James Earl Ray escaped from prison before assassinating Martin Luther King Jr.

Before assassinating Dr. King, James Earl Ray had escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary on April 23, 1967. After nearly a year on the run, during which he obtained a false Canadian passport, Ray traveled to Memphis. It was from a nearby boarding house that he fired the fatal shot. His escape and criminal background made him a prime suspect once forensic and eyewitness evidence pointed in his direction.