Martin Luther King Assassination

It was a glorious April 4th evening as Martin Luther King and hundreds of followers were gathering for a civil rights march. Many cheered on as the civil rights leader graciously out step on the second floor balcony of the Motel Lorraine. Roaring cheers rose from the crowd rose up as Martin Luther King stand there waving his arm with his heart warming smile waiting for the uprising taper off so he can continue with his speech. When suddenly a piercing blast broke the noise and the crowds cheerful spirit died. A cold chill went through all who were present fore in the back of their minds there was no doubt that their King had just been shot.

Just what exactly happened on April 4th, 1968 at 6:01PM? Just how many sides does this story have? The events surrounding Martin Luther King’s death remain controversial to this day, after more than 30 years after the fact. The accepted story is a man named James Earl Ray was the assassin however, there are many contradictions to that conclusion. One must come to realize the accepted story is wrong, a cover up has deceived the public for over 30 years, James Earl Ray did not kill Martin Luther King; Martin Luther King was assassinated by a government conspiracy.

To clarify the fact James Earl Ray is not an assassin one must look toward his reputation. James Earl Ray was born into a poor family and was the first of nine children. Being that some of his childhood was during the depression he probably was the type to fight for his own well being. In January of 1946 Ray joined the army. (Clarke 243) While in the army Ray sold cigarettes, drank, fought, and he was eventually discharged. From 1949-1959 Ray did many robberies and when, in 1959, he was finally caught he was sentenced to 20 years in prison (Clarke 244) Ray Later attempted escape in 1960, in 1966, and was successful on April 23rd, 1967.

Ray, during this time never showed any serious acts of threatening or hurting anyone. (Clarke 244) So why would Ray suddenly turn into assassin and kill someone who has a slim effect on him? Perhaps the reason authorities were so irritated by Martin Luther Kings protests would be on the account of the fact he does nothing wrong. His efforts successfully merged the anti-Vietnam war movement and the civil rights movement, and the awful reality of the black situation in America could no longer be hidden behind the white curtain.

King got many of the blacks to boycott the buses, go on civil rights marches, and to vote, which brought about a change in respect and right for blacks. (Lindop83) This got authorities very annoyed at King because they did not want change and King protest did it constitutionally legal. As a result police started arresting King for trivial reasons such as doing 30mph in a 25 zone, sitting in white places, civil rights marches, boycotting the busses etceteras. In all he went to jail over 30 times. (Lindop 82) It didnt stop there the FBI or at least the head of the FBI, Jay Edgar Hoover, even hated King.

Nobody hated Martin Luther King more than J. Edgar Hoover (Clarke 255) King was well aware that the FBI was, as he put it, out to break me. (Melanson 134) That was obvious being that the FBI used many man-hours in harassing King. King life was threatened by the FBI about 50 times and harassed enough to literally have entire books on the subject. A primary example of this is when the FBI dubbed a phony tape of King with another women and used to blackmail King into committing suicide. In January of 1968, three months before the assassination, an internal memo was distributed by Hoover calling for, the Removal of King from the national scene.

After all the harassment King endured he still refused to retaliate in any illegal acts which continued to infuriate authorities. Conspicuously, the aliases James Earl Ray had allegedly used resembled real people who undoubtedly play a role in the conspiracy of the assassination. The four aliases Ray used were Eric Starvo Galt, Paul Bridgeman, Ramon George Sneyd, and John Willard. (Melanson 6) The alias Eric Starvo Galt resembled a man named Eric St. Vincent Galt who lived in Toronto, he was the secretary of the Gun Viking Club, a skilled marksman, and he was the only Eric S. Galt who lived in Canada at that time.

His unique way signing his name would be to abbreviate his middle name and make circles out of the periods, which would look something like, Eric StoVo Galt. Stovo is strikingly similar to Starvo. Paul Bridgeman whose real name is Paul Bridgeman is also is located in Toronto. George Raymond Sneyd is a policeman in the Toronto area, and John Willard is a resident in the Toronto area as well. (Melanson 8) Whats even more conspicuous than the fact the all-live in Toronto is the fact all their physical appearances are very similar, as seen in figure1; dark brown hair, medium build and just shy of six feet.

Ray and Galt however, were the most similar. Ray, in his early forties, 5-10, 170 lbs. , dark brown hair, and a scar on his forehead and his right arm, and Galt, in his mid-fifties, looked in his forties, 5-11, 160 lbs. , dark brown hair, and a scar on his right arm and his fore head. (Melanson 7-8) For a while Galt was a suspect in the case; the white Mustang which was the suspected get away car and the hotel room from which the assassin thought to have fired out of were both rented under the name Eric S. Galt. (Melanson 135) Keep in mind the fact Galt was also a skilled marksman.

All the clues were leading to Galt, but literally days before Galt was to be questioned the FBI identifies Rays fingerprints on the suspected murder weapon. Galt was never once question by police to this day. What does it all mean? There is no supporting evidence to show Ray ever been to Toronto nor is it likely. But for Ray to sneak in there unnoticed, pick up four names, people which look much like himself, sneak out and attempt to frame one of them. Its simply beyond the capacities of a small time loser like Ray. (Melanson 134) Eric S. Galt was undoubtedly a part of the conspiracy weather he knew he was or not.

In short the security at the Motel Lorraine the day of the assassination was lousy at best and it was all thanks to some mysterious last minute changes. First off, a man claiming to be one of Kings associates changed Kings hotel reservation from the first floor, to the second floor by the balcony where it was wide open and any sniper to shoot at him. That mysterious man did not fit any description of Kings friends or associates. Next, aside from the fact the hotel was located in an unhealthy part of Memphis Kings security was reduced from eight to two officers.

However, just hours before the assassination one of the two officers, who happened to be black, was sent home because of mysterious threats to his life. This left one officer on the immediate scene. Across the street from the motel the only two firefighters, who were also black, running the fire station across the street from the motel were reassigned to another fire station the day of the assassination. The next day however, they resumed their normal places. Coincidence or conspiracy? One thing is for certain, somebody must have decided to make these changes for some reason. (Overbeck 11/17/00)

There is no way Ray could have shot King from where he allegedly was positioned. A former FBI ballistic expert testified claiming the most skilled marksman could not have shot King from where he was positioned. (Overbeck 11/17/00) Ray however, had no documented expertise as a marksman and had never anyone other than himselfaccidentally, in the foot. (Castaneda 3) In addition a picture taken in the place Ray had allegedly been showed tree limbs obstructing the view of the Lorraine Motel. However, the investigators could not draw any conclusions because when they went to reexamine the area the obstructing tree limbs were found cut down.

In addition the bullet and the suspected murder weapon were never conclusively match. (Overbeck 11/17/00) Most of the witness s claims contradict the fact Ray was in the hotel at the time of the assassination. The only witness who claimed to have seen Ray leaving the hotel bathroom was a man named Charles Stephens. Stephens however, was extremely intoxicated at the time. The first two descriptions Stephens gave didn’t even resemble Rays skin color. Stephens admitted that he did not get a good look at the alleged assassin.

It was not until the FBI paid $30,000 in bar tabs for Stephens that he fingered Ray as the hit man. His wife Grace Stephens had a good look at the assassin and was sure it was not Ray. She was later illegally committed to a mental hospital And was sure to stay there for a while because her hospital records, proving that she was actually sane, had vanished. The third witness who saw the assassin was the owner of the hotel, Bessie Brewer, she refused to identify Ray. Other witnesses outside, such as Kings chauffeur, claimed the shot came from the ground level.

Most claim the assassin was gone within two minutes of the shot. All, except for Charles Stephens, had not seen Ray at the scene of the crime. (Overbeck 11/17/00) Perhaps the most puzzling issues of all is how did James Earl Ray escape? Ray would have had to fire the shot that killed King from his contorted position in the bathroom, exit the sniper’s nest, go to his room to collect his belongings and wrap and tie it all in a bundle, leave his room, run down the stairs and out of the boarding house, stash the bundle next door, and then get away from the scene unnoticed — all within two minutes!

Shortly after Ray allegedly escaped in the white Mustang there was a hoax police radio call describing a chase with a white Mustang going Northeast (Overbeck 11/17/00) The white Mustang was really moving in a Southwest direction. After Ray allegedly escaped over the next two months Ray spent $25,000, a quantity which Ray most definitely did not have readily available. Police appended Ray on June 6th, 1968. Jesse Jackson described Rays escape best when he stated, James Earl Ray did not have the money, mobility, and the motivation to carry this act alone.

King Family Rebukes Report 3) Some people might ponder the question if Ray is so innocent then why did he plead guilty? The issue is more complex than just a simple plea. After he was apprehended, he was imprisoned in a cell that was brightly-lit twenty-four hours a day, under constant surveillance by guards, cameras, and microphones. Being under these conditions were physically and mentally fatiguing. Furthermore Rays attorney Art Hanes was constantly pressuring Ray to plead guilty. Ray refused and as a result contracted Percy Foreman.

Foreman after talking to Art Hanes also told Ray to plead guilty. Foreman even threatened to throw the trial saying he could not guarantee his best efforts for Ray defense. Ray knew the judge wouldnt let him hire a new defense counsel and so he pleaded guilty and sentenced to 99 years in prison. (Overbeck 11/17/00) -The plea was unexpected because Ray had the nationally known criminal lawyer Percy Foreman representing him, and the expectation was that there would be a well-publicized trial rather than a brief in which Ray admitted his guilt and was sentenced. (Clarke 240)