James Earl Ray Case Analysis

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If I were prosecuting James Earl Ray, I do feel my case would be strong enough to win at trial. A strong argument for my reasoning is due to the fact Ray’s own attorney convinced him to plea guilty. His attorney had hundreds of murder case experience and agreed the case would be strong against his client convincing him to plea guilty in order to not face the possibility of the death penalty (“The Martin Luther King Assassination,” n.d.).

To make a convincing case against James Ray, I would first present his commitment to criminal behavior so the jury fully understood he was a career criminal (Saferstein, 2015). Starting with his military arrest for an alcohol related incident resulting in his character not being fit for military service (Findings on MLK, 2015). After returning to Illinois, James Ray had been arrested and confined in jail for various criminal activities (Findings on MLK, 2015). Soon after leaving Illinois, James arrived in California and quickly committed a robbery and spent three months in confinement (Findings on MLK, 2015). James returned to Illinois and again committed another robbery, and spent a couple years in prison (Findings on MLK, 2015). James Ray then committed a federal robbery and was incarcerated in a federal prison for almost four years (Findings on MLK, 2015). Once released from federal prison, James Ray committed two more robberies and now received a …show more content…
(2015). In National Archives. Retrieved from https://www.archives.gov/research/jfk/select-committee-report/part-2a.html#ray

Lewis, A. (1998). Beyond a Shadow of a Doubt. Retrieved from http://www.nytimes.com/books/98/04/26/reviews/980426.26lewist.html Saferstein, R. (2105). Criminalistics: an introduction to forensic science (11th ed.). Boston: Pearson.

The Martin Luther King Assassination. (n.d.). In Mary Ferrell Foundation. Retrieved April 18, 2017, from

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