Who is Mr. James E. Ray, and what really became of his rifle?
James Earl Ray is the man charged with the murder of civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. In the tradition of ‘60s-era assassinations, there is some controversy about the case: Ray pled guilty to the crime in order to avoid the death penalty, but later recanted and claimed he was an innocent patsy. Though his attempts to appeal his sentence were unsuccessful, he did convince a number of prominent people, including members of King’s family, that he was not the real shooter. He died in prison, of cirrhosis, in 1998. As for Ray’s rifle, if it’s not still in an evidence locker somewhere, it has probably been destroyed by now, but if it were to be offered at auction on EBay, I have no doubt it would fetch a high price.
