Steel Plates: Work on security measures were frantically underway for the return of James Early Ray to Memphis, Tennessee. Officials conceded they had not expected Ray, charged in the slaying of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., to drop his extradition battle in London. It clears the way for his return to Memphis soon. Here, steel plates are being welded to third floor windows of the Shelby County Criminal Courts and Jail Building. The third floor is one of the jail levels in the structure.

James Earl Ray (March 10, 1928 – April 23, 1998) was an American fugitive and felon convicted of assassinating Martin Luther King, Jr. in Memphis, Tennessee. Ray was convicted on his 41st birthday after entering a guilty plea to forgo a jury trial. Had he been found guilty by jury trial, he would have been eligible for the death penalty.

Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the Civil Rights Movement from 1954 until his assassination in 1968.

On recto: typewritten title and date.
On verso: manuscript title, date stamp and library stamp.

Wire photographs were originally transmitted over phonelines, then later, by satellite. They were first used in the early 1920s. Associated Press became a leader with this. After pigment touch-ups, etc., the print is put into a drum (like a drum scanner). The image gets converted into audio tones that are transmitted. The tones are received and beamed onto photo-sensitive paper. Wire photographs are copies without originals---they are hybrid, transmitted objects. (Britt Salvesen, Curator and Department Head, Photography Department, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, March 30-31, 2022)

This object has the following keywords:

• Civil Rights Movements
• Defenses
• Injustice
• James Earl Ray
• Memphis
• Racial Discrimination
• Shelby County Criminal Courts and Jail Building
• Window screens
• Windows

• Image Dimensions: 7 3/16 x 9 15/16 in. (18.26 x 25.24 cm) Measured by Cornejo-Reynoso, Aitzin
• Sheet Dimensions: 7 5/16 x 10 3/16 in. (18.57 x 25.88 cm) Measured by Cornejo-Reynoso, Aitzin