Do you think James Earl Ray is guilty of killing Martin Luther King?

[yourhomiebrian]

Or do you think he was some kind of scapegoat? Your thoughts?

[ghosthouse]

When I was younger I was all about the conspiracies -- Oswald didnt do it, Sirhan didn't do it....James Earl Ray didn't do it.

But flash forward...all the evidence points to the guys they got ... and the only defense is ... evidence 1 was planted, evidence 2 was forged, evidence 3 was altered...and pretty soon you are just fruitlessly trying to explain away the only evidence available, which keeps pointing at you.

[Killarney Rose]

I'm with Ghosthouse on all the conspiracy theories.

[Todd Mueller]

A few years back I was fortunate enough to visit the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis. It is at the site of the former Lorraine Motel where MLK was murdered. The museum is fascinating in its own right, but there is also a lot on the assassination of MLK including a whole separate exhibit at the boarding house where JER was.

I'm 50/50 on whether or not he did it all alone. I tend to go with the prevailing thought on this too, that all the evidence points towards JER. I don't think there was ever a "Raul" directing his activities. However, there are some oddities about how it all went down that I never knew before visiting the museum.

What I was really ignorant about was all of the surveillance that the U.S. Government had put on MLK. He was basically being tracked like a terrorist and the FBI did some rotten stuff when it came to him. I'm not saying MLK was killed by a government conspiracy. I am saying that there is a lot more to this story so there is the potential this was more than just JER acting alone.

If you ever get a chance, I highly recommend visiting the museum in Memphis. Some of the exhibits are really difficult to see, but I think it should be mandatory for all Americans (especially those of us who weren't alive during the civil rights era).

[XCalibur]

I think Ray did it, not sure he acted alone. But the biggest obstacle to uncovering a conspiracy was Ray himself, he changed his story numerous times and refused to identify people he may have dealt with.

[TheCars1986]

Yes, without question.

[Labonte18]

Originally Posted by ghosthouse

When I was younger I was all about the conspiracies -- Oswald didnt do it, Sirhan didn't do it....James Earl Ray didn't do it.

But flash forward...all the evidence points to the guys they got ... and the only defense is ... evidence 1 was planted, evidence 2 was forged, evidence 3 was altered...and pretty soon you are just fruitlessly trying to explain away the only evidence available, which keeps pointing at you.

You mean.. Like the OJ Simpson case?

That one cracks me up when people say he didn't do it. Listen.. I can give some leeway and MAYBE say that evidence collection was so screwed up and the prosecution did such a poor job that they didn't exceed the reasonable doubt threshold and that therefore the verdict could have been correct..

MAYBE I could say that, not having been on the jury and hearing all the evidence presented. Noone can argue that was a pretty screwed up case by the police and prosection.

But saying he didn't do it.. Actually believing someone else killed them? No.

Big difference between Innocent and Not Guilty.


I can buy, as XCalibur says.. There's always the possibility that we don't have all the information.. But, the basics.. James Earl Ray fired the shot? Yes. Oswald fired the shot? Yes.

[sharonite]

Originally Posted by Labonte18

You mean.. Like the OJ Simpson case?

I truly believe that OJ beat the rap because the jury worried that convicting him would spark another round of LA riots.

As for James Earl Ray, guilty as charged.

[ctgrumpybear]

The low man on the pole if you get what I’m saying

[Thiussat]

It seems UM had to air the conspiracy theories about every high-profile 1960's assassination. I don't believe any of them. I believe Oswald killed JFK, I believe Sirhan Sirhan killed RFK and I think Ray killed MLK. (And, oh yeah, I think Kennedy Jr. died in a plane crash just as the official report states).

There's just far too much scrutiny on these cases for the FBI to get it wrong, imo. You would have to assume the entire FBI was corrupt, and I don't buy that.

[JC1957]

Worked with a guy for a long time years ago that said his father-in-law was in the same prison cell as James Earl Ray. I asked him, "well did he do it?" and he said "oh yeah he did it."