Special Features
- Timeline: The 1968 Hunt for Martin Luther King's Killer
- Further Reading: Related Books and Websites
- Bonus Video: Interview with Hampton Sides
- Preview: Roads to Memphis Preview
- Photo Gallery: The Manhunt for James Earl Ray
On April 4, 1968, escaped convict James Earl Ray shot and killed Dr. Martin Luther King. This is the fateful narrative of the killer and his prey, set against the seething, turbulent forces in American society at that time.
My American Experience
Share Your Story
Did you ever see Dr. King speak? Do you remember learning of his assassination? What impact have his life and teachings had on you?
Series Blog
Sides: Motivations of a Political Assassin
Author Hampton Sides, a frequent AMERICAN EXPERIENCE consultant and author of Hellhound on his Trail, on which our 2010 film Roads to Memphis was based, draws a parallel between the Arizona shooter Jared Loughner and the infamous MLK assassin James Earl Ray in a recent Newsweek article. "Though he spent his criminal career striving for anonymity, he desperately wanted the world to know he existed," wrote Sides. "Like a certain deranged young man in Tucson last week, Ray imagined the best way to leave his mark was the gun down someone young, eloquent, and charismatic."
AMERICAN EXPERIENCE has an exclusive interview with Hampton Sides talking about his memories of the MLK assassination and the character of James Earl Ray and his motivations for killing Dr. King.
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