Ray v. Rose

• Decision Date: 27 February 1975
• Docket Number: No. 74-166.,74-166.
• Citation: 392 F. Supp. 601
• Parties: James Earl RAY, Petitioner, v. J. H. ROSE, Warden, Respondent.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Western District of Tennessee

392 F. Supp. 601

James Earl RAY, Petitioner, v. J. H. ROSE, Warden, Respondent.

Civ., No. 74-166.

United States District Court, W. D. Tennessee, W. D.

February 27, 1975.

COPYRIGHT MATERIAL OMITTED

James H. Lesar, Washington, D. C., Robert I. Livingston, Memphis, Tenn., Bernard Fensterwald, Jr., Washington, D. C., for petitioner.

W. Henry Haile, Asst. Atty. Gen., Nashville, Tenn., for respondent.

MEMORANDUM DECISION

McRAE, District Judge.

Pursuant to a remand by the Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit this Court conducted an evidentiary hearing in this habeas corpus case. Ray v. Rose, Warden, 491 F.2d 285 (C.A. 6, 1974). The hearing lasted eight days, during which 165 exhibits were offered. Prior to the evidentiary hearing the Court conducted a preliminary hearing and entered an Order on June 24, 1974, which, inter alia, set forth the issues to be resolved pursuant to the Court of Appeals Opinion. That Order set forth two primary constitutional issues: first, whether or not James Earl Ray had the effective assistance of counsel with regard to the charge against him for the murder of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; second, whether the guilty plea by Ray in the Criminal Court of Shelby County, Tennessee, to that charge was made intelligently and voluntarily.

Included in the second question are the issues pertaining to the contentions of coercion, threats, and promises of Ray's attorneys in furtherance of an alleged conflict of interest between the respective attorneys and their client, Ray.

This Court's Order of June 24, 1974, also noted eleven specific factual issues set forth in the Court of Appeals Opinion, and other specific factual issues raised by the attorneys, all of which pertained to the respective contentions of the parties as to the total circumstances which must be factually resolved before the applicable conclusions of law can be made.

It is ingrained into the history of this nation that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, by a rifle shot on April 4, 1968. A first degree murder indictment was returned against James Earl Ray in the Criminal Court of Shelby County, Tennessee, on May 7, 1968, for that slaying. He was arrested in London, England, on June 8, 1968. He was returned to Memphis on July 19, 1968. On March 10, 1969, he pleaded guilty and received a previously agreed upon ninety-nine year sentence.

At the time that Ray was arrested in London he was using the name of Ramon George Sneyd. After his arrest British counsel was appointed for him, and his extradition was opposed, albeit unsuccessfully. Prior to his extradition he communicated with F. Lee Bailey of Massachussetts and Arthur J. Hanes of Birmingham, Alabama, as prospective attorneys in the event of his return to Memphis, Tennessee, to stand trial on the murder charge. F. Lee Bailey was not available, but Arthur Hanes was.

In his written communication to Hanes, Ray indicated that he was contacting him because Ray understood that Hanes had tried a case similar to the one against Ray. Ex. 136. Other proof reflects that Ray had lived in Birmingham, and that the other case was Hanes' defense of Alabama residents in a case pertaining to the death of a Detroit woman, Mrs. Luizzo. That case also had racial civil rights overtones. Other proof also reflects that Hanes was the former mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, and that he was reputed to be a conservative on racial issues.

After Hanes was contacted, he and his son, Arthur Hanes, Jr., went to England. The first trip was in June 1968, and it proved unsuccessful because they were not allowed to see their famous client. Prior to their first trip to London they were contacted by the established author, William Bradford Huie of Hartselle, Alabama. Huie indicated to Hanes that he would like to discuss writing Ray's story. As reasons for allowing him to do so, he suggested that he could present Ray to the public in a more favorable image than he was receiving from the news media at that time and that the sale of his writings would be a means of raising money for Ray's defense.

In early July, 1968, a second trip to London was made by Hanes. This time he took with him written instruments furnished by Huie. One instrument was a very broad power of attorney that Ray signed on July 5, 1968, giving Hanes authority to act for him. Ex. 1. By the terms of another instrument, also signed by Ray and dated July 5, 1968, Ray transferred to Hanes 40 percent of that which he would receive as the result of a subsequent agreement with Huie, dated July 8, 1968. The July 5 agreement also appointed Hanes to act as "exclusive agent and attorney for Ray in the handling of his affairs, contracts, negotiations, and sale of any and all rights to information or privacy that he may have in and to his life or particular events therein to persons, groups, or corporations for the purpose of writing, publishing, filming, or telecasting in any form whatever." Ex. 2A.

On July 8, 1968, Hanes and Huie executed an agreement in which they and Ray were the three parties. Ex. 3A. After Ray was returned to Memphis, Hanes furnished Ray a copy of that agreement for him to consider and sign if he approved. Ray testified that he kept the agreement and after several days decided to sign it because his attorney recommended it and he thought he had no other choice for raising money for defense expenses. Ray executed a copy of this agreement on August 1, 1968. Ex. 3B.

The only other means of raising funds for the expenses of the defense reflected by the proof was the possibility of a campaign for public subscriptions. However, this was not recommended or approved by Hanes for the reason that the campaign would attract white racists and Ray did not need any more of that image. Some unsolicited contributions were received and a post office box was rented for that purpose, but these monies were de minimus for the type of attorneys chosen by Ray.

The three party agreement provided that Ray give Huie exclusive rights to write literary material dealing with "the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr., the alleged participation of Ray therein, and the trial, for the purpose of establishing the truth with respect thereto." The agreement identified Hanes as the attorney defending Ray for the murder of Dr. King. In the agreement, Huie agreed to pay to Hanes and Ray, each, 30 percent of the gross receipts from the literary works. He also agreed to furnish, at quarterly intervals, statements reflecting all transactions in reasonable detail and to furnish Ray and Hanes copies of all contracts entered into by him. Huie did not comply with either of these two latter mentioned provisions.

It should also be noted that the July 8 agreement between the three parties was accompanied by a letter from Huie, also dated July 8, 1968. In this letter he set forth the schedule of cash payments of $35,000 that he agreed to make. The first was a payment of $10,000, to be made when he signed the first contract to write about Ray. In the letter it was assumed that this would be between July 15 and 20, 1968. The second payment was to be made on the first day after Ray was lodged in a jail in the United States. Five more payments were to be made at successive monthly intervals. Thereafter, any monies received would be paid in accordance with the 30-30-40 division set forth in the agreement. The letter was prepared for the approval of all parties, and it was signed in the same manner as the three party agreement of July 8. Ex. 4A and 4B.

In September 1968, at the request of Ray, the July 5 agreement between him and Hanes was amended. The provision whereby Hanes was to receive 40 percent of the money that was received by Ray from Huie was amended to limit the amount to be received by Hanes to $20,000 plus expenses. Ex. 2B. Ray testified that he made this request because he understood that Hanes was employed to handle the murder case only in the trial court. Therefore, he wanted to have a potential financial reserve for an appeal or post conviction proceedings.

In furtherance of his exclusive literary rights, Huie entered into a memorandum agreement with Cowles Communications, Inc. on July 11, 1968, to write a series of articles for publication in Look magazine. Ex. 5. This memorandum agreement was replaced by a more formal agreement between Huie and Cowles, dated October 7, 1968, which provided for two pretrial articles by Huie about Ray and a post trial article on "how, why, and by whom Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, Ray's part in it, and his ultimate capture." Ex. 6. This agreement was amended by an instrument dated March 17, 1969, which reduced the monetary value of the Ray story due to the guilty plea. Although the amended agreement, Ex. 8, is dated March 17, 1969, it was drafted prior thereto because one of its premises recited that it "is expected" that Ray will plead guilty on or about March 10, 1969. The amendment significantly reduced the length of the third writing to be submitted by Huie, and it reduced the guaranteed balance to be paid by Cowles to Huie from $45,000 to $20,000. However, it specifically preserved a royalty provision in the earlier agreement for a percentage of the gross proceeds which Cowles might receive from the sales of Huie's efforts to other publishers throughout the world. The amending agreement also provided that Huie would obtain from Hanes and his successor as attorney for James Earl Ray, Percy Foreman, separate articles of 1,000 words, for which each would be paid $1,000 by Cowles.

All of the agreements and amendments with Cowles were signed only by Huie, and no copies were furnished Ray at that time. He first saw them during the preparation for the hearing in this case.

The three party agreement between Ray, Huie, and Hanes contemplated that Ray would furnish Huie information during personal visits in the jail. However, this plan was thwarted because the trial judge to...