.

18. James Lawson interview with David Yellin and Bill Thomas, July 1, 1968, “James Lawson,” Tape 1, WMC-TV Studio, Carton 22, Sanitation Strike Archives.

19. Jim Lawson interview with Joan Beifuss and David Yellin, July 8, 1970, “James Lawson,” Tape 243, Series X, 1 of 2, Carton 1 of 2, 140, pp. 7-9, Sanitation Strike Archives.

20. Interview with Mrs. N. E. Zachary, June 13, 1997.

21. FBI statement of Clyde Manasco, April 18, 1968, MURKIN 3763–3872, section 46, p. 17, also statement of April 10, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, p. 136; see also, regarding physical description, statement of Quinton B. Davis, April 10, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, pp. 133–34.

22. FBI statement of Clyde Manasco, April 10, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, p. 136.

23. See, generally, FBI statement of Quinton B. Davis, April 18, 1968, MURKIN 3763–3872, section 46, p. 19; see also Davis statement, April 10, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, p. 132, and FBI statement of Clyde Manasco, April 8, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, p. 135.

24. FBI statement of Clyde Manasco, April 10, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, p. 137.

25. FBI statement of Quinton B. Davis, April 10, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, p. 133.

26. Ibid., p. 134—words quoted are the agent’s summary of Davis’s conclusion.

27. FBI statement of Clyde Manasco, April 10, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, p. 137.

Chapter 2: The Riot

1. Billy Kyles interview with author, August 2, 1997.

2. Ralph David Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down (New York: Harper & Row, 1989), p. 417.

3. Ibid.

4. Jim Lawson interview with Joan Beifuss and David Yellin, July 8, 1970, “James Lawson,” Tape 244, Series X, 2 of 2, Carton 2 of 2, 141, pp. 9–10, Sanitation Strike Archives.

5. Billy Kyles interview with author, August 2, 1997.

6. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 417.

7. Billy Kyles interview with author, August 2, 1997.

8. Jim Lawson interview with Joan Beifuss and David Yellin, July 8, 1970, “James Lawson,” Tape 244, Series X, 2 of 2, Carton 2 of 2, 141, p. 15, Sanitation Strike Archives.

9. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 418.

10. Ibid., pp. 418–19.

11. “Guard Keeps Memphis Quiet; King Vows Another March,” The Atlanta Constitution, March 30, 1968, p. A3.

12. “Guard and Police Keep Edgy Memphis Quiet,” The Atlanta Constitution, March 29, 1968, pp. A1, A16.

13. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 419.

14. Billy Kyles interview with author, August 2, 1997.

15. David J. Garrow, Bearing the Cross: Martin Luther King, Jr., and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (New York: William Morrow and Company, 1986), pp. 611–12.

16. Andrew Young quoted by David Nordan, “King, Aides Map Strategy; His Leadership Under Study,” The Atlanta Constitution, March 31, 1968, p. 1.

17. Jim Lawson interview with Joan Beifuss and David Yellin, July 8, 1970, “James Lawson,” Tape 244, Series X, 2 of 2, Carton 2 of 2, 141, pp. 37–38, Sanitation Strike Archives.

18. Ibid., p. 40.

19. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 422.

20. Steve Kopp interviewed by the FBI, April 8, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, pp. 143–44.

21. Ibid., pp. 141–42.

22. Ibid., p. 141.

23. Ibid., p. 143; Frank, An American Death, p. 35.

24. John Webster DeShazo interviewed by the FBI, April 7, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, p. 39.

25. See generally Donald F. Wood statement to the FBI, April 5, 1968, MURKIN 2076–2150, section 18, pp. 113–14.

26. John Webster DeShazo interviewed by the FBI, April 7, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, p. 40.

27. Ibid., p. 39.

28. Photocopy of Aeromarine Supply Co. Invoice 2251A, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, p. 35.

29. Donald F. Wood statement to the FBI, April 5, 1968, MURKIN 2076–2150, section 18, p. 114.

30. Ibid., p. 115.

Chapter 3: “Nobody’s Going to Kill You, Martin”

1. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 423.

2. See generally Garrow, Bearing the Cross, pp. 615–16.

3. Ibid.; Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 425.

4. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 425; see also testimony of Ralph Abernathy, August 14, 1978, HSCA vol. 1, p. 18.

5. Testimony of Ralph Abernathy, August 14, 1978, HSCA vol. 1, p. 18.

6. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 427.

7. Garrow, Bearing the Cross, p. 618.

8. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, pp. 427–28.

9. Ibid., p. 428.

10. Statement of Annie Estelle Peters to the FBI, April 16, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, p. 240.

11. Statement of Jimmie Garner, April 14 and 15, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, pp. 247–52.

12. William Bradford Huie, the writer who struck a financial arrangement with Ray and his first lawyers, Arthur Hanes, Sr., and Arthur Hanes, Jr., for the exclusive story, reported that Ray told the Haneses that he had test-fired the rifle near Corinth, Mississippi, which could be reached on the road from Atlanta (William Bradford Huie interviewed by House Select Committee investigators, April 21, 1978, HSCA vol. VII, p. 441); see also Frank, An American Death, p. 38, and George McMillan, The Making of an Assassin (Boston: Little Brown & Co., 1976), pp. 297–98. Note: Ray denies that he stopped along the road to take the practice shots, although that is the reasonable explanation as to why both boxes of ammo he says he bought were mostly empty before the assassination shot was ever fired. Ray has a much more convoluted explanation for what he did with the rifle, and it is discussed in detail in Chapter 25. Also, some conspiracists suggest that a couple of dozen shots are not enough to adjust the scope. Yet firearms experts, as well as Remington and Redfield representatives, told the author that it was often possible to do a proper adjustment with as few as six to eight shots.

Chapter 4: “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop”

1. Letter to N. P. Huston, chief of the Criminal Investigative Division for the Memphis Police, from Don H. Smith, re: Detail with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., dated April 5, 1968, MLK Exhibit F-187, HSCA vol. IV, pp. 257–58.

2. Testimony of Frank Holloman, chief of Memphis Police, November 10, 1978, HSCA vol. IV, pp. 254–55.

3. Testimony of Ralph Abernathy, August 14, 1997, HSCA vol. l, pp. 32–33; Billy Kyles interviewed by author, August 2, 1997; Walter Bailey interviewed by Bill Thomas and Gwen Kyles, July 10, 1968, Tape 22, Series 1 of 1, Sanitation Strike Archives.

4. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 429.

5. Frank, An American Death, p. 50.

6. Jim Lawson interview with Joan Beifuss and David Yellin, July 8, 1970, “James Lawson,” Tape 244, Series VIII, 2 of 2, Carton 22, 137, Sanitation Strike Archives.

7. Martin Luther King, Jr., I’ve Been to the Mountaintop (San Francisco: Harper San Francisco, 1995).

8. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 433.

9. Jim Lawson interview with Joan Beifuss and David Yellin, July 8, 1970, “James Lawson,” Tape 244, Series VIII, tape 2 of 2, Carton 22, 137, Sanitation Strike Archives.

10. Billy Kyles interviewed by author, August 2, 1997.

11. “Oliver Rexall Drug Store,” FBI summary information, includes interviews with Peggy Burns, store clerk, April 4 and 11, 1968, MURKIN 2322, section 20, pp. 134–38, and April 19, 1968, MURKIN 2634, section 26, p. 19.

12. FBI interview with Peggy Burns, store clerk, April 11, 1968, MURKIN 2322, section 20, p. 138.

13. Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, p. 117.

14. FBI interview with Ivan B. Webb, April 11, 1968, MURKIN 2322, section 20, p. 146; also see FBI summary in MURKIN 621–750, section 6, pp. 42–43.

15. Frank, An American Death, p. 38.

Chapter 5: Mrs. Brewer’s Rooming House

1. Abernathy, And The Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 437.

2. Testimony of Ralph Abernathy, August 14, 1978, HSCA vol. 1, p. 19.

3. Andrew Young quoted in Garrow, Bearing the Cross, p. 623.

4. Bob Fitzpatrick, retired FBI agent, interviewed by author, July 21, 1997. See Marc Perrusquia, “King Scrutiny a Myth, Say Agents Here in ’68,” The Commercial Appeal, November 30, 1997, p. Al. For further discussion about the military-intelligence role in the surveillance of King, see Chapter 32.

5. General William Yarborough interviewed by author, July 17, 1997.

6. Bessie Brewer interviewed by the FBI, April 9, 1968, MURKIN ME, Sub. D, section 1, p. 136.

7. Ibid.

8. Ibid.

9. Charlie Quitman Stephens interviewed by the FBI, April 5, 1968, MURKIN 2322, section 20, p. 32.

10. Frank, An American Death, p. 60.

11. For descriptions of each of the tenants and their problems see FBI report summary information, including interview with Bessie Brewer, April 10, 1968, MURKIN 2322, section 20, pp. 26–28; also William Charles Anschutz interviewed by the FBI, April 5, 1968, MURKIN 2322, section 20, p. 30.

12. All conversations between Willard and Carpenter recounted from Ralph Meredith Carpenter, April 5, 1968, MURKIN ME Sub D, section 1, pp. 110–11.

13. Elizabeth Copeland interviewed by the FBI, April 5, 1968, MURKIN ME, Sub. D, section 1, p. 18.

14. Frances B. Thompson interviewed by the FBI, April 5, 1968, MURKIN ME, Sub. D, section 1, p. 19.

15. Peggy Jane Hurley interviewed by the FBI, April 5, 1968, MURKIN ME, Sub. D, section l, p. 3.

16. Charles Hardy Hurley interviewed by the FBI, April 5, 1968, MURKIN ME, Sub. D, section l, p. 4.

17. FBI statements of Kenneth W. Foster, April 12, 1968, and William Zenie (Bill) Reed, April 13, 1968, MURKIN ME, Sub D, section 1, pp. 185–86, 197–98.

18. Charlie Quitman Stephens interviewed by the FBI, April 5, 1968, MURKIN 2322, section 20, p. 32.

19. Ibid., p. 33; William Charles Anschutz interviewed by the FBI, April 5, 1968, MURKIN ME, Sub. D, section 1, p. 14.

Chapter 6: The Assassination

1. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 438.

2. Testimony of Ralph Abernathy, August 14, 1978, HSCA vol. 1, p. 19.

3. Billy Kyles interview with David Yellin, Joan Beifuss, and Bill Thomas, June 12, 1968, Tape 258, Series 1, 1 of 2, 124, Sanitation Strike Archives; see also FBI interview with Kyles on April 23, 1968, MURKIN 2634, section 26, pp. 40–47. Memphis police surveillance reports list Kyles as knocking on the door at 5:50 P.M., and calling King outside. However, it appears that Kyles actually had a conversation with King at the room earlier and it was not listed by the surveillance team since that was the point at which Detective Redditt was being replaced because of the death threat that had been received on him. In his book Orders to Kill, William Pepper raises the strong inference that Kyles might have been an FBI informant. “It’s insulting and degrading,” Kyles told the author about Pepper’s accusation. “It casts an aspersion over my forty years of civil rights activism. I saw how Pepper operates when he did the movie on Ray [a 1993 HBO mock trial of James Earl Ray]. He altered my testimony there. I saw what happened that night, but they wanted to change everything to get the verdict they wanted [Ray was acquitted]. I thought of suing Pepper over what he said, but I was counseled to leave it alone. ‘Don’t help the man sell his book,’ I was told, so I left him alone.”

4. Banter among Kyles, Abernathy, and King recounted in Billy Kyles interview with David Yellin, Joan Beifuss, and Bill Thomas, June 12, 1968, Tape 258, Series 1, 1 of 2, 124, Sanitation Strike Archives.

5. Billy Kyles interviewed by author, August 2, 1997.

6. National Weather Service archives reported the sun would have set at 6:24 P.M. on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, TN.

7. Abernathy, And the Walls Came Tumbling Down, p. 441.

8. Autopsy findings, MURKIN 2322, section 20, pp. 183–94.

9. FBI interview with George W. Loenneke, April 13, 1968, MURKIN ME, Sub. D, section 1, pp. 88–89.

10. See generally “No. 2 Engine House, Memphis Fire Department, 474 South Main Street, Memphis, Tennessee,” MURKIN 2322, section 20, pp. 88–114.

11. FBI interview with William Charles Anschutz, April 5, 1968, MURKIN ME, Sub. D, section 1, p. 14.

12. FBI interview with Charles Stephens, April 5, 1968, MURKIN ME, Sub. D, section 1, p. 20.

13. FBI interview with Guy Warren Canipe, Jr., April 5, 1968, MURKIN ME, Sub. D, section 1, pp. 121–22; as for Finley’s identification of the Mustang, see FBI interview with Bernell Finley, MURKIN ME, Sub. D, section 1, p. 118, and MURKIN 126–250, section 2, p. 231; Julius Graham, the other customer on April 4 at Canipe’s, also remembered the car “screeching” away—see FBI interview with Julius Graham, April 5, 1968, MURKIN ME, Sub. D, section l, p. 114.

14. FBI interview with Guy Warren Canipe, Jr., April 5, 1968, MURKIN ME, Sub. D, section 1, p. 122; see interview with James Earl Ray by House Select Committee investigators, May 3, 1977, HSCA vol. X, pp. 310–11, where Ray discusses that the blanket is likely his, one that he used to take into flophouses at which he stayed.

Chapter 7: The Hunt

1. Interview with N. E. Zachary, June 13, 1997.

2. Ibid.

3. Affidavit of Frank Kallaher with attached transcripts of April 4, 1968, Memphis police radio broadcasts, MLK Exhibit F-195, HSCA vol. IV, p. 290.

4. Ibid., p. 291.

5. Ibid., p. 293.

6. Ibid., p. 288.

7. A former police official in the Memphis force told the author that even if there had been an all-points bulletin for other states, he is not sure it would have helped. “Hell, do you know how much trouble King caused in those other states? I wouldn’t be surprised if some of those state troopers had gotten word of the white Mustang, they would have just waved him right through, might have even thought of giving him an escort.”

8. Frank, An American Death, p. 126.

9. Memo to Cartha DeLoach from Alex Rosen, April 12, 1968, MURKIN 1051–1175, section 9, pp. 128–29; see “Laundry Marks,” 3-by-5-inch index card file, Mrs. Lucy Pinela, remarks taken by Special Agent Ross Kahl, Attorney General File.

10. Memo to Cartha DeLoach from Alex Rosen, April 12, 1968, MURKIN 1051–1175, section 9, p. 128; “Pliers, Amusement Company,” 3-by-5-inch index card file, Thomas M. Ware, remarks taken by Special Agent Hearn Hubbard, Attorney General File.

11. See, generally, FBI report on Mustang, how it was found, and what was found in it, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, pp. 201–17.

12. Martin Waldron, “Mystery Deepens in Dr. King Inquiry,” The New York Times, April 13, 1968.

13. See FBI Laboratory Report, April 18, 1968, MURKIN 751–900, section 8, pp. 65–70.

14. FBI interview with Peter Cherpes, April 10, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21.

15. See, generally, FBI interview with William D. Paisley, Sr., April 9, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, and FBI interview with William David Paisley, Jr., April 9, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21.

16. Teletype to Director from Los Angeles, April 13, 1968, covering interview with Mrs. Frank (Margarita) Powers, MURKIN 621–750, section 6, p. 87; also FBI interview with Margarita Powers, April 12, 1968, MURKIN 2325, section 22, pp. 59–61.

17. FBI interview with Robert Kelly, April 12, 1968, MURKIN 2325, section 22, p. 110.

18. FBI inter view with Allan O. Thompson, April 12, 1968, MURKIN 2325, section 22, p. 106.

19. See, generally, FBI Laboratory Report, April 22, 1968, MURKIN 751–900, section 8, pp. 61–70.

20. FBI interview with Rodney Arvidson, owner of the National Dance Studio, April 13, 1968, MURKIN 1051–1175, section 9, p. 279.

21. “Investigation at International School of Bartending, Los Angeles, Attended by Galt from January 19, 1968 to March 2, 1968,” MURKIN 2325, section 22, pp. 135–36.

22. FBI report on the money order, April 26, 1968, MURKIN 2151–2321, section 19, pp. 179–80; also MURKIN 3221–3332, section 33, p. 227, and MURKIN 3763–3872, section 46, pp. 215–16.

23. FBI photo lineup with jimmie Garner on April 17, 1968, MURKIN 2323–2324, section 21, pp. 259–61.

24. See FBI Laboratory Reports, April 17 and 19, 1968, MURKIN 751–900, section 8.

25. Press release issued on behalf of Ramsey Clark, April 17, 1968, MURKIN 1576–1730, section 13, pp. 284–87; Evert Clark, “F.B.I. Accuses Galt of Conspiracy in Dr. King Slaying,” The New York Times, April 18, 1968, p. 1.

26. See MURKIN 1301–1421, section 11, p. 183.

27. Fred P. Graham, “F.B.I. Says ‘Galt’ Is an Escaped Convict,” The New York Times, April 20, 1968, pp. Al, 31.

28. Memo to Cartha DeLoach from Alex Rosen, June 4, 1968, MURKIN 4251–4350, section 54, p. 90.

29. FBI interview with John Larry Ray, April 22, 1968, HSCA vol. VIII, pp. 34–35; see also MURKIN 3333, section 34, p. 280.

30. Jerry Ray quoted by informant in Airtel to Director from SAC, Newark, June 11, 1968, MURKIN 4576–4663, section 59, p. 41. The informant was actually Marjorie Fetters, someone Jerry knew. (Jerry Ray tapes to author, October 22, 1997, December 26, 1997).

Chapter 8: “I Feel So Trapped”

1. Thomas Talburt, “King’s Assassin May Be Dead,” The Commercial Appeal, June 8, 1968.

2. Radio and TV reports made for Bantam Books, transcript of The Tonight Show, April 29, 1968, Clay Blair collection, University of Wyoming.

3. See, generally, “Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.,” to Attorney General from FBI Director, May 27, 1968, MURKIN 3901–3986, section 48, pp. 75–76; memo to Alex Rosen from McGowan, May 12, 1968, MURKIN 3221–3332, section 33, pp. 210–11.

4. See memo to Cartha DeLoach from Alex Rosen, May 20, 1968, MURKIN 3628–3761, section 44, pp. 203–8.

5. “King Associate Puzzled,” The New York Times, April 13, 1968; Martin Waldron, “Fading Clues Raise Question of Conspiracy,” The New York Times, April 21, 1968.

6. Peter Kihss, “Photos Cited by Research Group in Kennedy Death,” The New York Times, May 1968.

7. See General Investigative Division memo of June 7, 1968, MURKIN 4442–4500, section 57, p. 43; of the 270,000, 218,000 were new and over 46,000 were renewals.

8. See, generally, memo to Cartha DeLoach from Alex Rosen, June 4, 1968, MURKIN 4144–4250, section 53, pp. 212–13.

9. See cablegram of June 2, 1968, MURKIN 4061–4142, section 51, p. 174.

10. Memo to Alex Rosen from McGowan, June 2, 1968, MURKIN 4061–4142, section 51, pp. 171–73.

11. Statement of Kenneth Leonard Human, June 11, 1968, in folder” Scotland Yard,” p. 1234, Attorney General File.

12. Passport of Ramon George Sneyd issued in Lisbon, Portugal, MLK Exhibit F-237, HSCA vol. V, p. 24.

13. Statement of Kenneth Leonard Human, op. cit., p. 1234.

14. Canceled passport of Ramon George Sneya issued in Ottawa, Canada, MLK Exhibit F-235, HSCA vol. V, p. 18.

15. Letter of Philip Birch to author, October 18, 1997.

16. “All Ports Warning Where Special Branch Officers Are in Attendance,” in folder “Scotland Yard,” p. 1264, Attorney General File; see also Metropolitan Police Memorandum, Flying Squad, to Detective Chief Superintendent from K. Thompson, July 22, 1968, p. 2, Attorney General File.

17. Philip Birch quoted by Brian Park, “The Day Sergeant Birch Spotted a Face in the Crowd,” London Daily Express, June 11, 1968.

18. Letter of Philip Birch to author, October 18, 1997.

19. Besides the. 38-caliber revolver, a wide assortment of items was found either on Ray or in his luggage. Most were toiletries and clothes, but there was also his Polaroid 220 camera, a pamphlet on gun silencers, a portable radio, a dictionary, maps of London and Portugal, a 1967 almanac, a book on Rhodesia, several paperback books on hypnosis, a paperback novel, The Ninth Directive, and £51 in British money.

20. Letter of Philip Birch to author, October 18, 1997.

21. Statement of Philip Birch, June 10, 1968, in folder “Scotland Yard,” p. 1233, Attorney General File.

22. “Property in Respect of Ramon George Sneyd,” in folder “Scotland Yard,” pp. 1272–74, Attorney General File; see also FBI memo to Director from Legat, London, June 9, 1968, MURKIN 4576–4663, section 59, pp. 27–29; letter of Philip Birch to author, October 18, 1997.

23. Metropolitan Police Memorandum, Flying Squad, to Detective Chief Superintendent from K. Thompson, July 22, 1968, in folder “Scotland Yard,” p. 4, Attorney General File.

24. Conversation between Sneyd and Butler recounted in the Statement of Thomas Butler, June 10, 1968, in folder “Scotland Yard,” pp. 1237–38; see also Statement of Detective Chief Inspector Kenneth Thompson, June 10, 1968, in folder “Scotland Yard,” pp. 1239–41, Attorney General File.

25. Letter of Philip Birch to author, October 18, 1997. Note that Birch contests Ray’s version, published in his book Who Killed Martin Luther King?, in which he stated that the British police forced him to have fingerprints taken while at Heathrow. “That is not the case,” writes Birch. “No attempt was made for his fingerprints to be taken whilst there and was not even considered.”

26. Ibid.; Butler statement, p. 1238, Thompson statement, p. 1240; see Metropolitan Police Memorandum, Flying Squad, to Detective Chief Superintendent from K. Thompson, July 22, 1968, in folder “Scotland Yard,” p. 5, Attorney General File; Statement of Kenneth Thompson, July 31, 1978, to Edward Evans, Chief Investigator, MLK Exhibit F-240, HSCP vol. V, p. 37; see also FBI memo to Cartha DeLoach from Alex Rosen, June 21, 1968, MURKIN 4576–4663, section 59, pp. 197–98; “Oral Statements of James Earl Ray, alias Ramon George Sneyd,” file 4, Attorney General File.

Chapter 9: Story for Sale

1. Frank, An American Death, p. 203.

2. See, generally, UPI report of June 27, 1968, quoting Dr. Edward Fields, the then secretary of the Legal Aid Fund and president of the National States Rights Party, announcing, “We have offered to defend Ray free of charge, pay all legal costs, attorney fees, court costs and cost of appeals, if there are any, and bond.” When told by reporters that Hanes was Ray’s evident choice, Fields said that Hanes was “a personal friend of mine and would be a good attorney.”

3. Frank, An American Death, p. 204.

4. Actually, Birmingham had an unusual system in which voters elected three city commissioners, and one of those commissioners wore the honorary title of “mayor.” So when Bull Connor brutally broke up the civil rights marches in the city, Hanes had been the mayor.

5. William Bradford Huie personally knew Hanes and wrote, “The mayor differed from Bull, not in attitudes but in being more literate and not saying ‘nigger’ in public.”

6. Testimony of James Earl Ray, HSCA vol. III, pp. 256, 260.

7. Letter to Arthur Hanes, Sr., addressed to the Birmingham Bar Association, from R. G. Sneyd, MLK Exhibit F-94, HSCA vol. III, pp. 258–59.

8. See memo to Cartha DeLoach from Alex Rosen, June 17, 1968, MURKIN 4501–4575, section 58, p. 5.

9. William Bradford Huie interviewed by House Select Committee investigators, April 21, 1978, HSCA vol. VII, p. 441.

10. William Bradford Huie interviewed by Bob Ward, “William Bradford Huie Paid for Their Sins,” Writer’s Digest, September 1974, p. 21, David S. Lifton Archives, Los Angeles.

11. Arthur Hanes, Sr., quoted in Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, p. 153.

12. Ibid., p. 154.

13. Airtel to Director from Legat, London, June 24, 1968, MURKIN 4697–4759, section 61, p. 135.

14. See, generally, “Ray Extradition Faces Hurdles,” The Washington Daily News, June 15, 1968.

15. See, generally, memo to Cartha DeLoach from Alex Rosen, June 15, 1968, MURKIN 4501–4575, section 58, p. 173.

16. Affidavit of Robert A. Frazier, June 10, 1968, p. 34, part of 193-page Extradition File of James Earl Ray, available from the Department of Justice via a Freedom of Information request; the author’s research copy was from the David S. Lifton Archives, Los Angeles.

17. Testimony of Alexander Eist, November 9, 1978, HSCA vol. IV, pp. 18–19.

18. Ibid., p. 20.

19. Ibid., p. 21.

20. Ibid.

21. Ibid., p. 22.

22. Memo to Cartha DeLoach from Alex Rosen, June 28, 1968, MURKIN 4697–4759, section 61, p. 166; memo to DeLoach from Rosen, July 2, 1968, MURKIN 4761–4830, section 63, pp. 103–4.

23. Alvin Schuster, “Ray Tells Court He Is Not Guilty in Dr. King Death,” The New York Times, June 28, 1968, pp. Al, 25.

24. Testimony of James Earl Ray, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 25, 1974, p. 736, Box 13, OPR FBI.

25. Ray said that Hanes told him “we needed considerable funds” to defend the case—testimony, of James Earl Ray, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 25, 1974, p. 739, Box 13, OPR FBI; see also reproduction of July 5, 1968, agreement between Hanes and Ray in Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, pp. 154–55; see “An Analysis of the Guilty Plea Entered by James Earl Ray; Criminal Court of Shelby County, Tenn., on March 10, 1969,” Supplementary Staff Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations, March 1979, HSCA vol. XIII, p. 223.

26. UPI report of July 5, 1968, quoting Arthur Hanes, Sr.

27. Arthur Hanes, Sr., quoted in Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, pp. 157–8.

28. See, generally, Huie-Ray-Hanes contracts dated July 8, 1968, and follow-up agreement by Huie to Hanes dated July 8, 1968, and letter agreement between Hanes and Ray, Attorney General File; also maintained as MLK Document 110116 by the House Select Committee. See also “An Analysis of the Guilty Plea Entered by James Earl Ray; Criminal Court of Shelby County, Tenn., on March 10, 1969,” Supplementary Staff Report of the Select Committee on Assassinations, March 1979, HSCA vol. XIII, p. 223; also, regarding Hanes’s desire to reach such an agreement to ensure his legal fee was paid, see HSCA Rpt., p. 413.

29. See, generally, William Bradford Huie interviewed by House Select Committee investigators, April 21, 1978, HSCA vol. VII, p. 442.

30. “Lawyer Says Ray Gave Him Names,” The New York Times, July 7, 1968, p. 1.

31. For those involved in the transfer, see memo to Cartha DeLoach from Alex Rosen, July 19, 1968, MURKIN 4901–4982, section 66, pp. 19–22.

32. Memo for Tolson, et al., from Hoover, July 16, 1968, MURKIN 4847–4900, section 65, pp. 1–2, 21.

33. For general concern over Ray’s security and the discussion and planning that went into moving him, see, for example, memo to Cartha DeLoach from Rosen, June 21, 1968, MURKIN 4576–4663, section 59, pp. 195–96; MURKIN 4501–4575, section 58, pp. 31, 65; also memo to McGowan from Rosen, July 18, 1968, MURKIN 4901–4982, section 66, pp. 73–76.

34. See memo to Cartha DeLoach from Alex Rosen, June 13, 1968, MURKIN 4442–4500, section 57, pp. 134–35.

35. See generally “Custody Log, James Earl Ray, July 19. 1968, Aboard USAF Plane C135,” MURKIN 4901–4982, section 66, pp. 178–81.

36. See memo to the Attorney General from the FBI Director, July 15, 1968, MURKIN 4831–4846, section 64, pp. 98–99.

37. Anthony Lewis, “The Ray Case: Round One: The Battle Over Extradition,” The New York Times, July 7, 1968.

Chapter 10: Enter Raoul

1. Arthur Hanes, Sr., quoted in “Prisoner Charges Ray Favoritism,” The Memphis Press-Scimitar, September 17, 1968, pp. 1, 5.

2. Memo to Pollak from Director, FBI, June 14, 1968, MURKIN 4501–4575, section 58, p. 35.

3. Frank, An American Death, p. 236.

4. Ibid.; William Bradford Huie, “I Had Been in Trouble Most My Life, in Jail Most of It,” Look, November 12, 1968, p. 104.

5. Ibid., p. 112.

6. William Bradford Huie, “I Got Involved Gradually, and I Didn’t Know Anybody Was to Be Murdered,” Look, November 26, 1968, p. 87.

Chapter 11: Hiding the Truth

1. Testimony of James Earl Ray, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 25, 1974, p. 773, Box 13, OPR FBI. The Ray v. Fore man lawsuit was filed by Ray after his guilty plea against Foreman, Huie, and Hanes, and it charged them with violating Ray’s constitutional rights and tried unsuccessfully to enjoin the publication of Huie’s book. Ray v. Rose was Ray’s subsequently unsuccessful habeas corpus action, which involved many of the same issues. Memo to Cartha DeLoach from Alex Rosen, November 13, 1968, MURKIN 5351–5396, section 73, pp. 70–72; memo to Director from Stephen Pollak, November 7, 1968, MURKIN 5351–5396, section 73, pp. 110–11.

2. Criminal Court, Shelby County, Order on Sequestration of Witnesses, MURKIN 5351–5396, section 73, p. 17; “Ray Article May Bring Court Action,” The Memphis Press-Scimitar, October 29, 1968, p. 19.

3. Testimony of James Earl Ray, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 25, 1974, p. 774, Box 13, OPR FBI.

4. Martin Waldron, “A Klan Organizer Made Visit to Ray,” The New York Times, October 3, 1968.

5. Testimony of James Earl Ray, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 25, 1974, p. 776, Box 13, OPR FBI.

6. See, generally, interest of John Ray, memo to Cartha DeLoach, MURKIN 4501–4575, section 58, p. 172; also Jerry Ray in HSCA Rpt., and interviews with George McMillan in McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

7. Jerry Ray quoted by Mark Lane in Murder in Memphis: The FBI and the Assassination of Martin Luther King (New York: Thunder’s Mouth Press, 1993), p. 195.

8. See Foreman on The Dick Cavett Show, Box 5, Trial One, Letter and Memos, 1968–69, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

9. Testimony of James Earl Ray, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 25, 1974, p. 777, Box 13, OPR FBI.

10. Percy Foreman quoted by William Bradford Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, p. 191.

11. Ibid.

12. Huie, He Slew’ the Dreamer, p. 193.

13. Arthur Hanes, Sr., and Arthur Hanes, Jr., quoted by Mark Lane in Murder in Memphis, p. 200.

14. Testimony of James Earl Ray, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 25, 1974, p. 786, Box 13, OPR FBI.

15. Deposition of Percy Foreman, Ray v. Foreman, April 3, 1974; See also Ray v. Foreman deposition, HSCA vol. V, pp. 162–64, and HSCA Rpt., p. 413.

16. HSCA Rpt., p. 413, citing outside contact report with Thomas E. Smith, December 8, 1978, MLK Document 20079.

17. Deposition of Percy Foreman, April 3, 1974, U.S. v. Rose, reprinted in HSCA vol. V, pp. 178–82.

18. HSCA Rpt.p. 415.

19. Testimony of James Earl Ray, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 29, 1974, pp. 818–19, Box 13, OPR FBI; James Earl Ray interview in Playboy, September 1977, p. 79.

20. HSCA Rpt., pp. 413–15.

21. Testimony of James Earl Ray, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action C-74-166, In the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 29, 1974, pp. 814–15, Box 13, OPR FBI.

22. Agreement, February 3, 1969, attached as an exhibit to James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 25, 1974, Box 13, OPR FBI.

23. Huie, He Slew the Dreamer, p. 193.

24. Ibid., p. 194; testimony of James Earl Ray, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 25, 1974, p. 815–16, Box 13, OPR FBI.

25. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?: The True Story by the Alleged Assassin (Washington, D.C.: National Press Books, 1992), pp. 123–24, 128.

26. Testimony of James Earl Ray, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 29, 1974, p. 819, Box 13, OPR FBI.

27. Trial Exhibit 47, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 29, 1974, reproduced on pp. 821–22, Box 13, OPR FBI.

28. Testimony of James Earl Ray, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 29, 1974, p. 828, Box 13, OPR FBI.

29. Ibid., pp. 826–29, 832.

30. Ibid., p. 831.

31. See Exhibit 41, displayed at James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Box 13, OPR FBI.

32. Testimony of James Earl Ray, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 29, 1974, p. 841, Box 13, OPR FBI.

33. Ibid., p. 852.

34. Ibid., pp. 853–54.

35. See Exhibits 11A and 11B in James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Box 13, OPR FBI.

36. See Exhibit 8, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Box 13, OPR FBI.

37. Testimony of James Earl Ray, James Earl Ray v. James H. Rose, Warden, Civil Action No. C-74-166, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, October 29, 1974, p. 865, Box 13, OPR FBI.

38. See Martin Waldron, “Ray Is Reported Planning to Plead Guilty Monday,” The New York Times, March 8, 1969, p. 1.

39. “Judge Says Bevel Can’t Defend Ray,” The New York Times, January 25, 1969.

40. “Conspiracy Is Seen,” The New York Times, March 10, 11, 1968, p. A16.

41. James Chisum, “Probers Stand Pat,” The Commercial Appeal, April 5, 1993, p. 1.

Chapter 12: Little Dixie

1. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz: The Making of a Political Prisoner (St. Andrews, TN: St. Andrews Press, 1987), p. 2.

2. Biographical summary data, Biographical Data on JER folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

3. Letter from William Maher to George McMillan, April 14, 1972, Maher folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

4. Earl Ray quoted in handwritten notes taken by Clay Blair, Jr., maintained as collection 8259 at the American Heritage Center, University of Wyoming.

5. List of jobs taken by George Ray listed in Blair notes, ibid.; see also interview with George Ray by George McMillan, March 20, 1969, Jerry Raynes folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

6. George Ray quoted by George McMillan, The Making of an Assassin (New York: Little Brown and Co., 1976), p. 18.

7. Ibid., pp. 17–18.

8. Interview with William Maher by George McMillan, January 7, 1969, Maher folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

9. Ibid.; McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 16.

10. FBI documents “Earl Everett Ray,” undated, MURKIN 3987, section 49, pp. 80–83; see also Teletype to FBI Director from Buffalo SAC, April 26, 1968, MURKIN 2151–2321, section 19, pp. 289–90; also Investigation Summary, MURKIN 4441, section 56, p. 90.

11. George Ray interviewed by George McMillan, Jerry Raynes folder, p. 14, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing; also interview with George Ray by George McMillan, March 20, 1969, Jerry Raynes folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing; and interview with George Ray, October 17, 1969, no folder, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 15.

12. See letter of John Ray, April 4, 1972, “Ray, Lucille Maher” folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing; also interview with George Ray by George McMillan, March 20, 1969, Jerry Raynes folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

13. Findings of the Select Committee of the House of Representatives on the Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., HSCA Rpt., 1979, p. 287.

14. George Ray quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, pp. 31–32.

15. William Maher quote in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, pp. 32–33.

16. Interview with George Ray by George McMillan, March 20, 1969, Jerry Raynes folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 34.

17. FBI document titled “Re James Earl Ray Neighborhood,” undated, MURKIN 3333, section 34, p. 91; James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 3.

18. See, generally, interview with Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Graves by George McMillan, September 12, 1968, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

19. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 18.

20. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, October 16, 1969, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

21. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 1.

22. Interview with John Sperry by George McMillan, no date, Ewing Interviews Alphabetical folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, pp. 36, 39.

23. See, generally, interview with Winifred Wood and Frances Delaney by George McMillan, March 14, 1971, Ewing Interviews Alphabetical folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing; also interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, April 1, 1972, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

24. Reference to “Little Dixie” from La Grange newspaper quoted in handwritten notes taken by Clay Blair, Jr., op. cit.

25. Interview with Robert Brown by George McMillan, undated, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

26. Letter from Charles Baldwin, county supervisor of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to George McMillan, October 28, 1968, Ewing Interviews Alphabetical folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

27. George Ray interviewed by George McMillan, Jerry Raynes folder, p. 12, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

28. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, sometime in mid-April 1969, Jerry Ray Phone Conversations folder, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

29. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, January 8 and 9, 1972, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975 folder, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

30. See, generally, interview with George Ray by George McMillan, March 20, 1969, Jerry Raynes folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

31. Letter from William Maher to George McMillan, July 11, 1970, Maher folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing; see also interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, Memorial Day, no year, and interview with Jerry Ray, January 8–9, 1972, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975 folder, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

32. Interview with George Ray by George McMillan, October 17, 1969, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

33. Interview with George Ray by George McMillan, March 20, 1969, Jerry Raynes folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; George Ray quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 48.

34. “James Earl Ray Neighborhood,” FBI St. Louis file, Attorney General File, p. 82.

35. Interview with Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Graves by George McMillan, September 12, 1968, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing; and interviews with Robert Hunter, Juvenile Judge, September 9, 1968, and Genevieve Trevilla, September 7, 1968, by George McMillan, Ray Family Chronology folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 49.

36. Interview with Mr. and Mrs. Virgil Graves by George McMillan, September 12, 1968, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

37. George Ray quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 50.

38. See letter of John Ray, April 4, 1972, “Ray, Lucille Maher” folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing; and Jerry Ray interview by George McMillan, September 27, 1971, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

39. Interview with Carol Ray Pepper by George McMillan, Carol Ray Pepper folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing; also Jerry Raynes folder, pp. 10, 25, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, and interview with George Ray, October 17, 1969, no folder, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

40. George Ray interviewed by George McMillan, Jerry Raynes folder, pp. 13, 20, 26, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

41. Interview with Jerry Ball by George McMillan, March 13, 1971, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, pp. 68–69; see also James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 18.

42. George Ray interviewed by George McMillan, Jerry Raynes folder, p. 11, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also The Making of an Assassin, p. 71.

43. Interview with Richard Hadfield by George McMillan, March 13, 1971, Quincy Interviews folder, Box 2—Research Files on Alton and Quincy, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

44. FBI document titled “James Earl Ray School Records,” undated, MURKIN 3333, section 34, p. 92.

45. See, generally, for James’s sensitivity about the clothes he wore, interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, October 16, 1969, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing; see also letter of Merle Wenneker to George McMillan, November 12, 1968, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

46. Interview with Robert Brown by George McMillan, undated, no folder; see also interview with Carlisle Washburn by George McMillan, undated, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, and interview with Richard Hadfield by George McMillan, March 13, 1971, Quincy Interviews folder, Box 2—Research Files on Alton and Quincy, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

47. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, pp. 54–55.

48. Note by Merle C. Wenneker to George McMillan, undated, no folder but with general papers, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

49. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 61; see, generally, interview with Gerald Hobbs by George McMillan, March 14 (no year), Ewing Interview Alphabetical folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

50. Interview with Robert Brown by George McMillan, undated, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also Clay Blair, Jr., The Strange Case of James Earl Ray: The Man Who Murdered Martin Luther King (New York: Bantam Books, 1969), pp. 29–30.

51. Note by Merle C. Wenneker to George McMillan, undated, no folder but with general papers, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

52. See, generally, interview with George Ray by George McMillan, March 20, 1969, Jerry Raynes folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

53. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, October 16, 1969, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

54. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, pp. 60–61.

55. FBI teletype to Director from Springfield, April 24, 1968, MURKIN 1991–2075, section 17, p. 146; see also interview with George Ray by George McMillan, March 20, 1969, no folder, Box I—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

56. Interview with Robert Brown by George McMillan, undated, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

57. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 18.

58. FBI interview with George Ray, April 23, 1968, MURKIN 3333, section 34, pp. 228–29.

59. FBI Document “Summary: Family of James Earl Ray,” undated, MURKIN 3987, section 49, p. 34; statement of Ruby Carpenter to the FBI, summary contained in teletype to Director from Springfield, April 24, 1968, MURKIN 1991–2075, section 17, p. 147; James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 18; see, generally, narration of James Wolf, Deputy Chief Counsel, HSCA vol. VIII, pp. 1–13.

60. Carol Ray Pepper interviewed by George McMillan, July 17, 1969, Carol Ray Pepper folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing; see also interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, October 16, 1969, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

61. George Ray interviewed by George McMillan, March (no year), Jerry Raynes folder, p. 5, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

62. Interview with Carlisle Washburn by George McMillan, undated, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

63. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 63.

64. Mike O’Brien quoted in Gerold Frank, An American Death, p. 287.

65. FBI document titled “Re: Ray Background: Education,” undated, MURKIN 4760, section 62, p. 51.

66. Interview with Robert Brown by George McMillan, undated, no folder; see also interview with George Ray by George McMillan, March 20, 1969, Jerry Raynes folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

67. Interview with Carlisle Washburn by George McMillan, undated, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also The Making of an Assassin, p. 63.

68. Jerry Ray quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 64.

69. John Ray quoted in ibid., p. 77.

70. Jerry Ball quoted in ibid., p. 65.

71. Charles Peacock quoted in biographical summary data, Biographical Data on JER folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

72. Jerry Ray interviewed by George McMillan, September 25, 1971, Jerry Ray Inter views 1969–1975 folder, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

73. Jerry Ray interview by George McMillan, February 12, 1969, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975 folder, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

74. Jerry Ray interviewed by George McMillan, September 25, 1971, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975 folder, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

75. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 79.

76. Letter from Virgil Graves to Mrs. West (no first name), August 24, 1968, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

77. Interview with Virgil Graves by George McMillan, September 12, 1968, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

78. Virgil Graves quoted in William A. McWhirter, “A Character Shaped by a Mean Life,” Life, May 3, 1968, p. 23.

79. Interview with Virgil Graves by George McMillan, September 12, 1968, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 82.

80. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 82.

81. John Ray quoted in ibid., p. 84.

82. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, January 8 and 9, 1972, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975 folder, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

83. Letter from Terry Rife to George McMillan, March 22, 1972, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

84. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, pp. 18–19; see also Jerry Ray interviewed by George McMillan, September 25, 1971, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975 folder, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

85. Interview with Mary Hagen by George McMillan, September 8, 1968, Alton folder; see also Mike Hilfrink, “Quincy’s High Suicide Rate Alarms Officials,” The Herald-Whig, July 31, 1968, Quincy Interview folder, Box 2—Research Files on Alton and Quincy, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

86. See, generally, “Neighborhood Analyses,” Project Head Start, Quincy, Illinois, March 1967, Alton folder, Box 2—Research Files on Alton and Quincy; “Historical Sketches of Quincy, the First 100 Years” by Carl Landrum, Quincy, Illinois, Alton folder, Box 2—Research Files on Alton and Quincy, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; also McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 90.

87. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 19; see also FBI interview with George Parsons, April 20, 1968, “Family of James Earl Ray,” Attorney General File, p. 2754.

88. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 21.

89. Ibid., p. 20.

90. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 4.

91. George Ray interviewed by George McMillan, March (no year), Jerry Raynes folder, p. 2, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

92. John Ray quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, pp. 87–88.

93. FBI interview with Walter Terry Rife, April 19, 1968, File SI 44–561, MURKIN 3987, section 49, p. 105; see also letter from Terry Rife to George McMillan, March 22, 1972, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

94. FBI document “Associates of James Earl Ray,” interview with Walter Rife, April 23, 1968, MURKIN 3987, section 49, p. 95; see also interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part II, undated, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, pp. 23–24, 27, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

95. Interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part II, undated, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, p. 24, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 87.

96. FBI document “Associates of James Earl Ray,” interview with Walter Rife, April 23, 1968, MURKIN 3987, section 49, p. 104.

97. Ibid., pp. 104–6.

98. Interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part I, September 9, 1968, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, p. 8, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; Walter Rife quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, pp. 87, 146.

99. Walter Rife quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 87.

100. James Early Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 6.

101. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 21.

102. Interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part II, undated, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 87.

103. John Ray quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 96.

Chapter 13: “Hitler Politics”

1. Statement by Mary Maher, 1968, taken by State Attorney’s Office, Edwardsville, Illinois, reported in biographical summary data, Biographical Data on JER folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

2. Eric Duncan quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 101.

3. Ibid., pp. 100–102.

4. Boob Roberts quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 101; see also “Memo to Myself, by George McMillan: Ray at the Hartford Tannery,” Alton folder, Box 2—Research Files on Alton and Quincy, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

5. Eric Duncan quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 101; see also “Memo to Myself, by George McMillan: Ray at the Hartford Tannery,” Alton folder, Box 2—Research Files on Alton and Quincy, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

6. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 101.

7. FBI interview with William E. Maher, April 22, 1968, MURKIN 1731–1820, section 14, p. 57, and MURKIN 2076–2150, section 18, p. 199; see also interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, September27, 1971, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, and interview with Ande Yakstis, Alton Telegraph reporter, by George McMillan, August 15, 1968, Alton folder, Box 2—Research Files on Alton and Quincy, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

8. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, April 1, 1972, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 106.

9. Unidentified sister quoted by Clay Blair, Jr., The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 36.

10. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, May 29, 1972, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

11. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, October 16, 1969, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 99, and Clay Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 33.

12. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 6.

13. Letter from the Department of the Army to George McMillan, June 10, 1970, Army folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family; see also John Ray quoted by Jerry Lipson, “Ray’s Road to Jail Began in Army,” Chicago Daily News, undated, p. 1, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

14. Interview with Carol Ray Pepper by George McMillan, undated, Carol Ray Pepper folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 104.

15. George Ray interviewed by George McMillan, Jerry Raynes folder, p. 23, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

16. Ibid., p. 11; see also The Making of an Assassin, p. 105, and Frank, An American Death, p. 403.

17. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, January 8 and 9, 1972, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 106.

18. Letter from William Maher to George McMillan, February 3, 1969, Maher folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing. McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

19. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 7.

20. Official Statement of Military Service of James Earl Ray, 16163 129, Department of the Army; FBI document “Re: James Earl Ray Background,” FBI—St. Louis file, prepared by Special Agent Harold R. Dobson, serials 3407–3791, Attorney General File, p. 88. Note: Ray’s full military record has never been released because, pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act, James Earl Ray would have to sign a release for any person besides himself to obtain it. It is not clear that the Army can find his file, even if Ray were to ask for it. As of 1975, an Army spokesman informed author George McMillan that “the Army has been unsuccessful in all attempts to locate Ray’s military personnel records.” Since the records were provided to the FBI as part of their postassassination inquiry, Army officials have suggested the file may not have been returned. The Bureau claims it does not have it. However, a fairly detailed portrait of Ray’s service can be reconstructed, since the Army has released some summary documents, Ray has commented on it in his own books and interviews, and the archives of other authors have provided background research on particular issues, including his Army medical records.

21. “Short Report on Wesermuende/Bremerhaven 1945/47,” p. 1, Army folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

22. Ibid.; see also letter from Arthur Zigouras to George McMillan, undated, p. 1, Army folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

23. Letter from Arthur Zigouras to George McMillan, undated, p. 1, Army folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

24. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 7.

25. “Short Report on Wesermuende/Bremerhaven 1945/47,” p. 1, Army folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

26. Ibid.; see also “Memo: Black Market Operations in Germany,” from Oliver J. Fredericksen, The American Military Occupation of Germany, 1945–1953, Historical Division, Head quarters, United States Army, 1953, two pages, Army folder; also letter from Arthur Zigouras to George McMillan, undated, pp. 1, 4, Army folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

27. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 105.

28. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, April 1, 1972, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials; see also interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, May 29 (no year), Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials; see also John Ray quoted by Jerry Lipson, “Ray’s Road to Jail Began in Army,” Chicago Daily News, undated, p. 1, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing; also memorandum to file by George McMillan, summarizing Clay Blair’s conversation with Mabel Fuller, July 3, 1969, Army folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 108.

29. Extracts from the 382nd Military Police Battalion, report on 1, 744 women detained as “Venereal Disease Suspects,” Chapter 11 file within Army—1946–48 folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

30. Interview with Stow Symon, Supervising Sociologist at Pontiac Branch, Illinois State Prison, by George McMillan, September 13, 1968, Pontiac folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

31. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, April 1, 1972, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

32. Letter from Arthur Zigouras to George McMillan, undated, p. 3, Army folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

33. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, January 8 and 9, 1972, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

34. FBI memo to the Director from St. Louis, includes agents’ interview with John Ray, May 2, 1968, MURKIN 2926–3030, section 30, p. 45, and MURKIN 3333, section 34, p. 294; see also interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, June 26, 1972, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

35. James Earl Ray quoted in Frank, An American Death, p. 289.

36. James Earl Ray, 20,000 Words, HSCA vol. XII, pp. 38, 149.

37. Investigation conducted by St. Louis FBI, MURKIN x-125, section 1, p. 24; see also Headquarters, 16th Infantry Regiment, Special Court Martial, November 18, 1948, Army folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

38. FBI document “Re: Ray Background—Army Service Record,” FBI St. Louis file op. cit., Attorney General File, p. 86.

39. Headquarters, 16th Infantry Regiment, Special Court-Martial, November 18, 1948, Army folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also FBI document “Re: Ray Background—Army Service Record,” FBI St. Louis file, op. cit., Attorney General File, p. 86.

40. Headquarters, 16th Infantry Regiment, Special Court-Martial, December 10, 1948, Army folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

41. John Ray quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 112.

42. FBI document “Re: Ray Background—Army Service Record,” FBI St. Louis file, op. cit., Attorney General File, p. 86; see also MURKIN x-125, section 1, p. 24; and biographical summary data, Biographical Data on JER folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

43. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 23.

44. See, generally, discussion of employment by Ray in MURKIN 3987, section 49, and FBI St. Louis file, Attorney General File.

45. Interview with Genevieve Trevilla by George McMillan, September 7, 1968, Ray Family Chronology folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

46. FBI document “Re: Suzan Jane Ryan Donian—Subject’s Sister,” MURKIN 3334-3335, section 35, p. 95.

47. See, generally, interview with Carol Ray Pepper by George McMillan, undated, Carol Ray Pepper folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing; see also interview with Loren E. Schnack by George McMillan, September 6, 1968, in which Schnack says Melba Ray’s IQ is 90, Ray Family Chronology folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

48. See, generally, George Ray interviewed by George McMillan, Jerry Raynes folder, p. 23, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

49. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, September 27, 1971, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials; see also interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, Memorial Day, no year, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 117.

50. Interview with Eda Jansen, Police Matron in Quincy, by George McMillan, Pontiac file, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 126.

51. Jerry Ray interview by George McMillan, September 27, 1971, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

52. Ibid; McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 117.

53. Certificate of Plea of Guilty, People of the State of Illinois v. Earl Ray, Chancery Case No. 4775, September 21, 1948, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also FBI document “Earl Everett Ray,” Springfield, FBI, William Robert III, vol. XIX, Attorney General File, p. 2802.

54. Biographical summary data, Biographical Data on JER folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also Frank, An American Death, p. 177.

55. Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 37.

56. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 133.

57. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, April 2, 1971, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

58. Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 38.

59. Letter from William Maher to George McMillan, September 6, 1968, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

60. FBI document “James Earl Ray—Veterans Administration,” FBI St. Louis file, op. cit., Attorney General File, p. 89; see also FBI document “Re: Veterans Administration Records,” MURKIN 3334–3335, section 35, pp. 114–15, and biographical summary data, Biographical Data on JER folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

61. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 24.

62. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 9.

63. Ibid.

64. Ibid.

65. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 25.

66. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 10.

67. Ibid.

68. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 25.

69. Police Department Arrest Report, 24 Summary Sheet, Records and Identification Division, Los Angeles Police Department.

70. Ibid.

71. Ibid.

72. Ray’s statement is reproduced in its entirety in Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 40.

73. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 10.

74. Probation report details listed in Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, pp. 40–41.

75. Reprinted in Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 41; see also biographical summary data, Biographical Data on JER folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

76. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 10.

77. Ibid., p. 11.

78. Ibid.

79. Ibid.

Chapter 14: The Red Top Caper

1. As for the roll of coins being from the Chinese restaurant theft, see James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 27; as for the arrest itself, see FBI teletype to Director from Omaha, April 10, 1968, MURKIN 1301–1421, section 11, p. 228.

2. FBI teletype to Director from Omaha, April 10, 1968, MURKIN 1301–1421, section 11, p. 229.

3. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 27.

4. FBI teletype to Director from Omaha, April 10, 1968, MURKIN 1301–1421, section 11, pp. 229–30.

5. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 27.

6. Jerry Ray quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 118.

7. FBI document “Family of James Earl Ray,” Springfield, FBI, William Robert III, vol. XIX, Attorney General File, p. 2760.

8. Certificate of Evidence, People of the State of Illinois v. Jerry Ryan, Criminal Case No. 5051, February 11, 1954, Ray Family Chronology folder, p. 3, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

9. Unidentified probation officer quoted in Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 43.

10. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 28.

11. Arvey cannot find the work record for Ray’s employment, but believes he was in the envelope division; see, generally, Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 43.

12. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 137.

13. Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 43.

14. Arrest information gathered by the Chicago police subsequent to Ray’s arrest in May 1952, under listing “Previous Record,” MURKIN 3334–3335, section 35, p. 103, see also U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Presentence Report, April 26, 1955, Kansas City file, Attorney General File, p. 1048.

15. Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 44.

16. FBI document “Re: Previous Employment,” MURKIN 3334–3335, section 35, p. 114.

17. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 28.

18. Robert Everhart quoted in Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 46.

19. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 28.

20. Robert Everhart quoted in Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 46.

21. FBI interview with Captain George Green, May 2, 1968, MURKIN 3334–3335, section 35, p. 111.

22. Ibid.

23. Ray and Everhart quoted in Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 47; see also biographical summary data, Biographical Data on JER folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

24. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 29.

25. FBI report “Re: Cook County Hospital Records,” MURKIN 3334–3335, section 35, p. 113.

26. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, January 8 and 9, 1972, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

27. Jerry Ray quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 130.

28. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 28.

29. Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 48.

30. Department of Public Safety, Division of the Criminologist, Classification Report, dated June 30, 1957, 1 page, MURKIN 3334–3335, section 35, p. 107; see also Department of Public Safety, Division of the Criminologist, “Professional Summary,” July 19, 1955, MURKIN 3334–3335, section 35, p. 108.

31. Department of Public Safety, Division of the Criminologist, Classification Report, dated June 30, 1957, 1 page, MURKIN 3334–3335, section 35, p. 107.

32. Ibid.

33. Ibid., p. 109; see also Parole Progress Report, dated April 9, 1953, MURKIN 3334–3335, section 35, p. 110.

34. Ray was identified as a model prisoner in a later FBI summary, MURKIN 3987, section 49, p. 148; Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 49.

35. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 15.

36. Unidentified psychologist quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 141.

37. State of Illinois, Department of Public Safety, Division of the Criminologist, Parole Progress Report, MURKIN 3334–3335, section 35, p. 110.

38. Ibid.

39. Ibid.

40. Ibid., p. 109.

41. Ibid.

42. See Certificate of Evidence, Criminal Case Nos. 5007 & 5008, People of the State of Illinois v. John Ryan alias John Ray, May 19, 1953, and attached transcript of proceedings for June 1, 1953, Ray Family Chronology folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

43. Ibid.

44. FBI document “Family of James Earl Ray,” Springfield, FBI, William Robert III, vol. XIX, Attorney General File, p. 2766.

45. Certificate of Evidence, People of the State of Illinois v. Jerry Ryan, Criminal Case No. 5051, February 11, 1954, Ray Family Chronology folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

46. Interview with Robert Hunter, Juvenile Judge, by George McMillan, September 9, 1968, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

47. Interview with Genevieve Trevilla by George McMillan, September 7, 1968, Ray Family Chronology folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

48. FBI document “Family of James Earl Ray,” Springfield, FBI, William Robert III, vol. XIX, Attorney General File, p. 2758.

49. Ibid.

50. Interview with Jerry Ray by George McMillan, October 16, 1969, no folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

51. Interview with Robert Hunter, Juvenile Judge, by George McMillan, September 9, 1968; see also interview with Genevieve Trevilla by George McMillan, September 7, 1968, Ray Family Chronology folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

52. FBI document “Family of James Earl Ray,” Springfield, FBI, William Robert III, vol. XIX, Attorney General File, p. 2758.

53. Ibid., p. 2764.

54. Ibid., p. 2758; undated interview with Carol Ray Pepper by George McMillan, Carol Ray Pepper folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

55. FBI document “Family of James Earl Ray,” Springfield, FBI, William Robert III, vol. XIX, Attorney General File, p. 2763; see also Carol Ray Pepper’s statement, “I’m not belligerent,” to George McMillan in telephone interview of April 17, 1969, Carol Ray Pepper folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan Archives at the Southern Historical Collection.

56. Letter of William Maher to George McMillan, February 3, 1969, Maher folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing; also, see interview with Maher by McMillan, undated, Maher folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, and interview with Ande Yakstis, Alton Telegraph reporter, by George McMillan, August 15, 1968, Alton folder, Box 2—Research Files on Alton and Quincy, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

57. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 30.

58. Harold Riggins quoted in biographical summary data, Biographical Data on JER folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

59. Andrew Biro quoted in Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 54.

60. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 30.

61. Harold Riggins quoted in Frank, An American Death, p. 293.

62. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 30.

63. Interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part II, undated, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, p. 20, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

64. Ibid.

65. Ibid.; see also Walter Rife quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 147.

66. Interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part I, September 9, 1968, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, p. 5, and interview with Rife, Part II, undated, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

67. Clipping “Quincyan Calls Ray Prejudiced,” April 25, 1968, Quincy Interviews folder, Box 2—Research Files on Alton and Quincy, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

68. FBI document “Associates of James Earl Ray,” interview with Walter Rife, April 23, 1968, MURKIN 3987, section 49, p. 108; see also interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part II, undated, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter folder, pp. 12–13, 29, 32, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; Walter Rife quoted in McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, pp. 146–47; see also Memo to FBI Director from SAC, Springfield, MO, April 25, 1968, MURKIN 1991–2075, section 17, p. 72.

69. Interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part I, September 9, 1968, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, p. 5, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

70. Interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part II, undated, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, pp. 13–14, 32, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

Chapter 15: “A Menace to Society”

1. Interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part I, September 9, 1968, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, p. 6, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

2. FBI document “Re: Burglary of United States Post Office, Kellerville, Illinois, March 7, 1955,” MURKIN 3334–3335, section 35, p. 134; see also FBI interview with Walter Rife, MURKIN 3987, section 49, p. 107; see also interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part II, undated, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, pp. 15–18, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

3. Interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part I, September 9, 1968, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, p. 5, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; McMil lan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 144.

4. U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Presentence Report, April 26, 1955, Kansas City file, Attorney General File, p. 1047.

5. Of twenty-seven money orders passed by the duo, Rife was responsible for fifteen and Ray for the other twelve. Detailed breakdown of each money order passed, and the locations, contained in U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Presentence Report, April 26, 1955, Kansas City file, Attorney General File, pp. 1046–47.

6. Walter Rife quoted in Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 58; see also interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part I, September 9, 1968, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, p. 9, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

7. Walter Rife quoted in Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 58.

8. Interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part I, September 9, 1968, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, p. 10, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

9. Ibid., pp. 6–9.

10. Walter Rife quoted in Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 59.

11. Ibid.

12. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 16.

13. Interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part I, September 9, 1968, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, p. 9, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 147.

14. U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Presentence Report, April 26, 1955, Kansas City file, Attorney General File, p. 1045.

15. Lynn Chaffee quoted in Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 60.

16. U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Presentence Report, April 26, 1955, Kansas City file, Attorney General File, p. 1045.

17. Walter Rife quoted in Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 60; see also interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part I, September 9, 1968, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, p. 6, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

18. U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Presentence Report, April 26, 1955, Kansas City file, Attorney General File, p. 1046; see, generally, FBI document “Re: Burglary of United States Post Office, Kellerville, Illinois, March 7, 1955,” MURKIN 3334–3335, section 35, p. 133.

19. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 148.

20. FBI interview with Walter Rife, MURKIN 3987, section 49, p. 107.

21. Ibid.; FBI teletype to Director from SAC, Springfield, April 25, 1968, MURKIN 1991–2075, section 17, p. 71; see also Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 59.

22. FBI document “James Earl Ray, Post Office Arrest—1955, At St. Louis, Missouri,” MURKIN 3333, section 34, p. 102; see also U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Presentence Report, April 26, 1955, Kansas City file, Attorney General File, p. 1045.

23. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 17.

24. U.S. District Court, Western District of Missouri, Presentence Report, April 26, 1955, Kansas City file, Attorney General File, p. 1051.

25. Walter Rife quoted in Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 62.

26. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, pp. 32–33.

27. Ibid.

28. Ibid., p. 34.

29. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 151.

30. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, United States Penitentiary, Leaven- worth, Kansas, Special Progress Report, October 9, 1956, Kansas City file, Attorney General File, p. 1065.

31. Ibid.

32. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 35.

33. Interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part I, September 9, 1968, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, p. 5, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 150.

34. FBI document summarizing prison records at Menard Prison, Springfield FBI, vol. XIX, Attorney General File, p. 2787; see also MURKIN 3503, section 39, p. 105.

35. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, Kansas, “Release Progress Report,” April 1958, Kansas City FBI file, Attorney General File, p. 1064; see also summary of Ramsey Clark interview, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, “The Crime” folder, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

36. Interview with Walter Rife by George McMillan, Part II, undated, Interviews and Correspondence—Rife, Walter, folder, p. 20, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing; see also interview with Thomas Maples by George McMillan, September 12, 1968, Box 2—Research Files on Alton and Quincy, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

37. U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Prisons, United States Penitentiary, Leavenworth, Kansas, “Release Progress Report,” April 1958, Kansas City FBI file, Attorney General File, p. 1064.

Chapter 16: A Professional Criminal

1. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, pp. 36–37.

2. Ibid., p. 37.

3. See, generally, “The Soulard Area—Report on Research into Adaptations by Urban White Families to Poverty” conducted under contract with the Office of Economic Opportunity—Contract OE-1241, The Social Science Institute, Washington University, August 15, 1968, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

4. See, generally, FBI summary of Ray family status, MURKIN 3333, section 34, p. 109.

5. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 37.

6. Ibid.

7. FBI summary document, MURKIN 3333, section 34, p. 109.

8. Ibid., p. 110.

9. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 37.

10. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 20.

11. Ibid.

12. Ibid.

13. Ibid., p. 21.

14. FBI interview with Cecil Clayton Lillibridge, April 29, 1968, Kansas City file, Attorney General File, pp. 999–1001.

15. FBI interview with James Loama Owens, May 16, 1968, St. Louis file, Harold R. Dobson, Attorney General File, p. 2961.

16. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 21.

17. Ibid.

18. Ibid., p. 21.

19. Interview with James Earl Ray, December 2, 1977, HSCA vol. XI, pp. 406–8.

20. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 40.

21. Certified copy of the Certificate of Death of Earl Everet (sic) Ray, New York State Department of Health, Office of Vital Statistics, District Number 1401, Registered Number 2675, maintained on file in Buffalo, New York.

22. FBI interview with James Loama Owens, May 16, 1968, St. Louis file, Harold R. Dobson, Attorney General File, p. 2955.

23. Jerry Ray interview by George McMillan, September 27, 1971, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

24. FBI summary report on John Eugene Gawron, MURKIN 4143, section 52, p. 89.

25. Ibid., p. 90.

26. Ibid., p. 89.

27. FBI document “Joseph Elmer ‘Blackie’ Austin,” MURKIN 3987, section 49, pp. 111–17; also, same file, unredacted, Springfield file, Attorney General File, p. 2832.

28. FBI document “Joseph Elmer ‘Blackie’ Austin,” Springfield file, Attorney General File, p. 2837.

29. FBI interview with James Loama Owens, May 16, 1968, St. Louis file, Harold R. Dobson, Attorney General File, p. 2953; see also U.S. Department of Justice rap sheet for James Owens, St. Louis file, Harold R. Dobson, Attorney General File, pp. 2969–71.

30. FBI interview with James Loama Owens, May 16, 1968, St. Louis file, Harold R. Dobson, Attorney General File, p. 2953.

31. Interview with Ande Yakstis, Alton Telegraph reporter, by George McMillan, August 15, 1968, Alton folder, Box 2—Research Files on Alton and Quincy, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

32. FBI interview with James Loama Owens, May 16, 1968, St. Louis file, Harold R. Dobson, Attorney General File, p. 2961—language quoted in this instance is the agents’ summary of what Owens said; see also, regarding Ray’s reading habits, ibid., p. 2966.

33. Ibid., pp. 2954, 2956.

34. Ibid., p. 2954.

35. Ibid., pp. 2954–55.

36. See the Report of the Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis, Complaint Number 146,048, July 11, 1959, pp. 1–4, Bureau of Records, St. Louis Police Department; Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 65.

37. Report of the Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis, Complaint Number 146,048, July 11, 1959, p. 2, Bureau of Records, St. Louis Police Department.

38. Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 65.

39. Report of the Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis, Complaint Number 169,866, July 11, 1959, pp. 1–3, Bureau of Records, St. Louis Police Department; Commitment Report of James Earl Ray, Missouri State Penitentiary, January 6, 1959, Prison Records up to August 15, 1973, folder, p. 2, Box 6—Trial and Post Trial Materials, Behavior Studies, Newspaper Clippings, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

40. Biographical summary data, Biographical Data on JER folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

41. Commitment Report of James Earl Ray, Missouri State Penitentiary, January 6, 1959, Prison Records up to August 15, 1973, folder, p. 2, Box 6—Trial and Post Trial Materials, Behavior Studies, Newspaper Clippings, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

42. Ibid.

43. Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 68.

44. FBI Statement of James Loama Owens, May 16, 1968, St. Louis file, Harold R. Dobson, Attorney General File, p. 2957.

45. Ibid.

46. Ibid.

47. Report of the Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis, Complaint Number 222,015, October 10, 1959, pp. 1–11, plus a three-page supplementary statement by James Owens, and Supplementary Report dated October 12, 1959, Complaint Number 223,556, pp. 1–3, Bureau of Records, St. Louis Police Department.

48. Commitment Report of James Earl Ray, Missouri State Penitentiary, January 6, 1959, Prison Records up to August 15, 1973, folder, Box 6—Trial and Post Trial Materials, Behavior Studies, Newspaper Clippings, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

49. Report of the Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis, Complaint Number 222,015, October 10, 1959, pp. 1–11, plus a three-page supplementary statement by James Owens, and Supplementary Report dated October 12, 1959, Complaint Number 223,556, pp. 1–3, Bureau of Records, St. Louis Police Department; Commitment Report of James Earl Ray, Missouri State Penitentiary, January 6, 1959, Prison Records up to August 15, 1973 folder, Box 6—Trial and Post Trial Materials, Behavior Studies, Newspaper Clippings, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also FBI document “James Earl Ray—Arrest—1959,” MURKIN 3333, section 34, pp. 118, 121.

50. FBI document “James Earl Ray—Arrest—1959,” MURKIN 3333, section 34, p. 119.

51. Ibid.

52. Report of the Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis, Complaint Number 222,015, October 10, 1959, pp. 1–11, plus a three-page supplementary statement by James Owens, and Supplementary Report dated October 12, 1959, Complaint Number 223,556, pp. 1–3, Bureau of Records, St. Louis Police Department; Commitment Report of James Earl Ray, Missouri State Penitentiary, January 6, 1959, Prison Records up to August 15, 1973, folder, Box 6—Trial and Post Trial Materials, Behavior Studies, Newspaper Clippings, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also FBI document “James Earl Ray—Arrest—1959,” MURKIN 3333, section 34, p. 119.

53. Report of the Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis, Complaint Number 222,015, October 10, 1959, pp. 1–11, plus a three-page supplementary statement by James Owens, and Supplementary Report dated October 12, 1959, Complaint Number 223,556, pp. 1–3, Bureau of Records, St. Louis Police Department; FBI document “James Earl Ray—Arrest—1959,” MURKIN 3333, section 34, p. 119.

54. Report of the Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis, Complaint Number 222,015, October 10, 1959, pp. 1–11, plus a three-page supplementary statement by James Owens, and Supplementary Report dated October 12, 1959, Complaint Number 223,556, pp. 1–3, Bureau of Records, St. Louis Police Department; Commitment Report of James Earl Ray, Missouri State Penitentiary, January 6, 1959, Prison Records up to August 15, 1973, folder, p. 2, Box 6—Trial and Post Trial Materials, Behavior Studies, Newspaper Clippings, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also FBI document “James Earl Ray—Arrest—1959,” MURKIN 3333, section 34, p. 120.

55. FBI document “James Earl Ray—Arrest—1959,” MURKIN 3333, section 34, p. 120, see also Commitment Report of James Earl Ray, Missouri State Penitentiary, January 6, 1959, Prison Records up to August 15, 1973, folder, p. 2, Box 6—Trial and Post Trial Materials, Behavior Studies, Newspaper Clippings, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

56. Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 73.

57. Report of the Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis, Complaint Number 222,015, October 10, 1959, pp. 1–11, plus a three-page supplementary statement by James Owens, and Supplementary Report dated October 12, 1959, Complaint Number 223,556, pp. 1–3, Bureau of Records, St. Louis Police Department.

58. FBI document “James Earl Ray—Arrest—1959,” MURKIN 3333, section 34, p. 120.

59. Commitment Report of James Earl Ray, Missouri State Penitentiary, January 6, 1959, Prison Records up to August 15, 1973, folder, pp. 1–2, Box 6—Trial and Post Trial Materials, Behavior Studies, Newspaper Clippings, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 73.

60. Commitment Report of James Earl Ray, Missouri State Penitentiary, January 6, 1959, Prison Records up to August 15, 1973, folder, p. 2, Box 6—Trial and Post Trial Materials, Behavior Studies, Newspaper Clippings, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

61. Ibid.

62. Report of the Metropolitan Police Department, City of St. Louis, Complaint Number 222,015, October 10, 1959, pp. 1–11, plus a three-page supplementary statement by James Owens, and Supplementary Report dated October 12, 1959, Complaint Number 223,556, pp. 1–3, Bureau of Records, St. Louis Police Department.

63. Biographical summary data, Biographical Data on JER folder, Box 3—Biographical Data on JER and Family, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, pp. 74–75.

64. Richard Schreiber quoted in Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 77.

65. Ibid.

66. FBI statement of James Loama Owens, May 16, 1968, St. Louis file, Harold R. Dobson, Attorney General File, p. 2957.

Chapter 17: “A Natural Hustler”

1. “The Jefftown Journal—Historical Edition,” compiled and researched by the Jefftown Journal Staff, edited by James Caffey, summer 1972, p. 24, Chapter XV folder, Box 4—Research Materials by Chapter—Files on: Motive, Drugs, Poverty, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 164.

2. In the 1980s, Missouri changed the name to the Jefferson City Correctional Center.

3. Interview with Tim Kniest, September 17, 1997.

4. “The Jefftown Journal—Historical Edition,” compiled and researched by the Jefftown Journal Staff, edited by James Caffey, summer 1972, p. 31, Chapter XV folder, Box 4—Research Materials by Chapter—Files on: Motive, Drugs, Poverty, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

5. Ibid.

6. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 166.

7. “The Jefftown Journal—Historical Edition,” compiled and researched by the Jefftown Journal Staff, edited by James Caffey, summer 1972, p. 31, Chapter XV folder, Box 4—Research Materials by Chapter—Files on: Motive, Drugs, Poverty, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; see also McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, pp. 166–67.

8. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 166–67.

9. Ibid., p. 164.

10. “The Jefftown Journal—Historical Edition,” compiled and researched by the Jefftown Journal Staff, edited by James Caffey, summer 1972, p. 31, Chapter XV folder, Box 4—Research Materials by Chapter—Files on: Motive, Drugs, Poverty, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

11. Ibid., p. 32.

12. Ibid.

13. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 42; see also statement of Earnest, under Mo Pen heading, Episode Card Index, Attorney General File, and FBI interview with Danton Steele, MURKIN 4441, section 56, p. 29.

14. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 170.

15. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 42.

16. Ibid.

17. Blair, The Strange Case of James Earl Ray, p. 82.

18. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 45.

19. Ibid.

20. Ibid., p. 46.

21. Ibid.

22. Ibid.

23. Ibid., pp. 46–47.

24. Ibid., p.47.

25. Ibid.

26. Ibid.

27. Ibid., p.48.

28. Ibid.

29. Ibid.

30. There are several hundred FBI interviews and reinterviews of nearly one hundred inmates who served with Ray at the prison. Almost all were conducted by special agents in April and May 1968, after King was assassinated but before Ray was captured in London. At the time, the FBI was not only interested in determining whether Ray was capable of killing King, but also whether any of his former prison mates would have leads about where he might hide as a fugitive.

His fellow inmates present two different and incompatible portraits of Ray, only one of which, of course, can be accurate. One person is quiet, not involved in any of the prison’s rackets, not a drug abuser, and without any racial prejudice. The other Ray is a sometimes violent inmate, a successful prison smuggler, an amphetamine abuser, and also an avowed racist who occasionally threatened King’s life. Weighing this testimony for credibility and seeking corroboration is no easy task when some convicts have little hesitation to lie if it is in their best interest. Furthermore, the FBI, in its files about the assassination maintained at the Bureau’s reading room in Washington, D.C., has blacked out the prisoner’s names. Without the names, it is not possible to determine how long each witness knew Ray, or even if, say, he was telling the truth when he claimed to have been a cellmate or to have worked with him in the bakery. Also, since the FBI sometimes conducted multiple interviews of the same inmate, it is also impossible to determine whether only one person was repeating an accusation about something—such as Ray’s purported drug dealing—or if the numerous statements are actually from different inmates, thereby providing some independent corroboration.

But a breakthrough came in mid-1997 when the author obtained access to the original investigatory file prepared by the state of Tennessee for its criminal case against Ray. That attorney general’s file fills a deep, four-drawer cabinet and was never used once Ray pleaded guilty. However, it not only contains an enormous amount of original documentation about the case, but also many of the FBI interviews with Ray’s fellow inmates. None of the papers in the attorney general’s file has any redactions. This allowed matching of the sanitized FBI flies against the uncensored information in the attorney general’s papers and thereby identification of most of the inmates in the FBI documents.

Once the identities were known, it was evident that many of those who claimed Ray was merely a passive prisoner with no racial hatred were themselves often accused of having been Ray’s drug suppliers or prison protectors. Their denials that Ray was involved in the rackets or a drug user must be viewed in light of the difficulty such an admission would have caused for them. Moreover, although some may not have been close to Ray or felt any loyalty to him, as with many convicts there was a general dislike for the FBI and an overall unwillingness to cooperate with federal agents for fear of appearing to be informers. This is especially true since Ray was still on the run at the time of the interviews. Almost all the prisoners interviewed by the FBI were white and many were themselves racist. In the wake of the King assassination—something many of them publicly applauded—they would not help the federal government make a case against a former cellmate. Therefore, one must be open to the possibility that many of the statements portraying a kind and gentle Ray are questionable.

On the other hand, those inmates who gave the FBI often detailed accounts of Ray’s involvement in prison rackets, his drug abuse, and his racism had little reason to lie—the files do not indicate that the government offered reduced sentences, deals, or improved conditions for cooperation (though a prisoner might have personally benefited if he had information that led to Ray’s capture, and volunteered that). With the exception of one prisoner, none of them later tried to sell their information or profit from it. Moreover, some who spoke frankly about Ray’s drug problems and bigotry had been released from prison by the time they spoke to the FBI, so they did not even have to cooperate with the agents if they did not want to. Quite a few considered themselves friends of Ray’s and spoke only reluctantly about his prison tenure.

Therefore, Ray’s racism and drug problems, highlighted by several dozen inmates, are probably underplayed by other inmates who disliked the FBI, sought to protect themselves, or wanted to assist Ray. One inmate, Robert Hess, was typical of many when he told FBI agents, “I remember Jim Ray but I don’t know anything about him now and if I did know anything I wouldn’t tell any representative of law enforcement.”

31. Letter to Warden Swenson from ex-Ray colleague, name withheld, MURKIN 2151–2321, section 19, pp. 64–68.

32. See FBI interviews with Orlan Eugene Rose, Billy Edward Miles, and Jimmy Z. Bradley, all conducted on April 22, 1968, Kansas City FBI file 44-760; also FBI interview with Howard Nunn, May 9, 1968, and with Julius Maurice Block, April 30, 1968, and with Sterling Junior Hill, May 1, 1968, and Robert A. Hess, April 24, 1968, Attorney General File.

33. FBI interview with William E. Russell, June 7, 1968, St. Louis FBI 44-775, Harold R. Dobson, Attorney General File; see also FBI interview with Russell, MURKIN 4760, section 62, p. 144.

34. FBI investigation, MURKIN 4441, section 56, p. 8; see also Airtel to Director from SAC, Cleveland, April 23, 1968, MURKIN 1901–1990, section 16, p. 132; see also Airtel to Director from SAC, Birmingham, May 23, 1968, MURKIN 4251–4350, section 54, p. 121.

35. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 206.

36. Ibid., p. 197.

37. Ibid., p. 198.

38. See, generally, FBI interview with John L. Menard, May 17, 1968, MURKIN 4441, section 56, p. 23, and interview with unidentified prisoner (name redacted), MURKIN 4441, section 56, p. 37.

39. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 198.

40. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 39.

41. Jerry Ray interviewed by George McMillan, July 12, 1975, Box 5—Trial and Post- Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

42. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, pp. 198–99.

43. Raymond Curtis interviewed by George McMillan, January 27, 1969, pp. 2a-2b, Interview Curtis Raymond folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 179; as for Curtis and Ray spending time together in Jeff City, see statement of unidentified inmate (name redacted) in teletype to Director from Kansas City, MURKIN 2441–2552, section 24, p. 31.

44. Neil Aeby information listed under Mo Pen, 3-by-5 Episode Card Index, Attorney General File.

45. Raymond Curtis interviewed by George McMillan, January 27, 1969, p. 2b, Inter view Curtis Raymond folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection; McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 182; see also interview with Malik Hakim, McMillan, pp. 185–89.

46. Raymond Curtis interviewed by George McMillan, January 27, 1969, pp. 2b, 21, Interview Curtis Raymond folder, Box 1—Correspondence Related to Book Research—Research Files on Ewing, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

47. FBI interview with Cecil Clayton Lillibridge, April 29, 1968, Kansas City file 44-760, Attorney General File.

48. FBI interview with James Loama Owens, May 16, 1968, St. Louis 44-775, Harold R. Dobson, Attorney General File; see also MURKIN 4760, section 62, p. 65, and MURKIN 3628–3761, section 44, p. 54.

49. See Kenneth Lee Wade interviewed by FBI agents Dale Norton and Michael Geary, May 17, 1968, San Francisco file 173–65, Attorney General File; Paul Alvin, Lail information at Mo Pen, 3-by-5 Episode Card Index, Attorney General File.

50. HSCA Rpt., pp. 427–28.

51. Richard L. Menard interviewed by FBI agent Roy Humphreys, May 17, 1968, Kansas City file 44-760, Attorney General File; see also Richard L. Menard information in Mo Pen, 3-by-5 Episode Card Index, Attorney General File.

52. John Ray statement to the FBI, MURKIN 4143, section 52, p. 43; see also John Ray statement in MURKIN 4760, section 62, pp. 193, 195, summarized in teletype of May 16, 1968, MURKIN 3628–3761, section 44, p. 59; also, since the FBI interviews with Ray’s prison mates are redacted for privacy purposes, none of the prisoners’ names appear in the documents. However, the author was able to identify many since the smaller collection of FBI interviews maintained at the Attorney General File in Memphis are not redacted. However, in some instances, it was not possible to identify a prisoner. For instance, there are unidentified Jeff City prisoners who also talk about Ray’s narcotic dealings in MURKIN 2151–2321, section 19, p. 23; MURKIN 3503, section 39, p. 27; MURKIN 4760, section 62, p. 33; MURKIN 2441–2552, section 24, p. 195; and also separate interview in same file at pp. 199–200; also MURKIN 4143, section 52, p. 57; memo to Cartha DeLoach, April 22, 1968, MURKIN 1731–1820, section 14, p. 173; Airtel to Director from SAC, San Francisco, May 5, 1968, MURKIN 3336–3418, section 36, p. 117, and MURKIN 1901–1990, section 16, pp. 148–49.

53. FBI interview with Billy Edward Miles, April 22, 1968, Kansas City FBI file 44-760; see also informant information about Ray and the prison lottery, Mo Pen, 3-by-5 Episode Card Index, Attorney General File.

54. FBI interview with William Robert Turner, April 24, 1968, Kansas City file 44-760, Attorney General File; also MURKIN 3503, section 39, p. 72.

55. McMillan, The Making of an Assassin, p. 241.

56. Interview with James Earl Ray in Playboy, September 1977, p. 82.

57. James Earl Ray interviewed by Dan Rather, March 9, 1977, HSCA vol. l, pp. 324–25.

58. FBI interview with James (Jimmy) H. Carpenter, May 12, 1968, St. Louis FBI 44-775, Harold R. Dobson, Attorney General File.

59. FBI interview with Walter E. Nolan, May 20, 1968, St. Louis FBI 44-775, Harold R. Dobson, Attorney General File; Joseph Frank Guinan and Harry Sero, information listed under Mo Pen, 3-by-5 Episode Card Index, Attorney General File.

60. FBI interview with Jimmy Bradley, April 22, 1968, Kansas City FBI file 44-760, Attorney General File; see also MURKIN 2151–2321, section 19, pp. 28–30, MURKIN 3503, section 39, pp. 30–31; see also statement from unidentified inmates (names redacted) in MURKIN 2751–2925, section 29, p. 21, and MURKIN 2326–2440, section 23, pp. 246–47.

61. FBI interview with Orlan Eugene Rose, April 24, 1968, MURKIN 2151–2321, section 19, pp. 61–63; MURKIN 3503, section 39, p. 33.

62. Lewis Raymond Dowda information listed under Mo Pen, 3-by-5 Episode Card Index, Attorney General File. Also, the FBI MURKIN files contain Jeff City inmates who talk exten sively about Ray’s drug use at the prison, but the inmates’ names are redacted for privacy—among those are MURKIN 3503, section 33, p. 42, and MURKIN 4760, section 62, p. 139.

63. Airtel to Director from SAC Cleveland, April 23, 1968, MURKIN 1901–1990, section 16, p. 131.

64. Memorandum to Cartha DeLoach from Alex Rosen, May 1, 1968, MURKIN 3131–3220, section 32, p. 168; see also statements of unidentified inmates, listed in FBI teletype to Director from Jacksonville, April 29, 1968, MURKIN 2441–2552, section 24, pp. 199–200, and Airtel to Director from SAC Cleveland, April 23, 1968, MURKIN 1901–1990, section 16, p. 132, and FBI summary investigative information contained in MURKIN 4143, section52, p.50.

65. FBI interview with Sterling Junior Hill, May 1, 1968, Kansas City file 44-760, Attorney General File.

66. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 31.

67. FBI interview with James Edward “Ted” Richardson, May 6, 1968, St. Louis 44-775 folder, Attorney General File; see also Richardson interview (redacted) at MURKIN 3333, section 34, p. 171.

68. See, generally, FBI interview with Jimmy Bradley, April 22, 1968, Kansas City FBI file 44-760, Attorney General File; see also memo to Cartha DeLoach from Alex Rosen, May 1, 1968, MURKIN 3131–3220, section 32, p. 169.

69. FBI interview with Cecil Clayton Lillibridge, April 29, 1968, Kansas City file 44-760, Attorney General File.

70. Carl M. Craig information listed under Mo Pen, 3-by-5 Episode Card Index, Attorney General File; see also Airtel to Director from SAC, Kansas City, April 26, 1968, MURKIN 2441–2552, section 24, p. 147.

71. FBI interview with Cecil Clayton Lillibridge, April 29, 1968, Kansas City file 44-760, Attorney General File.

72. FBI Case Report and Summary, 5/6/68–6/12/68, MURKIN 4441, section 56, p. 6.

73. James Earl Ray notes on the envelope of a letter addressed to him, from Guy M. Sone, Clerk of the Circuit Court of Cole County, FBI laboratory marking 44-38861 JKK211.

74. Jerry Ray interview by George McMillan, May 31, 1972, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

75. Letter to Rep. Thomas Curtis from James Earl Ray, June 14, 1965.

76. Ibid.

77. The inmate statements are again contradictory, but those who pinpoint a bias often describe actions by Ray that corroborate their view. Also, in a mostly segregated prison in the 1960s, where the white inmates came largely from poor and rough backgrounds not that dissimilar to Ray’s family, it would not be surprising to find that a majority of inmates harbored racist views. In this sense, James Earl Ray was not an exception. If anything, bigotry was ideally suited to the mean atmosphere in Jeff City, and if expressed by Ray it was likely another reason that most inmates considered him one of the gang, not an unusual or objectionable character. This, of course, helps to explain why prisoners who spoke to the FBI were split over the question of whether Ray was a bigot: Some clearly found that since Ray’s views were like their own—racist—they were not objectionable. Therefore, many of the statements portraying Ray as devoid of racial bias probably underplay his resentment toward blacks.

78. Jerry Ray interviewed by George McMillan, May 10, 1970, Jerry Ray Interviews 1969–1975, Box 5—Trial and Post-Trial Materials, McMillan/Southern Historical Collection.

79. HSCA report on interview with William Bradford Huie, April 10, 1978, HSCA vol. VIII, p. 44.

80. FBI interview with Julius Maurice Block, April 30, 1968, Kansas City file 44-760, MURKIN 3503, section 39, p. 60; see also Billy Bob information listed under Mo Pen, 3-by-5 Episode Card Index, Attorney General File, and interview with unidentified inmate (name redacted) contained in teletype to Director from Kansas City, April 23, 1968, MURKIN 1991–2075, section 17, p. 21.

81. Interview with James W. Brown listed under Mo Pen, 3-by-5 Episode Card Index, Attorney General File; see also HSCA vol. XIII, p. 246, and FBI interview with James Wilson Brown, April 30, 1968, Birmingham Field Office; see also FBI interview with Brown, April 30, 1968, MURKIN 3763–3872, section 46, p. 29, and FBI summary document MURKIN 2674–2750, section 28, p. 178.

82. Glenn Jefferson Buckley information listed under Mo Pen, 3-by-5 Episode Card Index, Attorney General File.

83. Harry Sero interview by FBI, April 26, 1968, MURKIN Memphis field office 44-1987, Subs. D, vol. l, p. 210.

84. FBI interview with Cecil Clayton Lillibridge, April 29, 1968, Kansas City file 44-760, Attorney General File.

85. FBI interview with Paul Bridgeman, contained in teletype to Director from Minneapolis, June 7, 1968, MURKIN 4251–4350, section 54, p. 158.

86. Ibid.

87. Teletype to Director from St. Louis, May 9, 1968, MURKIN 3221–3332, section 33, p. 181.

88. FBI interview with Cecil Clayton Lillibridge, April 29, 1968, Kansas City file 44-760, MURKIN 3503, section 39, pp. 61–64; also 3-by-5 Episode Index Card file under Cecil Clayton Lillibridge, Attorney General File; see, generally, MURKIN 2553–2633, section 25, p. 109.

89. FBI interview with Cecil Clayton Lillibridge, April 29, 1968, Kansas City file 44-760, Attorney General File.

90. Harry Sero information listed in Episode Card Index, Mo Pen heading, Special Agent Hester, Episode Card Index, Attorney General File; see also FBI interview with Sero, April 26, 1968, MURKIN Memphis field office 44–1987, Sub D, vol. 1, pp. 209–10, and memo to Cartha DeLoach from Alex Rosen, April 26, 1968, MURKIN 2151–2321, section 19, pp. 131–32.

91. Lewis Raymond Dowda information listed under Mo Pen, 3-by-5 Episode Card Index; see also James W. Brown and Raymond Curtis, same index, Attorney General File; see also statement of unidentified inmate (redacted name), April 24, 1968, MURKIN 2326–2440, section 23, pp. 245–46.

92. James W. Brown information listed under Mo Pen, 3-by-5 Episode Card Index, Attorney General File; see also HSCA vol. XIII, p. 246, and FBI interview with James Wilson Brown, April 30, 1968, Birmingham Field Office; Also FBI interview with Brown of April 30, 1968, MURKIN 3763–3872, section 46, p. 29, and FBI teletype to SACs, from Director, May 2, 1968, MURKIN 2674–2750, section 28, pp. 180–81.

93. Johnny Valenti information under Mo Pen heading, Episode Index Card file—see also cards for Chester Ealey and “Nonnie” Eden; see also FBI interview with Johnny Valenti, May 11, 1968, St. Louis field office 44-775, Attorney General File.

94. FBI interview with Thomas Britton (name is redacted in FBI copy), contained in teletype to Director from Birmingham, May 7, 1968, MURKIN 3131–3220, section 32, p. 86, and also in MURKIN 3221–3332, section 33, p. 20.

95. FBI interview with Thomas Britton, May 7, 1968, MURKIN 3131–3220, vol. 1, section 35, Memphis Field Office; see also HSCA vol. XIII, p. 246.

96. Ibid.; see also interview in MURKIN 3763–3872, section 46, pp. 36–42, and memo to Cartha DeLoach, May 9, 1968, MURKIN 3419–3440, section 37, p. 69.

97. See, generally, Lee Bercia information listed under Mo Pen, Special Agent Ayers, Episode Card Index, Attorney General File; see also FBI Kansas City Field Office investigative report, MURKIN 4441, section 56, p. 19.

98. FBI teletype to Director from Miami, April 26, 1968, MURKIN 2151–2321, section 19, p. 226; see also statements of unidentified Jeff City inmate (name redacted), MURKIN 3503, section 39, p. 119, MURKIN 2326–2440, section 23, p. 245, and MURKIN 4143, section 52, p. 55, citing inmate who says Ray was “close with the one that did it.”

99. See FBI Airtel to Director from SAC, Jackson, May 15, 1968, MURKIN 3901–3986, section 48, pp. 126–33; Airtel to Director from SAC Dallas, May 1, 1968, MURKIN 2926–3030, section 30, pp. 18–19; see also MURKIN 5101, section 69, FBI summary investigation, pp. 173–75; see, generally, memo from McGowan to Alex Rosen, April 24, 1968, MURKIN 2635–2673, section 27, pp. 29–38.

100. See, generally, FBI interview with Thomas Britton, MURKIN 3763–3872, section 46, pp. 36–42, and HSCA vol. XIII, p. 246; FBI memorandum from W. A. Branigan to W. C. Sullivan, June 14, 1968, MURKIN 4664–4696, section 60, p. 47; also statement of Orville Ernest Gann, May 6, 1968, St. Louis field office file 44-775, and statement of James (Jimmy) H. Carpenter, May 12, 1968, St. Louis field office file 44-775, Attorney General File. Also, there was even a suggestion that Ray was a member of Cooley’s Organization—see FBI interview with Thomas Britton, MURKIN 3763–3872, section 46, p. 40; and HSCA vol. XIII, p. 246.

101. HSCA Rpt., p.47O.

102. Testimony of Russell George Byers, November 29, 1978, HSCA vol. VII, pp. 181, 188.

103. Ibid., p. 189.

104. Ibid., p. 245.

105. Ibid., pp. 182–183, 191.

106. Testimony of Murray L. Randall, November 29, 1978, HSCA vol. VII, pp. 208, 214, and testimony of Lawrence Weenick, November 29, 1978, HSCA vol. VII, p. 241.

107. HSCA Rpt., p. 472.

108. Testimony of Edward Evans, Chief Investigator, HSCA vol. VII, p. 250.

109. HSCA Rpt., pp. 476–77.

110. Ibid., p. 480.

111. Testimony of Russell George Byers, November 29, 1978, HSCA vol. VII, pp. 184, 197.

112. FBI interview with James Edward “Ted” Richardson, May 6, 1968, St. Louis field office file 44-775, Attorney General File; see also Richardson interview (redacted) at MURKIN 3333, section 34, p. 171.

113. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 53.

114. Ibid., p. 54.

115. Testimony of Russell George Byers, November 29, 1978, HSCA vol. VII, p. 185.

116. Testimony of Edward Evans, Chief Investigator, HSCA vol. VII, p. 295; see also HSCA Rpt., p. 481.

117. HSCA Rpt., p. 481.

118. Ibid.

119. Ibid., p. 480.

120. FBI interview with Donald Lee Mitchell, September 30, 1968, MURKIN 44-1854, Miami Field Office; see also HSCA vol. XIII, p. 248.

Chapter 18: Breakout

1. “Pre-Parole Progress Report,” October 8, 1965, Chronological Data Sheet, Summary Sheet by Carl White, Attorney General File.

2. Ibid.

3. Chronological Data Sheet on James Earl Ray’s time at Missouri State Penitentiary, describing October 1, 1963, parole denial, Attorney General File.

4. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 32.

5. See, generally, Harold Swenson memo of April 24, 1968, regarding cell assignments for James Earl Ray, Kansas City field office 44-760, Attorney General File.

6. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 50.

7. Ibid.

8. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 33; see also certificate from Fulton State Hospital re: James Earl Ray, October 24, 1966, two pages, Attorney General File.

9. Certificate from Fulton State Hospital re: James Earl Ray, October 24, 1966, two pages, Attorney General File.

10. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 51.

11. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, p. 35.

12. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 52.

13. James Earl Ray, Tennessee Waltz, pp. 35–36.

14. Ibid., p. 36.

15. James Earl Ray, Who Killed Martin Luther King?, p. 53.

16. Certificate from Fulton State Hospital re: James Earl Ray, October 24, 1966, two pages, Attorney General File.

17. Letter to Board of Probation and Parole from Dr. Henry V. Guhleman, December 20, 1968, two pages, Attorney General File.

18. Ibid.

19. Ibid.

20. Ibid.