Article: James Earl Ray in coma, said to be on deathbed Rights leaders hope King's convicted assassin will tell whether he acted alone

James Earl Ray, convicted assassin of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., lay in a coma Tuesday as civil rights leaders held out hope for a deathbed confession confirming their long-held suspicions he did not act alone.

Ray, serving a 99-year prison sentence for the 1968 slaying, was in the last stages of cirrhosis of the liver despite never drinking or smoking, said his brother Jerry Ray. The 68-year-old convict was in critical condition.

Jerry Ray said he gave doctors permission not to try to resuscitate his brother if his heart stopped. "I think he'll be gone in 24 hours. I really do," Jerry Ray said. There has long been speculation that James Earl Ray did not act alone, and civil ...

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