Ray’s Brother to Get Controversial Rifle

Jerry Ray took the first legal step to retrieve the rifle allegedly used by his brother, the late James Earl Ray, in the 1968 slaying of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. The will of the confessed assassin, who died April 23 at age 70, was declared genuine by Davidson County Probate Court Judge Frank Clement Jr., who named Jerry Ray as sole executor. “I plan to have that rifle tested by a more up-to-date technique,” Ray told reporters. He said the testing would cost about $20,000, which he hoped to raise by selling the rifle. The rifle has been the centerpiece in the effort to uncover a long-rumored conspiracy in the slaying.