Truth at Last by John Earl Ray & Lyndon Barsten
The Untold Story Behind James Earl Ray and the Assassination of MLK
John Larry Ray is the older brother of convicted (by his own confession) assassin James Earl Ray. The younger Ray allegedly shot Dr. Martin Luther King in April of 1968, while the civil rights leader stood on a balcony outside his Memphis hotel room. John Ray has decided to provide his views on the matter in an attempt to discredit the system that hung the crime on his brother. Ray is assisted by amateur historian and King specialist Lyndon Barsten.
The book is written in first person by Ray, so one can only assume Barsten helped with the technical details of getting his words on paper. John Ray is not an educated man, so he probably could not have written a coherent chronicle on his own.
The Making of James Earl Ray
Ray begins by complaining that previous authors have made the entire Ray family out to be a bunch of good for nothing losers who led lives of crime. He then goes on to describe how him, his brother, his father, and most of their friends and acquaintances were a bunch of good for nothing losers who led lives of crime. Credibility seems to go out the window rather quickly.
James Earl Ray's trouble began in the army. According to John, this is where the mind control started, and was continued for many years afterward. James does seem to have spent some time with psychologists and hypnotists who could conceivably be connected to government-sponsored mind control and conditioning experiments.
James shot a black soldier named Washington early in his army career while stationed overseas. This seems to have some special significance for John Ray—although why, is not exactly made clear. He even dedicates the book to Washington's family and claims to have never been able to track him down, despite trying pretty hard. Apparently, he thinks Washington could shed some light on what happened to his brother in the army.
Then there is "Raoul." Raoul (or Raul) is a shady character that keeps popping in and out of James Earl's life. Raoul gives James instructions, sends him to various places, gets him involved in assorted criminal activities. It is Raoul who tells James to purchase the gun that was used in the King shooting (or was it?).
Was James Earl Ray really a racist? John says no, and he offers some reasonable arguments to back it up.
Conspiracy Theories Abound
The book's title is clearly a reference to King's famous "free at Last" speech, and the fact that after all this time, John has finally able to tell the world what he believes really happened. There are quite few strange events surrounding the case. The untimely deaths of some judges, witnesses, and reporters who didn't "play along" with the "official" plan do seem a bit strange.
James seemed to have a good source of money that could not be explained. This was apparently no deterrent to his bank and grocery store heists. Why would someone with money risk armed robbery? Could it have something to do with "mind control" or a frame job?
One of John Ray's principle points is that both him and his brother were part of a long, well thought-out plan. James was set up to "do something" for the CIA/FBI and decades were spent in the preparation. Part of that process is choosing operatives that can easily be discredited when the time comes. What better way to discredit someone than by making sure they have a long criminal record? Both John and James certainly have those.
If U.S justice and intelligence officials are as corrupt and evil as Ray makes them out to be, all Americans are in a lot of trouble. Maybe things were bad back in the 40's, 50's and 60's when J. Edgar Hoover was in charge of the FBI. It's hard to imagine that so many people in so many parts of the government could have knowledge of a government-sponsored murder conspiracy, and still keep it a secret this long.
According to John Larry Ray, the deaths of Pat Tillman, Paul Wellstone, Vince Foster, Ron Brown and Bob Marley (!) are all worthy of suspicion. And then there are the Reagan and Lennon shootings, Watergate, Waco, HIV/AIDS, and the Oklahoma City Bombing. Maybe some of these events are a little fishy, but there is this credibility problem...
References
Truth at Last, 2008, John Larry Ray and Lyndon Barsten, Lyons Press, Guilford, CT, ISBN 978-1-59921-284-5
Cover of Truth at Last
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