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James parents were Lucille and George Ellis
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Ray arrested for first time on a burglary charge in California, serves three months.
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Martin Luther King Jr. is assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis.
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Ray is arrested at London's Heathrow Airport.
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Ray pleads guilty to murdering King and is sentenced to 99 years in prison.
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In a meeting, Ray tells King's son Dexter that he did not kill the civil rights leader. King says he believes Ray.
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James Earl Ray dies of cirrhosis of the liver at age 70 in a Nashville prison facility.
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Prison officials reject Ray's request to be evaluated at a Pittsburgh hospital as a liver transplant recipient.
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Davidson County Chancellor Irvin Kilcrease rules that state law does not permit Ray to be sent out of state to be evaluated for a liver transplant.
