King Conspiracy Theory #1

Updated August 5, 2020 | Infoplease Staff

Ray was the unwitting patsy for someone shadier

Was James Earl Ray, a career criminal and known racist, nothing more than a patsy for someone even shadier? King Conspiracy Theories Introduction Theory #1: James Earl Ray Theory #2: Government Theory #3: "Raul" Evidence Theory #4: Memphis Bar Man

Ray claimed he was framed by a shady character named Raul, with whom he was involved in smuggling operations, though Ray said he never learned Raul's last name, or even what it was he was smuggling. When Raul told him to buy a rifle and check into a certain rooming house in Memphis, Ray simply did so, no questions asked.

There Ray handed the rifle over to Raul, never to see him again. In another version Ray claims he waited in the car, and then heard a shot, after which Raul ran out and jumped into the car.

No Raul ever materialized, until conspiracy investigators rounded one up, in 1994 accusing a retired auto worker from upstate New York, whom Ray claimed to recognize from a photo.

The man was easily cleared of any involvement, but has been unable to escape the stain of notoriety: "They have turned my life upside down... When Dexter King said that I had been found, my wife and I were shocked. This will never end for me, I fear... Doesn't the truth matter anymore in this country?"

Theory #2: Federal government, Memphis police, and more