James Earl Ray's brother, John, says he'll solve the King assassination case if the money's right

A brother of convicted assassin James Earl Ray said he can prove the government wasn't involved in shooting Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., but the Department of Justice will have to pay a price for the evidence.

"I can solve the whole case right now," John Ray told The (Memphis) Commercial Appeal, but he added that he would only do so if the government gives him a "six-figure" payment to tell what he knows.

John Ray, 65, who's spent much of his life jailed for a variety of robbery and theft convictions, said his lone motive for talking now is money.

"I don't care about James Earl Ray he's dead. I don't care about the King family," he said. "I'm just interested in the money."

U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno recently announced that she will open a new review of the assassination focusing on allegations from a former Memphis bar owner and a former FBI agent who suggested there may have been a conspiracy involving people besides James Earl Ray (JET, Sept. 14).

Jerry Ray, the youngest brother, insisted James Earl was framed and fought diligently for a new trial until his brother died in April in Nashville from liver disease while serving a 99-year prison sentence for the slaying.