Chasing King's Killer: The Hunt for Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Assassin

Swanson writes that two things happened in April 1967 that “would change the destiny of the nation, and of Dr. King” (84). On the same day that King spoke up against the Vietnam War, a man escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary in Jefferson City. 

The inmate ate a large breakfast in the prison cafeteria before changing into some clothes he had hidden away in the bread room. Then, his accomplices helped him hide in a bread box loaded onto a truck for delivery. No one searched the departing truck, and the inmate climbed out of the box when the truck stopped and ran off before the driver noticed.

For nearly a week, the inmate hid during the day and listened to the radio for news of his escape. He heard only one short story about the incident. Once he “decided the heat must be off” (86), he hopped on a train to St. Louis, where a friend drove him to Edwardsville, Illinois. From there, he took a bus to Chicago. The man’s name was James Earl Ray.

Swanson calls Ray an “insignificant” criminal: He hadn’t committed any particularly violent or gruesome crimes, and few resources were dedicated to searching for him.