◆ SpookStack

In March 1968, James Earl Ray was forty years ee ee, ee ee ae en ee me See old and was never known to have had a serious yelatiar ship with a man or woman during his adult life. Although he was about to camit a very infamous crime of assassina- tion, neither his childhood, his military years nor his adult life of crime and imprisonment signaled such action. His criminal activities were not those of a hired or self- accomplished premeditated murderer. Why then would James Earl Ray marder Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? An analysis of Ray's prison records and interviews with his prison irmates reveals some probative facts with respect to a motive. For example, in 1955 Ray was incar- cerated in the federal penitentiary at Leavenworth, Kansas, for forgery of post office money orders. On September 12, 1957, Ray was approved for the honor farm at Leavenworth, but was never transferred there because he refused to live in the integrated dormitory at the farm (HQ 44-38861-1678). Thus, he was supposedly willing to sacrifice this benefit and its accompanying privileges to avoid association with biack prisoners. An inmate with Ray at Missouri State Penitentiary for approximately three years, stated that Ray hated Negroes. He further stated that Ray had said that all the Negro prisoners inside the penitentiary should -92-