Ray Attorneys Move to Void Guilty Plea
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NASHVILLE — Attorneys for James Earl Ray made another attempt Tuesday to get his guilty plea thrown out and obtain a trial in the 1968 slaying of civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Citing a state law in place when Ray pleaded guilty, attorney Andrew Hall said Ray should have been granted a trial in 1969 because the judge died before considering Ray’s request to withdraw his guilty plea.
The law, since repealed, stipulated that a pending motion be granted if a judge died before making a ruling, Hall said.
In a letter to Shelby County Criminal Court Judge W. Preston Battle sent 16 days after admitting his guilt in 1969, Ray said he wanted to withdraw his plea. Battle died of a heart attack five days later.
Ray’s guilty plea has been upheld eight times and he is serving a 99-year sentence. There was no immediate ruling on the latest motion.
Ray, 69 and suffering from liver disease, also has been seeking a trial in a separate court action in Memphis.
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