James Earl Ray Death
James passed away on April 23, 1998 at the age of 70 in Nashville, Tennessee, USA. James's cause of death was liver cirrhosis.
When did James Earl Ray die?
April 23, 1998How did James Earl Ray die? What was the cause of death?
Liver cirrhosisHow old was James Earl Ray when died?
70Where did James Earl Ray die? What was the location of death?
Nashville, Tennessee, USA
James Earl Ray Birthday and Date of Death
James Earl Ray was born on March 10, 1928 and died on April 23, 1998. James was 70 years old at the time of death.
Birthday: March 10, 1928
Date of Death: April 23, 1998
Age at Death: 70
James Earl Ray - Biography
James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American convicted of the assassination of activist Martin Luther King, Jr. Ray was convicted on March 10, 1969, after entering a guilty plea to forgo a jury trial. Had he been found guilty by jury trial, he would have been eligible for the death penalty. He was sentenced to 99 years in prison. He later recanted his confession and tried unsuccessfully to gain access to a retrial. In 1998, Ray died in prison of complications due to chronic hepatitis C infection.
On June 10, 1977, Ray and six other convicts escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee. They were recaptured on June 13. A year was added to Ray's previous sentence, increasing it to 100 years. While serving time in the early 1980s at the Tennessee State Prison in Nashville, Ray asked to be interviewed by the news media on the anniversary of King's death. Dick Baumbach, the Tennessee Department of Corrections public information officer, coordinated the yearly interviews with local, state and national news media.
Prior to his death, Ray was transferred to the Lois M. DeBerry Special Needs Facility in Nashville, a maximum security prison with hospital facilities.
Ray died at age 70 on April 23, 1998, at the Columbia Nashville Memorial Hospital from complications related to kidney disease and liver failure caused by hepatitis C. His brother, Jerry, told CNN that his brother did not want to be buried or have his final resting place in the United States because of "the way the government has treated him." The body was cremated and his ashes were flown to Ireland, the home of his maternal family's ancestors.
