Arrest of James Earl Ray
Arrested for the murder of Martin Luther King by Scotland Yard at London airport
Historical biography archive · Updated 2026-11-03
James Earl Ray Biography and Timeline
Follow James Earl Ray through 6 dated historical records for United States of America.
James Earl Ray, historical timeline
A chronological timeline drawn from matching World History Database records.
6Distinct records
1 of 1Page
1968–1969Years on this page
1968
Assassination of Martin Luther King
Two months after King's death, escaped convict James Earl Ray is captured at London Heathrow Airport while trying to leave the United Kingdom on a false Canadian passport in the name of Ramon George Sneyd. Arrested for the murder of Martin Luther King by Scotland Yard at London airport
1969
Arrest of James Earl Ray
Ray is extradited to Tennessee and charged with King's murder, confessing to the assassination, though he recants this confession three days later
Assassination of Martin Luther King
Ray is extradited to Tennessee and charged with King's murder, confessing to the assassination, though he recants this confession three days later
Assassination of Martin Luther King
On the advice of his attorney Percy Foreman, Ray makes guilty plea to avoid a trial conviction and thus the possibility of receiving the death penalty, Ray is sentenced to a 99-year prison term
Trial
On the advice of his attorney Percy Foreman, Ray makes guilty plea to avoid a trial conviction and thus the possibility of receiving the death penalty, Ray is sentenced to a 99-year prison term
Records, sources and methodology
These dates and descriptions come from the historical_events database. Exact duplicate records have been collapsed. Names are grouped by the country, Name 2 and Name 1 fields; records with missing Name 2 cannot be reliably assigned to an individual biography. Check the underlying sources before formal citation.