◆ SpookStack

2. Motive James Ear] Ray, born 1928, was raised under difficult circumstances. His parents were poor, wedi cated and generally resided in areas surrounded by criminal activity. Ray did not achieve a high school education, nor did he attend any vocational institution* After enlisting in the army in 1946, Ray did not meet the military's standards and was discharged in 1948 for lack of adaptability. (80 44-38861-3333, 3987). Tms, at the age of twenty-me, he had a very limited education, was not trained or skilled at any particular job, and was a reject of the military establishment. ‘Thereafter, he proceeded to participate in and be apprehended for a number of criminal actions for which he would be incarcerated for fourteen of the next eighteen years until his escape from the Missouri State Penitentiary in April 1967. Ray's criminal activities included robbery, forgery and burglary (HQ 44-38861- 4143). He was not know to have been involved in crimes where victims or witnesses were physically hanned. *FBI files disclosed that James Earl Ray has an IQ of 105 (HQ 44-38861-3503). -91-