The System That Let MLK's Killer Escape April 23, 1967: James Earl Ray escaped Missouri State Penitentiary while serving 20 years for armed robbery. According to the National Archives and FBI documentation, he spent 11 months traveling freely across America under fake names, with possible access to $30,000, obtaining driver's licenses, and purchasing weapons—while the system supposedly hunted for him. On March 30, 1968, he bought a rifle in Birmingham using an assumed name. Five days later, he w