Trials: A Very Important Prisoner

With the wrapped-in-cotton care normally accorded to precious art works, James Earl Ray was flown to Memphis last week to stand trial for the murder of Martin Luther King.

A bulletproof vest hung over his plaid shirt and his legs were encased in armored trousering when he was led, handcuffed, from a 61-ton armored van into Shelby County jail at dawn. A score of deputies with riot guns formed a defensive perimeter. Ray was hustled to an air-conditioned cell on the jail's third floor. Heavy steel plates block cell windows. Closed-circuit television cameras monitor all movements. Prison trusties who ran...

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