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N0KFQ > TODAY 04.04.13 17:20l 47 Lines 1958 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 38172_KB0WSA
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Apr 4
Path: IZ3LSV<IK6ZDE<F1OYP<N9PMO<XE1FH<N0KFQ<KB0WSA
Sent: 130404/1455Z 38172@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.54
...
Apr 4, 1968:
Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated
Martin Luther King Jr. is shot to death at a hotel in Memphis,
Tennessee. A single shot fired by James Earl Ray from over 200
feet away at a nearby motel struck King in the neck. He died an
hour later at St. Joseph's Hospital. The death of America's
leading civil rights advocate sparked a wave of rioting in the
black communities of several cities around the country.
Ray, who had escaped from a Missouri prison almost a year
earlier, had used the aliases Eric Galt and John Willard to
register in several motels in the Memphis area. He fired a
Remington rifle from a bathroom window that looked out onto the
hotel balcony where King was standing.
Ray fled to Canada, where he stayed for a month. Meanwhile, the
FBI placed him on the Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List. After
buying a passport under the name Sneyd, Ray traveled to England
on May 6. Within a week of arriving in London, he traveled to
Lisbon, Portugal, for five days. Back in London, Ray moved from
hotel to hotel until authorities finally caught up with him on
June 8 at Heathrow Airport.
Ray was a career criminal who was in and out of prison for
several small-time robberies. Since he had no known record of
political hatred, many suspect that Ray was paid to assassinate
King. One factor that has fueled this speculation is that Ray
clearly had significant resources during the time between the
assassination and his capture.
In any event, Ray pleaded guilty before his scheduled trial began
in March 1969 and was sentenced to 99 years in prison. Ray
recanted his confession a few months later and insisted on his
innocence for years. However, his efforts to secure a new trial
were futile, despite the support of members of the King family
who were eager to determine if others were involved. Ray died on
April 23, 1998.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: kohiggs@hotmail.com
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