On April 4, 1968, at about 6:00 p.m., Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was murdered when he was shot standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee (Saferstein, 2015). A single gunshot entered his jaw then severed his spinal cord resulting in his immediate death (Walsh, 2017). A male was seen fleeing the Bessie Brewer’s Rooming House across the street from the Lorraine Motel, dropping a package in front of a nearby building before fleeing in a white Ford Mustang. The package contained several items with James Earl Ray’s fingerprints on them including a high-powered rifle with a scope. The Ford Mustang was found abandoned in Georgia also containing fingerprints belonging to James Earl Ray. The evidence collected strongly indicated James Earl Ray had committed the murder of Dr. King, although it was all circumstantial (Sack, 1997). James Earl Ray confessed to the murder of Dr. King opting to forgo a trial at the advice of his attorney. Three days following the conviction James Earl Ray recanted his confession advising that he had been coerced by his attorney to make the confession. Statements from witnesses were contradictory in the description of the …show more content…
(1998). James Earl Ray, 70, killer of Dr. King, dies in Nashville. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1998/04/24/us/james-earl-ray-70-killer-of-dr-king-dies-in-nashville.html. National Archives. (n.d.). Findings on MLK assassination. Retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/part-2a.html#alibi Sack, K. (1997). Testing of gun in King killing are inconclusive. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/12/us/tests-of-gun-in-king-killing-are-inconclusive.html Saferstein, R. (2015). Criminalistics: an introduction to forensic science (11th ed.). Boston: Pearson. Walsh, S.M. (2017). Who shot Martin Luther King, Jr.? Retrieved from