RAY ARGUES IN COURT FOR A REGULAR CELL.

• Document Type: SPECIALCOLLECTION
• Collection: Records Related to the Assassination of Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 00459868
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: July 16, 2025

104-10129-10332
v1,4
- United Press International
James Earl Ray, convicted slayer of Dr.
Martin Luther King, arrives at the Federal
Building in Nashville under heavy guard.
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Roy Argues in Court
For a Regular Cell
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (UPD�James Earl Ray told a
federal .judge today that he would rather risk being killed
by fellow inmates than remain in �maximum security at
Tennessee State Prison.
The convicted killer of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
went before U.S. District Judge William E. Miller and asked
that he be moved out of his isolated 6-by-9-foot cell in the
prison's maximum security building.
Miller asked Ray if he would be in danger if permitted
to mingle with other prisoners.
"No sir, not any more than anyone else," the hand-
cuffed Ray answered. "There is a possibility of anyone get-
ting killed. I would rather face that than 99 years in maxi-
mum security."
Thomas E. Fox, an assistant State's attorney, asked
Ray if persons involved in an alleged conspiracy to mur-
der King might want to kill him.
"If the state is interested in a conspiracy, let them have
,a trial," replied Ray, who had tried in vain seven months
ago to get a new trial.
Ray was asked if he knew he was in prison for the
death of a man with a great public following.
"No. I think I'm in prison because my attorney sold
me out." Ray responded. referring to the deal Texas law-
yer Percy Foreman made in March to spare his life with
a 99-year sentence.
"The black people at the prison don't think I did it,"
Ray added.
Ray, pale from lack of sunshine and several pounds
lighter than he was in March, complained at length about
conditions in his cell.
For a long time, he said, the only thing in the room was
a bed. He said he was provided a television set only after
filing his petition for release from maximum security. The
main problem, he said, was ventilation. "The cell was built
for punishment and you never actually get any fresh air."
Nearly 50 state and federal officers guarded Ray as he
was taken in handcuffs and chains in a motorcade to the
courthouse.