1 00:00:03,835 --> 00:00:05,043 {\an1}- Prison for the worst of the worst. 2 00:00:05,210 --> 00:00:07,626 {\an1}- The worst people ended up at Brushy Mountain. 3 00:00:07,751 --> 00:00:11,251 {\an1}You had murders, rapists, child molesters. 4 00:00:11,418 --> 00:00:14,085 {\an1}- A place where hope goes to die. 5 00:00:14,251 --> 00:00:16,043 {\an1}- When you walked out on a yard, in this prison, 6 00:00:16,168 --> 00:00:17,876 {\an1}you are thinking about getting robbed, stabbed. 7 00:00:18,001 --> 00:00:19,585 {\an1}That's how dangerous it was. 8 00:00:19,710 --> 00:00:21,668 {\an1}- If the murderers don't catch him... 9 00:00:21,751 --> 00:00:24,585 {\an1}- If you can get away, you try your best to. 10 00:00:24,751 --> 00:00:25,918 {\an1}- The mountain will. 11 00:00:26,085 --> 00:00:28,376 {\an1}- Once you climb over for 20 miles, 12 00:00:28,501 --> 00:00:31,710 {\an1}there's nothing but rocky bluffs, rattlesnakes. 13 00:00:31,835 --> 00:00:33,251 {\an1}[gunshot] 14 00:00:34,751 --> 00:00:37,043 {\an1}- All hell broke loose here. 15 00:00:37,126 --> 00:00:39,543 {\an1}- For whatever reason, they chose to roll the dice. 16 00:00:39,626 --> 00:00:42,543 {\an1}[dramatic music] 17 00:00:42,626 --> 00:00:45,376 {\an1}♪ ♪ 18 00:00:45,501 --> 00:00:49,460 {\an1}[dramatic music] 19 00:00:49,585 --> 00:00:53,710 {\an1}- Some of the greatest stories ever told start behind bars... 20 00:00:53,835 --> 00:00:56,085 {\an1}♪ ♪ 21 00:00:56,210 --> 00:00:58,251 {\an1}Locked up in their most notorious prisons 22 00:00:58,418 --> 00:01:03,543 {\an1}in the world, spied on by guards and fellow prisoners. 23 00:01:03,668 --> 00:01:04,668 {\an1}♪ ♪ 24 00:01:04,793 --> 00:01:09,835 {\an1}It takes a devious mind to find a way out. 25 00:01:09,960 --> 00:01:13,043 {\an1}It could lead you to freedom 26 00:01:13,168 --> 00:01:14,543 {\an1}or it could cost you your life. 27 00:01:14,668 --> 00:01:16,376 {\an1}[gunshot] 28 00:01:16,501 --> 00:01:20,710 {\an1}But wouldn't you try when you have nothing left to lose? 29 00:01:20,876 --> 00:01:23,210 {\an1}♪ ♪ 30 00:01:27,918 --> 00:01:30,710 {\an1}[suspenseful folk music] 31 00:01:30,835 --> 00:01:37,335 {\an1}♪ ♪ 32 00:01:37,460 --> 00:01:40,793 {\an1}- Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. 33 00:01:40,918 --> 00:01:44,168 {\an1}For most prisoners, coming here is a one-way ticket. 34 00:01:44,293 --> 00:01:47,460 {\an1}That's why they call it the end of the line. 35 00:01:47,585 --> 00:01:50,501 {\an1}For decades it meant 12 hours a day of hard labor 36 00:01:50,585 --> 00:01:52,126 {\an1}in the coal mine. 37 00:01:52,251 --> 00:01:55,376 {\an1}Your bunk is not your own. 38 00:01:55,460 --> 00:01:58,210 {\an1}You shared it with the prisoner from the other shift. 39 00:01:58,335 --> 00:02:01,626 {\an1}Slack off in the mine, and you'd be whipped. 40 00:02:01,751 --> 00:02:06,126 {\an1}The mine closed in 1967, but now this place 41 00:02:06,251 --> 00:02:10,001 {\an1}is filled with Tennessee's most violent criminals. 42 00:02:10,085 --> 00:02:12,335 {\an1}Owe the wrong guy a couple of bucks, 43 00:02:12,418 --> 00:02:17,168 {\an1}look at someone the wrong way, and you could get stabbed. 44 00:02:17,251 --> 00:02:21,751 {\an1}To be an inmate here is to live in fear. 45 00:02:21,876 --> 00:02:24,876 {\an1}♪ ♪ 46 00:02:25,043 --> 00:02:26,626 {\an1}- Brushy Mountain is probably 47 00:02:26,751 --> 00:02:30,043 {\an1}the most notorious prison in the state of Tennessee. 48 00:02:30,210 --> 00:02:34,043 {\an1}It's a maximum-security prison built in 1896. 49 00:02:34,210 --> 00:02:36,793 {\an1}- It looks like a medieval castle. 50 00:02:36,918 --> 00:02:37,710 {\an1}When you're driving up to it, 51 00:02:37,835 --> 00:02:40,376 {\an1}it is literally at the end of the valley. 52 00:02:40,460 --> 00:02:41,585 {\an1}It is the end of the road. 53 00:02:41,710 --> 00:02:44,418 {\an1}There is nothing beyond it and you can kind of feel 54 00:02:44,585 --> 00:02:47,543 {\an1}the area closing in around you as you get closer to it. 55 00:02:47,668 --> 00:02:50,793 {\an1}- It's a smaller prison, but it was very dangerous. 56 00:02:50,918 --> 00:02:53,043 {\an1}When you walked out on a yard in this prison, 57 00:02:53,126 --> 00:02:55,126 {\an1}in your mind all the time, 58 00:02:55,251 --> 00:02:58,418 {\an1}you're thinking about getting robbed, stabbed, or something. 59 00:02:58,543 --> 00:03:02,543 {\an1}That's how dangerous it was. 60 00:03:02,668 --> 00:03:05,085 {\an1}- The odds of breaking out of this place 61 00:03:05,210 --> 00:03:06,251 {\an1}once you are sent here, 62 00:03:06,418 --> 00:03:09,960 {\an1}no matter how ingenious a criminal you are, 63 00:03:10,085 --> 00:03:12,376 {\an1}are very low. 64 00:03:12,501 --> 00:03:14,668 {\an1}The man who decides he'll take those odds, 65 00:03:14,751 --> 00:03:18,876 {\an1}is one of the most infamous assassins in American history. 66 00:03:19,001 --> 00:03:26,085 {\an1}♪ ♪ 67 00:03:26,210 --> 00:03:31,626 {\an1}April 4th, 1968, Memphis, Tennessee. 68 00:03:31,751 --> 00:03:34,001 {\an1}Martin Luther King Jr. is killed 69 00:03:34,085 --> 00:03:38,210 {\an1}by a shot from a .30 caliber rifle. 70 00:03:38,376 --> 00:03:42,210 {\an1}Petty criminal James Earl Ray is arrested 71 00:03:42,293 --> 00:03:46,251 {\an1}and pleads guilty to King's murder. 72 00:03:46,376 --> 00:03:49,376 {\an1}Sentenced to 99 years in prison, 73 00:03:49,501 --> 00:03:54,335 {\an1}Ray arrives at Brushy Mountain in March 1970. 74 00:03:54,460 --> 00:03:56,210 {\an1}Ray enters the prison system there 75 00:03:56,335 --> 00:04:00,460 {\an1}with a well-earned reputation for escaping. 76 00:04:00,585 --> 00:04:04,085 {\an1}- We knowed he was escape artist before he got here. 77 00:04:04,251 --> 00:04:06,585 {\an1}He escaped prison in Missouri. 78 00:04:06,710 --> 00:04:12,543 {\an1}♪ ♪ 79 00:04:12,626 --> 00:04:16,085 {\an1}- James Earl Ray is at work in prison bakery. 80 00:04:16,210 --> 00:04:18,125 {\an1}He notices that every day, 81 00:04:18,250 --> 00:04:24,085 {\an1}the truck arrives and leaves with the bread. 82 00:04:24,210 --> 00:04:27,210 {\an1}He and another prisoner are talking about 83 00:04:27,335 --> 00:04:30,960 {\an1}how you could maybe escape in that truck. 84 00:04:31,085 --> 00:04:33,875 {\an1}The other inmates put a tray of bread on top of him. 85 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:36,210 {\an1}[dramatic music] 86 00:04:36,335 --> 00:04:39,250 {\an1}♪ ♪ 87 00:04:39,418 --> 00:04:41,168 {\an1}He gets loaded into the truck. 88 00:04:41,250 --> 00:04:44,710 {\an1}As he's on the road, he jumps from the truck. 89 00:04:44,835 --> 00:04:48,168 {\an1}He hides in a junkyard until nightfall. 90 00:04:48,250 --> 00:04:50,210 {\an1}He is able to get away. 91 00:04:50,375 --> 00:04:56,750 {\an1}♪ ♪ 92 00:04:59,293 --> 00:05:01,501 {\an1}- Ray is on the Lam for 50 weeks 93 00:05:01,585 --> 00:05:05,376 {\an1}after his first escape from the prison in Missouri. 94 00:05:05,543 --> 00:05:07,543 {\an1}After his murder of King on April 4th, 95 00:05:07,668 --> 00:05:11,710 {\an1}Ray is on the run for nine more weeks. 96 00:05:11,793 --> 00:05:14,376 {\an1}He is eventually captured at Heathrow Airport, 97 00:05:14,543 --> 00:05:17,875 {\an1}London, England, on June 8th, 1968. 98 00:05:18,000 --> 00:05:22,875 {\an1}♪ ♪ 99 00:05:23,043 --> 00:05:24,710 {\an1}He confesses to the murder 100 00:05:24,835 --> 00:05:29,543 {\an1}and ends up remanded to Brushy Mountain State Prison. 101 00:05:29,710 --> 00:05:31,210 {\an1}♪ ♪ 102 00:05:31,335 --> 00:05:34,125 {\an1}There, he keeps a low profile. 103 00:05:34,250 --> 00:05:37,085 {\an1}Or tries to. 104 00:05:37,250 --> 00:05:38,875 {\an1}- He knows any amount of attention 105 00:05:38,960 --> 00:05:42,168 {\an1}that you attract in prison is going to be bad attention. 106 00:05:42,250 --> 00:05:44,750 {\an1}It's going to work against you. 107 00:05:44,875 --> 00:05:48,750 {\an1}- The guards are told to keep an eye on Ray too, 108 00:05:48,875 --> 00:05:54,543 {\an1}but time is on a prisoner's side. 109 00:05:54,625 --> 00:05:56,460 {\an1}- Listen, everybody in Tennessee knew 110 00:05:56,585 --> 00:05:58,375 {\an1}he was an escape risk. 111 00:05:58,460 --> 00:05:59,918 {\an1}He was gonna leave if he gets a chance. 112 00:06:00,043 --> 00:06:02,043 {\an1}It's just up to us to keep him here. 113 00:06:02,168 --> 00:06:08,460 {\an1}♪ ♪ 114 00:06:08,585 --> 00:06:11,376 {\an1}- A life sentence in this hell hole 115 00:06:11,460 --> 00:06:14,876 {\an1}makes many prisoners dream of escape. 116 00:06:15,001 --> 00:06:16,250 {\an1}But this isolated fortress 117 00:06:16,375 --> 00:06:19,668 {\an1}is built to make that dream impossible. 118 00:06:19,793 --> 00:06:21,043 {\an1}♪ ♪ 119 00:06:21,168 --> 00:06:24,293 {\an1}- The walls that were built here from the stone 120 00:06:24,418 --> 00:06:25,835 {\an1}for about 14 feet high. 121 00:06:25,960 --> 00:06:28,543 {\an1}They are about two, maybe three foot thick. 122 00:06:28,668 --> 00:06:30,085 {\an1}Some of these rocks that's in this wall 123 00:06:30,250 --> 00:06:32,918 {\an1}are approaching 3000 pounds. 124 00:06:33,043 --> 00:06:34,418 {\an1}At the top of that wall, 125 00:06:34,543 --> 00:06:36,625 {\an1}you have not only the razor wire 126 00:06:36,750 --> 00:06:39,585 {\an1}or the concertina wire, but you also have barbed wire. 127 00:06:39,710 --> 00:06:41,375 {\an1}That barbed wire and concertina wire 128 00:06:41,500 --> 00:06:42,750 {\an1}surrounded the top. 129 00:06:42,875 --> 00:06:47,000 {\an1}Each strand of that barbed wire had 20,000 volts on it. 130 00:06:47,125 --> 00:06:49,125 {\an1}So that was a big deterrent on anybody 131 00:06:49,250 --> 00:06:50,835 {\an1}trying to get over the wall. 132 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:55,585 {\an1}- In addition to the wall and the electrified barbed wire, 133 00:06:55,750 --> 00:06:58,710 {\an1}there are nine guard towers around the prison's perimeter 134 00:06:58,793 --> 00:07:02,251 {\an1}each manned by a correctional officer 135 00:07:02,418 --> 00:07:04,876 {\an1}armed to the teeth. 136 00:07:05,001 --> 00:07:09,876 {\an1}- Each gun tower, the officers had a 12-gauge shotgun, 137 00:07:10,043 --> 00:07:11,460 {\an1}a .38 caliber pistol, 138 00:07:11,585 --> 00:07:14,043 {\an1}and at one time, they had a .22 rifle. 139 00:07:14,126 --> 00:07:17,250 {\an1}- With all of these above-ground deterrence, 140 00:07:17,375 --> 00:07:20,168 {\an1}James Earl Ray figures the best way out 141 00:07:20,293 --> 00:07:22,835 {\an1}is probably underground. 142 00:07:22,918 --> 00:07:29,710 {\an1}♪ ♪ 143 00:07:29,793 --> 00:07:32,168 {\an1}Ray spends months poking around his cell, 144 00:07:32,250 --> 00:07:35,793 {\an1}looking for weak spots. He decides it's too risky 145 00:07:35,918 --> 00:07:39,418 {\an1}to attempt sawing his way through the bars, 146 00:07:39,543 --> 00:07:42,210 {\an1}so his attention turns to the air vent 147 00:07:42,293 --> 00:07:44,668 {\an1}at the back of the cell. 148 00:07:44,793 --> 00:07:48,418 {\an1}- It's about a ten-inch to 12-inch square piece of metal 149 00:07:48,585 --> 00:07:50,250 {\an1}that has holes in it. 150 00:07:50,375 --> 00:07:51,793 {\an1}And it's bolted to the concrete. 151 00:07:51,918 --> 00:07:55,625 {\an1}And once you got that plate off of the wall, 152 00:07:55,750 --> 00:07:58,585 {\an1}then you could dig at that concrete with a spoon 153 00:07:58,750 --> 00:08:01,543 {\an1}or any kind of piece of metal or something. 154 00:08:01,710 --> 00:08:05,210 {\an1}- He chips away at the whole night after night, 155 00:08:05,376 --> 00:08:07,210 {\an1}replacing the vent every morning 156 00:08:07,376 --> 00:08:08,460 {\an1}and covering his tracks. 157 00:08:08,585 --> 00:08:09,918 {\an1}- He would set it back down 158 00:08:10,043 --> 00:08:11,085 {\an1}and you take toothpaste and squirt 159 00:08:11,210 --> 00:08:13,960 {\an1}around with toothpaste, look just like mortar, 160 00:08:14,085 --> 00:08:15,876 {\an1}like caulking. 161 00:08:15,960 --> 00:08:17,043 {\an1}♪ ♪ 162 00:08:17,168 --> 00:08:19,543 {\an1}- Once it got big enough, then he went through that hole 163 00:08:19,625 --> 00:08:20,668 {\an1}and would get in, 164 00:08:20,793 --> 00:08:23,000 {\an1}what we would call the pipe chase, 165 00:08:23,085 --> 00:08:25,375 {\an1}which is just access to the plumbing. 166 00:08:25,543 --> 00:08:27,460 {\an1}- Ray explores the pipe chase 167 00:08:27,585 --> 00:08:30,085 {\an1}and spots a potential escape route. 168 00:08:30,210 --> 00:08:33,335 {\an1}The larger exhaust fan that vents air 169 00:08:33,418 --> 00:08:36,918 {\an1}to an enclosed courtyard area outside. 170 00:08:37,085 --> 00:08:39,875 {\an1}If he can get through there, Ray estimates 171 00:08:40,000 --> 00:08:43,875 {\an1}that he can crawl to a manhole 20 feet away. 172 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:46,710 {\an1}While on the exercise grounds at an earlier date, 173 00:08:46,835 --> 00:08:48,876 {\an1}Ray had noticed that the powerhouse 174 00:08:49,001 --> 00:08:52,710 {\an1}is outside the exterior walls of the prison. 175 00:08:52,835 --> 00:08:56,918 {\an1}Now he figures this manhole must lead to a steam pipe 176 00:08:57,043 --> 00:09:00,168 {\an1}running between the prison and the powerhouse. 177 00:09:00,251 --> 00:09:04,335 {\an1}If he can get into those pipes and over to the powerhouse, 178 00:09:04,418 --> 00:09:06,043 {\an1}he can escape. 179 00:09:06,168 --> 00:09:08,835 {\an1}But the bars in front of the fan are made of metal 180 00:09:08,960 --> 00:09:10,960 {\an1}and he doesn't have a saw. 181 00:09:11,085 --> 00:09:13,835 {\an1}This route seems like a dead end. 182 00:09:13,960 --> 00:09:19,085 {\an1}♪ ♪ 183 00:09:19,210 --> 00:09:22,460 {\an1}Ray keeps thinking about getting out of that air vent. 184 00:09:22,585 --> 00:09:25,376 {\an1}It's his best chance to break free. 185 00:09:25,501 --> 00:09:27,043 {\an1}He realizes he's going to need help 186 00:09:27,126 --> 00:09:31,585 {\an1}from someone on the outside to get him a saw blade. 187 00:09:31,710 --> 00:09:34,460 {\an1}The murderer turns to his brother, Jerry, 188 00:09:34,585 --> 00:09:36,918 {\an1}who was sympathetic to Ray's cause. 189 00:09:37,043 --> 00:09:40,418 {\an1}♪ ♪ 190 00:09:40,543 --> 00:09:42,585 {\an1}The two brothers come up with a scheme 191 00:09:42,710 --> 00:09:46,168 {\an1}to smuggle the blade inside. 192 00:09:46,251 --> 00:09:48,751 {\an1}- Jerry cuts off the bottom of his shoe 193 00:09:48,876 --> 00:09:51,418 {\an1}and inserts very small hacksaw blades 194 00:09:51,543 --> 00:09:53,626 {\an1}and then attaches the bottom of the shoe. 195 00:09:53,751 --> 00:09:55,418 {\an1}He goes into the prison for a visit. 196 00:09:55,543 --> 00:09:57,501 {\an1}Has the shoes on, 197 00:09:57,626 --> 00:09:59,876 {\an1}his brother has the exact type of shoes on, 198 00:10:00,001 --> 00:10:03,626 {\an1}brown shoes and the same size. They wait for the guard 199 00:10:03,751 --> 00:10:05,668 {\an1}to go to the back of the visiting room 200 00:10:05,751 --> 00:10:08,168 {\an1}and they casually shuffle their shoes off 201 00:10:08,293 --> 00:10:09,210 {\an1}and switch shoes. 202 00:10:09,293 --> 00:10:13,918 {\an1}♪ ♪ 203 00:10:14,043 --> 00:10:17,418 {\an1}So now Jerry has James Earl Ray's shoes 204 00:10:17,585 --> 00:10:18,793 {\an1}and James Earl Ray has Jerry's shoes 205 00:10:18,918 --> 00:10:22,210 {\an1}with the hacksaw blades in them. 206 00:10:22,293 --> 00:10:28,376 {\an1}♪ ♪ 207 00:10:28,501 --> 00:10:29,626 {\an1}- Ray is able to smuggle the blades 208 00:10:29,751 --> 00:10:31,876 {\an1}back to his cell undetected. 209 00:10:32,043 --> 00:10:34,043 {\an1}He spends the next several months 210 00:10:34,210 --> 00:10:37,918 {\an1}sawing through the bars and the pipe chase. 211 00:10:38,043 --> 00:10:41,543 {\an1}But once again, Ray's plan hits a snag. 212 00:10:41,710 --> 00:10:43,751 {\an1}The thick fan blades behind the bars 213 00:10:43,918 --> 00:10:46,960 {\an1}are nearly impossible to bend. 214 00:10:47,085 --> 00:10:51,668 {\an1}The escape route is still impregnable. 215 00:10:51,751 --> 00:10:54,876 {\an1}But Ray is not going to give up easily. 216 00:10:55,001 --> 00:10:57,835 {\an1}This time, he realizes he will need help, 217 00:10:57,918 --> 00:11:01,085 {\an1}not from his brother Jerry on the outside, 218 00:11:01,210 --> 00:11:04,710 {\an1}but from someone inside the prison. 219 00:11:04,876 --> 00:11:08,710 {\an1}He needs an accomplice to help bend the blades. 220 00:11:08,876 --> 00:11:11,460 {\an1}He turns to one of his few friends in prison, 221 00:11:11,585 --> 00:11:12,960 {\an1}Jake Morlock. 222 00:11:13,085 --> 00:11:17,876 {\an1}♪ ♪ 223 00:11:17,960 --> 00:11:22,418 {\an1}- Jake Morlock was a friend of James Earl Ray's in prison. 224 00:11:22,585 --> 00:11:24,626 {\an1}He was a man he trusted. He was a plumber. 225 00:11:24,751 --> 00:11:25,876 {\an1}As a matter of fact, 226 00:11:26,043 --> 00:11:28,626 {\an1}James Earl Ray called him Jake the plumber. 227 00:11:28,751 --> 00:11:30,710 {\an1}And Jake the plumber had access to tools, 228 00:11:30,835 --> 00:11:33,376 {\an1}tools that would help aid Jimmy 229 00:11:33,501 --> 00:11:35,710 {\an1}to get out of Brushy Mountain. 230 00:11:35,793 --> 00:11:37,543 {\an1}- Morlock agrees to escape with the Ray 231 00:11:37,626 --> 00:11:38,585 {\an1}and steals the pipe wrench 232 00:11:38,751 --> 00:11:42,210 {\an1}they can use to bend the fan blades. 233 00:11:42,293 --> 00:11:43,751 {\an1}But once again, 234 00:11:43,918 --> 00:11:47,001 {\an1}there was a roadblock on the path to freedom. 235 00:11:47,126 --> 00:11:49,585 {\an1}Morlock and Ray aren't cellmates. 236 00:11:49,751 --> 00:11:52,376 {\an1}That's got to change for their plan to work. 237 00:11:52,501 --> 00:11:58,501 {\an1}♪ ♪ 238 00:11:58,585 --> 00:12:00,001 {\an1}- James Earl Ray, 239 00:12:00,085 --> 00:12:04,043 {\an1}he knew that he needed to get Jake the plumber in his cell. 240 00:12:04,126 --> 00:12:07,043 {\an1}- Ray figures if he can change names on the ledger 241 00:12:07,168 --> 00:12:09,876 {\an1}in an unlocked office near the cell floor, 242 00:12:10,001 --> 00:12:12,918 {\an1}he can get Morlock into his cell. 243 00:12:13,043 --> 00:12:16,626 {\an1}But there are usually plenty of guards on the cell floor. 244 00:12:16,751 --> 00:12:18,335 {\an1}He needs to figure out 245 00:12:18,460 --> 00:12:21,210 {\an1}when is the best time to make his move. 246 00:12:21,335 --> 00:12:22,376 {\an1}- He did it on a day 247 00:12:22,460 --> 00:12:25,835 {\an1}when the guards that were usually there had days off, 248 00:12:25,918 --> 00:12:28,543 {\an1}so they were the substitute guards. 249 00:12:28,626 --> 00:12:32,126 {\an1}So he snuck in the office and he erased names 250 00:12:32,251 --> 00:12:36,918 {\an1}and he put Jake's name as his cellmate. 251 00:12:37,085 --> 00:12:40,710 {\an1}- It's a risky move, but Ray manages to avoid 252 00:12:40,876 --> 00:12:43,210 {\an1}being caught by the substitute guards 253 00:12:43,293 --> 00:12:45,876 {\an1}who generally do not move about the cell floor 254 00:12:46,001 --> 00:12:47,960 {\an1}as much as the regular guards. 255 00:12:48,085 --> 00:12:51,376 {\an1}- So that's how Jake was able to make his way 256 00:12:51,543 --> 00:12:54,126 {\an1}in a James Earl Ray's cell. 257 00:12:54,251 --> 00:13:00,835 {\an1}♪ ♪ 258 00:13:00,918 --> 00:13:02,835 {\an1}- The new cellmates wait until the guards 259 00:13:02,918 --> 00:13:07,168 {\an1}make their nightly rounds to escape. 260 00:13:07,251 --> 00:13:11,043 {\an1}If they can get out of the prison in the next hour or so, 261 00:13:11,168 --> 00:13:13,876 {\an1}they will have three hours until the morning headcount 262 00:13:14,001 --> 00:13:18,043 {\an1}at 6:00 a.m. before they are discovered missing. 263 00:13:18,168 --> 00:13:21,293 {\an1}- James Earl Ray and Jake fashion dummies in their beds 264 00:13:21,418 --> 00:13:23,085 {\an1}so it looked like 265 00:13:23,251 --> 00:13:24,543 {\an1}they were sleeping in their cell at night. 266 00:13:24,668 --> 00:13:31,335 {\an1}♪ ♪ 267 00:13:31,460 --> 00:13:34,835 {\an1}- Working as quickly and quietly as possible, 268 00:13:34,960 --> 00:13:37,376 {\an1}Ray and Morlock finished removing the bars 269 00:13:37,501 --> 00:13:41,376 {\an1}and bend the fan blades back with the pipe wrench. 270 00:13:41,501 --> 00:13:44,168 {\an1}- James Earl Ray slithered right out through there. 271 00:13:44,293 --> 00:13:47,043 {\an1}His poor cellmate, Jake, was a little bit overweight 272 00:13:47,126 --> 00:13:48,876 {\an1}and so he couldn't get through and he had to turn around 273 00:13:49,001 --> 00:13:52,376 {\an1}and go back to the cell. 274 00:13:52,460 --> 00:13:54,960 {\an1}- But Ray isn't all on his own. 275 00:13:55,085 --> 00:13:57,501 {\an1}His brother is waiting on the outside. 276 00:13:57,626 --> 00:13:58,710 {\an1}- There was a getaway plan. 277 00:13:58,876 --> 00:14:03,460 {\an1}And Jerry was supposed to meet him in a church parking lot. 278 00:14:03,585 --> 00:14:04,626 {\an1}He got prepared though. 279 00:14:04,751 --> 00:14:07,626 {\an1}He got a pistol and he got a bunch of bullets 280 00:14:07,751 --> 00:14:11,085 {\an1}and he taped them under the chassis of his car. 281 00:14:11,210 --> 00:14:12,876 {\an1}He did that because he didn't want to put them 282 00:14:13,001 --> 00:14:15,001 {\an1}on his person just in case he got searched 283 00:14:15,085 --> 00:14:16,710 {\an1}because you realize this is aiding and abetting 284 00:14:16,835 --> 00:14:19,626 {\an1}and Jerry could be in big trouble. 285 00:14:19,751 --> 00:14:21,543 {\an1}♪ ♪ 286 00:14:21,626 --> 00:14:23,710 {\an1}- Back at the prison, Ray has made it 287 00:14:23,835 --> 00:14:27,876 {\an1}out of the pipe chase and into the prison courtyard. 288 00:14:28,001 --> 00:14:30,126 {\an1}- James Earl Ray got out on the yard. 289 00:14:30,251 --> 00:14:34,168 {\an1}Then the manhole was over here that led outside 290 00:14:34,251 --> 00:14:37,376 {\an1}to the powerhouse down on the road where you come in. 291 00:14:37,460 --> 00:14:40,543 {\an1}- It looks like Ray's going to pull off this escape 292 00:14:40,710 --> 00:14:43,210 {\an1}as he opens the manhole cover. 293 00:14:43,293 --> 00:14:46,710 {\an1}- Ray took the lid off and the steam was still on. 294 00:14:46,876 --> 00:14:49,585 {\an1}- Ray gets a face full of steam. 295 00:14:49,751 --> 00:14:53,335 {\an1}The pain is almost unbearable. 296 00:14:53,460 --> 00:14:55,876 {\an1}He has mere seconds to decide what to do 297 00:14:56,043 --> 00:14:59,376 {\an1}before the patrol guards see him in the yard. 298 00:14:59,501 --> 00:15:03,043 {\an1}Does he go back to his cell and give up his escape, 299 00:15:03,126 --> 00:15:05,251 {\an1}or does he risk being burned 300 00:15:05,418 --> 00:15:07,460 {\an1}and climbed down into that tunnel? 301 00:15:07,585 --> 00:15:12,001 {\an1}After all, the tunnel leads to his freedom. 302 00:15:19,251 --> 00:15:21,376 {\an1}[dramatic music] 303 00:15:21,543 --> 00:15:23,043 {\an1}♪ ♪ 304 00:15:23,126 --> 00:15:26,043 {\an1}- James Earl Ray is a sitting duck. 305 00:15:26,210 --> 00:15:28,543 {\an1}Any second, a guard could spot him out here 306 00:15:28,626 --> 00:15:30,210 {\an1}in the prison courtyard 307 00:15:30,376 --> 00:15:34,543 {\an1}in the middle of an escape attempt. 308 00:15:34,710 --> 00:15:37,126 {\an1}But the steam tunnel he plans to follow under 309 00:15:37,251 --> 00:15:41,043 {\an1}the prison wall is boiling hot. 310 00:15:41,210 --> 00:15:43,460 {\an1}He climbs down anyway. 311 00:15:43,585 --> 00:15:49,376 {\an1}♪ ♪ 312 00:15:49,543 --> 00:15:52,293 {\an1}- The steam pipes, they were very old 313 00:15:52,418 --> 00:15:55,960 {\an1}and the insulation around them was all gone. 314 00:15:56,085 --> 00:15:58,751 {\an1}And so, it was just pure, hot pipes. 315 00:15:58,876 --> 00:16:02,251 {\an1}♪ ♪ 316 00:16:02,418 --> 00:16:03,960 {\an1}- Meanwhile in the getaway car, 317 00:16:04,085 --> 00:16:07,043 {\an1}his brother Jerry runs into trouble. 318 00:16:07,168 --> 00:16:10,710 {\an1}- So Jerry went to the parking lot 319 00:16:10,835 --> 00:16:11,710 {\an1}and all of a sudden 320 00:16:11,876 --> 00:16:14,876 {\an1}here came a prison vehicle from Brushy Mountain 321 00:16:15,043 --> 00:16:18,626 {\an1}and he thought for sure he was caught. 322 00:16:18,751 --> 00:16:20,168 {\an1}But on a pure instinct, 323 00:16:20,293 --> 00:16:22,001 {\an1}Jerry just laid over in his car 324 00:16:22,085 --> 00:16:24,710 {\an1}and pretended he was taking a nap. 325 00:16:24,835 --> 00:16:29,543 {\an1}♪ ♪ 326 00:16:29,668 --> 00:16:30,585 {\an1}And lo and behold, 327 00:16:30,710 --> 00:16:33,001 {\an1}the police just looked around a little bit 328 00:16:33,126 --> 00:16:34,126 {\an1}and they took off 329 00:16:34,251 --> 00:16:36,418 {\an1}and they never searched Jerry's car. 330 00:16:36,543 --> 00:16:42,460 {\an1}♪ ♪ 331 00:16:42,585 --> 00:16:47,376 {\an1}- In the tunnel, things aren't going as well for Ray. 332 00:16:47,501 --> 00:16:50,876 {\an1}- Those pipes were so hot, that they burned him so badly 333 00:16:51,043 --> 00:16:52,335 {\an1}that he had no choice 334 00:16:52,460 --> 00:16:54,710 {\an1}but to turn around and go back. 335 00:16:54,835 --> 00:17:01,835 {\an1}♪ ♪ 336 00:17:01,918 --> 00:17:05,209 {\an1}- Sure enough, this time Ray is not so lucky 337 00:17:05,376 --> 00:17:07,751 {\an1}in the courtyard to go undetected. 338 00:17:07,918 --> 00:17:09,084 {\an1}And the guards see him 339 00:17:09,251 --> 00:17:13,668 {\an1}the second he sticks his head up out of the manhole cover. 340 00:17:13,751 --> 00:17:17,126 {\an1}♪ ♪ 341 00:17:17,251 --> 00:17:19,501 {\an1}- As he just went out there and run into a snag 342 00:17:19,584 --> 00:17:21,501 {\an1}and then they finally just found him. 343 00:17:21,626 --> 00:17:23,501 {\an1}Brought him back and locked him back up. 344 00:17:23,626 --> 00:17:25,501 {\an1}- Morlock is caught, too. 345 00:17:25,584 --> 00:17:30,835 {\an1}The guards discovered him and the hole in their cell. 346 00:17:30,918 --> 00:17:35,960 {\an1}♪ ♪ 347 00:17:36,085 --> 00:17:37,376 {\an1}- Jerry waited a little bit longer, 348 00:17:37,460 --> 00:17:40,251 {\an1}and then he decided, I guess he didn't get out. 349 00:17:40,376 --> 00:17:43,876 {\an1}So he left, he turned on the radio and there it was 350 00:17:44,043 --> 00:17:45,043 {\an1}blaring all over the radio. 351 00:17:45,168 --> 00:17:48,835 {\an1}James Earl Ray had tried to escape Brushy Mountain, 352 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:50,085 {\an1}but was caught. 353 00:17:50,251 --> 00:17:53,168 {\an1}- James Earl Ray is treated in the infirmary for second 354 00:17:53,293 --> 00:17:55,918 {\an1}and third degree burns. 355 00:17:56,043 --> 00:18:03,085 {\an1}♪ ♪ 356 00:18:03,210 --> 00:18:04,876 {\an1}James Earl Ray and Jake Morlock 357 00:18:05,001 --> 00:18:09,543 {\an1}each get two months in the hole for their escape attempt. 358 00:18:09,668 --> 00:18:14,918 {\an1}Once Ray is out of the hole, he decides on a new tactic: 359 00:18:15,043 --> 00:18:19,085 {\an1}getting another day in court. 360 00:18:19,210 --> 00:18:21,376 {\an1}- James Earl Ray pled guilty. 361 00:18:21,543 --> 00:18:23,585 {\an1}Although after that initial plea, 362 00:18:23,710 --> 00:18:28,043 {\an1}he recanted his plea and said he did not kill King. 363 00:18:28,126 --> 00:18:29,085 {\an1}- I had several interviews with him 364 00:18:29,210 --> 00:18:33,085 {\an1}and he would say that he was innocent. 365 00:18:33,210 --> 00:18:35,543 {\an1}- Ray claims that it was a conspiracy, 366 00:18:35,710 --> 00:18:39,168 {\an1}that he was a fall guy for an organization. 367 00:18:39,293 --> 00:18:42,543 {\an1}It seemed like a very convoluted story. 368 00:18:42,710 --> 00:18:44,710 {\an1}A lot of the problem that he had in court 369 00:18:44,876 --> 00:18:47,543 {\an1}was that I don't think he ever articulated 370 00:18:47,668 --> 00:18:51,543 {\an1}what the purpose of him being the fall guy was. 371 00:18:51,626 --> 00:18:55,543 {\an1}- All of Ray's attempts to get out through legal means fail. 372 00:18:55,668 --> 00:18:59,751 {\an1}In the eyes of the law, he's guilty as charged. 373 00:18:59,918 --> 00:19:04,876 {\an1}So he becomes more determined than ever to escape. 374 00:19:04,960 --> 00:19:08,210 {\an1}♪ ♪ 375 00:19:08,293 --> 00:19:09,460 {\an1}Five years have passed 376 00:19:09,585 --> 00:19:13,460 {\an1}since Ray's last failed escape attempt. 377 00:19:13,585 --> 00:19:16,543 {\an1}His determination once again meets opportunity 378 00:19:16,710 --> 00:19:19,835 {\an1}when he comes across a lucky find. 379 00:19:19,918 --> 00:19:24,585 {\an1}♪ ♪ 380 00:19:24,751 --> 00:19:26,918 {\an1}- Ray is working in the prison laundry, 381 00:19:27,043 --> 00:19:31,460 {\an1}and he notices some three to four-foot sections of pipe 382 00:19:31,585 --> 00:19:33,626 {\an1}that had been left behind during some repairs 383 00:19:33,751 --> 00:19:35,043 {\an1}there in the laundry. 384 00:19:35,126 --> 00:19:38,626 {\an1}So he just manages to grab a couple and stash them aside, 385 00:19:38,751 --> 00:19:41,001 {\an1}you know, just in case they come in handy later. 386 00:19:41,085 --> 00:19:44,418 {\an1}James Earl Ray is not so much smart as cunning. 387 00:19:44,585 --> 00:19:46,418 {\an1}He looks for opportunities. 388 00:19:46,585 --> 00:19:49,501 {\an1}He keeps his head down until he sees an opening, 389 00:19:49,626 --> 00:19:52,918 {\an1}then he darts for it. And that's what he does here. 390 00:19:53,043 --> 00:19:58,543 {\an1}♪ ♪ 391 00:19:58,626 --> 00:20:03,001 {\an1}- Ray bids his time until the spring of 1977 392 00:20:03,126 --> 00:20:08,418 {\an1}when one day out in the yard, he notices something peculiar 393 00:20:08,543 --> 00:20:11,335 {\an1}where the prison wall meets the mountainside. 394 00:20:11,418 --> 00:20:13,710 {\an1}- In one spot, 395 00:20:13,835 --> 00:20:17,585 {\an1}there's about an 18-inch gap between the wire and the wall. 396 00:20:17,710 --> 00:20:18,918 {\an1}Just enough for a man to slide under. 397 00:20:19,043 --> 00:20:22,543 {\an1}- He was looking at that step with no electricity on it. 398 00:20:22,668 --> 00:20:24,710 {\an1}That was what he was shooting for because there was 399 00:20:24,835 --> 00:20:28,335 {\an1}a nice level spot at the top of that wall 400 00:20:28,460 --> 00:20:29,710 {\an1}where you could just go right over. 401 00:20:29,835 --> 00:20:33,418 {\an1}- On the other side of the wall due to erosion 402 00:20:33,543 --> 00:20:35,960 {\an1}and just dirt that has collected over time, 403 00:20:36,085 --> 00:20:39,501 {\an1}there's just enough of a spot that can cushion the drops. 404 00:20:39,626 --> 00:20:42,126 {\an1}Theoretically, you could climb up to the top, 405 00:20:42,251 --> 00:20:44,543 {\an1}slide under the wire, and drop to the ground 406 00:20:44,668 --> 00:20:47,710 {\an1}without breaking anything important and run away. 407 00:20:47,835 --> 00:20:48,793 {\an1}- If you're trying to figure out 408 00:20:48,918 --> 00:20:52,043 {\an1}how to get out of here, that's how you do it. 409 00:20:52,126 --> 00:20:53,210 {\an1}You just pay attention. 410 00:20:53,335 --> 00:20:56,293 {\an1}Eventually, you'll find the soft spot in the armor. 411 00:20:56,418 --> 00:20:58,585 {\an1}There's always a chink somewhere. 412 00:20:58,710 --> 00:21:01,543 {\an1}And apparently, Ray thought, 413 00:21:01,668 --> 00:21:04,376 {\an1}"Well, that's the chink right there." 414 00:21:04,501 --> 00:21:06,710 {\an1}- Ray has spotted his out, 415 00:21:06,876 --> 00:21:08,918 {\an1}but how will he get over this wall? 416 00:21:09,043 --> 00:21:11,418 {\an1}He is going to have to think of something 417 00:21:11,585 --> 00:21:13,376 {\an1}and it has to be good. 418 00:21:13,460 --> 00:21:15,960 {\an1}Or this will be just another failed escape attempt. 419 00:21:21,460 --> 00:21:23,585 {\an1}[dramatic music] 420 00:21:23,710 --> 00:21:26,126 {\an1}- Six years after his previous attempt 421 00:21:26,251 --> 00:21:27,960 {\an1}to escape Brushy Mountain, 422 00:21:28,085 --> 00:21:32,043 {\an1}James Earl Ray thinks he sees another way out. 423 00:21:32,210 --> 00:21:34,668 {\an1}A small gap under the electric fence 424 00:21:34,793 --> 00:21:39,835 {\an1}on top of the prison wall. He's got his hands 425 00:21:39,960 --> 00:21:45,293 {\an1}on a couple of short sections metal water pipe. 426 00:21:45,418 --> 00:21:48,210 {\an1}Now, how can he use these 427 00:21:48,335 --> 00:21:54,043 {\an1}to get all the way up there? 428 00:21:54,210 --> 00:21:55,085 {\an1}- He realizes 429 00:21:55,210 --> 00:21:59,168 {\an1}what a great ladder all his pipes would make. 430 00:21:59,251 --> 00:22:00,626 {\an1}- But he doesn't have enough pipe 431 00:22:00,751 --> 00:22:03,251 {\an1}to reach the top of the wall. 432 00:22:03,376 --> 00:22:06,793 {\an1}He needs to figure out a way to get more. 433 00:22:06,918 --> 00:22:09,501 {\an1}- So he got with a fellow named Shelton 434 00:22:09,626 --> 00:22:11,168 {\an1}and they talked about it. 435 00:22:11,251 --> 00:22:16,043 {\an1}♪ ♪ 436 00:22:16,126 --> 00:22:18,626 {\an1}- Doug Shelton is another career escapee. 437 00:22:18,751 --> 00:22:20,710 {\an1}He has a reputation for breaking out of jails 438 00:22:20,835 --> 00:22:22,043 {\an1}and prisons. 439 00:22:22,210 --> 00:22:26,918 {\an1}He loves the idea. He loves that it's simple easy, quick. 440 00:22:27,043 --> 00:22:29,626 {\an1}He and Ray basically are made for each other on this. 441 00:22:29,751 --> 00:22:32,585 {\an1}- He was the plumber and he would have had access 442 00:22:32,751 --> 00:22:36,543 {\an1}to different tools, different plumbing material. 443 00:22:36,626 --> 00:22:37,876 {\an1}And over a course of time, 444 00:22:38,001 --> 00:22:41,626 {\an1}he was able to put away a piece here and a piece there. 445 00:22:41,751 --> 00:22:43,918 {\an1}These weren't tools, these were materials. 446 00:22:44,085 --> 00:22:48,835 {\an1}So they were probably easier to push to the side 447 00:22:48,918 --> 00:22:52,126 {\an1}when no one's paying attention, or drop or, you know, 448 00:22:52,251 --> 00:22:56,043 {\an1}kick up under something and just go on about your day. 449 00:22:56,126 --> 00:22:58,501 {\an1}♪ ♪ 450 00:22:58,626 --> 00:23:02,501 {\an1}- Ray brings one more member on to his escape team, 451 00:23:02,585 --> 00:23:05,043 {\an1}his cellmate, Earl Hill. 452 00:23:05,126 --> 00:23:09,793 {\an1}♪ ♪ 453 00:23:09,918 --> 00:23:12,960 {\an1}- Earl Hill, Doug Shelton, I know both of them. 454 00:23:13,085 --> 00:23:15,210 {\an1}Most of them are good prisoners. 455 00:23:15,335 --> 00:23:18,126 {\an1}They didn't bother anybody. They were dangerous, 456 00:23:18,251 --> 00:23:20,710 {\an1}but they wouldn't tell another prisoner to get out. 457 00:23:20,835 --> 00:23:22,793 {\an1}A person that found out that James Earl Ray 458 00:23:22,918 --> 00:23:25,085 {\an1}was going to escape and did what he did, 459 00:23:25,210 --> 00:23:27,960 {\an1}a lot of prisoners would have told that. 460 00:23:28,085 --> 00:23:30,210 {\an1}They would get something in for telling them, 461 00:23:30,376 --> 00:23:31,168 {\an1}maybe get out of prison. 462 00:23:31,293 --> 00:23:35,043 {\an1}But these two guys were what we call solid. 463 00:23:35,168 --> 00:23:39,335 {\an1}- The team slowly steals more pipes and hides them 464 00:23:39,418 --> 00:23:43,043 {\an1}at the back of the yard. 465 00:23:43,168 --> 00:23:47,043 {\an1}- There's a small indention in the ground. 466 00:23:47,168 --> 00:23:49,751 {\an1}And that's where the pipes was laying until they needed it. 467 00:23:49,876 --> 00:23:51,960 {\an1}And because of the way that indention was, 468 00:23:52,085 --> 00:23:53,335 {\an1}you had to be 469 00:23:53,418 --> 00:23:57,710 {\an1}pretty much standing right on top of it to see it. 470 00:23:57,835 --> 00:23:59,376 {\an1}- At the same time, 471 00:23:59,501 --> 00:24:03,126 {\an1}they studied the routines of the guards in the yard. 472 00:24:03,251 --> 00:24:05,960 {\an1}- Each guard tower was manned by one man, 473 00:24:06,085 --> 00:24:09,043 {\an1}and he sat up there and looked out the window in a big chair 474 00:24:09,210 --> 00:24:11,168 {\an1}and it--it's kinda nerve-wracking. 475 00:24:11,251 --> 00:24:16,126 {\an1}You never know, prison, unexpected things happen. 476 00:24:16,251 --> 00:24:18,168 {\an1}You just gotta be on your toes when you're on the gun turn. 477 00:24:18,251 --> 00:24:20,376 {\an1}♪ ♪ 478 00:24:20,543 --> 00:24:24,501 {\an1}- The watch officer, Floyd Hooks, especially closely. 479 00:24:24,585 --> 00:24:26,835 {\an1}He's the guard in tower four, 480 00:24:26,918 --> 00:24:32,085 {\an1}the tower nearest to their escape route. 481 00:24:32,210 --> 00:24:36,168 {\an1}- These inmates, everybody, and especially escape risks, 482 00:24:36,251 --> 00:24:39,960 {\an1}they watch everybody, every man that are around. 483 00:24:40,085 --> 00:24:42,543 {\an1}They know me better than I know myself. 484 00:24:42,626 --> 00:24:45,085 {\an1}And that guard got a newspaper every day 485 00:24:45,251 --> 00:24:47,460 {\an1}and while they were on the recreation yard, 486 00:24:47,585 --> 00:24:48,376 {\an1}they watched everything. 487 00:24:48,501 --> 00:24:50,043 {\an1}- Now, James Earl Ray watched this guy 488 00:24:50,168 --> 00:24:53,043 {\an1}reading his newspaper for months. He watched it. 489 00:24:53,168 --> 00:24:55,710 {\an1}He knew every day he'd come in certain time, 490 00:24:55,835 --> 00:24:57,043 {\an1}he would read the newspaper. 491 00:24:57,126 --> 00:24:59,043 {\an1}He'd read it from the beginning to the end. 492 00:24:59,168 --> 00:25:01,835 {\an1}- It is all routine and it's real easy 493 00:25:01,960 --> 00:25:04,710 {\an1}to fall into a routine with any job, 494 00:25:04,835 --> 00:25:07,710 {\an1}but especially being a prison guard. 495 00:25:07,835 --> 00:25:10,376 {\an1}You get bored after a while. 496 00:25:10,460 --> 00:25:13,085 {\an1}- At the same time, he's scoping out the guards. 497 00:25:13,251 --> 00:25:17,376 {\an1}Ray is also focusing on making money to use for bribes. 498 00:25:17,501 --> 00:25:19,168 {\an1}♪ ♪ 499 00:25:19,293 --> 00:25:21,168 {\an1}- Most prisoners don't have a TV. 500 00:25:21,251 --> 00:25:22,293 {\an1}Some of them have burned all the bridges. 501 00:25:22,418 --> 00:25:24,835 {\an1}They don't even have a family to send them a TV. 502 00:25:24,918 --> 00:25:27,376 {\an1}So when somebody leaves, James Earl Ray 503 00:25:27,501 --> 00:25:29,918 {\an1}would make a deal with them to keep the TV and buy the TV. 504 00:25:30,043 --> 00:25:31,501 {\an1}Most of the time they would give it to him. 505 00:25:31,626 --> 00:25:33,918 {\an1}If I want a TV, I don't have a TV, 506 00:25:34,043 --> 00:25:37,210 {\an1}I'll just pay him $3 to $4 a month. 507 00:25:37,293 --> 00:25:39,418 {\an1}He worked in the laundry. He had 30 [inaudible] 508 00:25:39,585 --> 00:25:43,501 {\an1}customers. He would charge them $3 a month to do the laundry. 509 00:25:43,626 --> 00:25:45,210 {\an1}If you didn't pay somebody to do your laundry, 510 00:25:45,335 --> 00:25:46,960 {\an1}it's gonna come back in a pillowcase, 511 00:25:47,085 --> 00:25:49,501 {\an1}it's all wadded up, so everybody pays. 512 00:25:49,626 --> 00:25:54,293 {\an1}He--he made a lot of money doing those things. 513 00:25:54,418 --> 00:25:58,626 {\an1}- And of course, once again, Ray turns to his brother Jerry 514 00:25:58,751 --> 00:26:00,710 {\an1}to be his man on the outside. 515 00:26:00,835 --> 00:26:02,876 {\an1}♪ ♪ 516 00:26:03,001 --> 00:26:06,043 {\an1}- James Earl Ray would write coded letters to his brother. 517 00:26:06,210 --> 00:26:08,043 {\an1}He'd sign his name Jim, 518 00:26:08,210 --> 00:26:09,168 {\an1}and then he'd underlined it twice. 519 00:26:09,251 --> 00:26:11,376 {\an1}You would start with the first word 520 00:26:11,543 --> 00:26:15,085 {\an1}and count seven words down. That would be the code. 521 00:26:15,251 --> 00:26:16,626 {\an1}And Jerry would know what to do. 522 00:26:16,751 --> 00:26:20,710 {\an1}♪ ♪ 523 00:26:20,876 --> 00:26:24,460 {\an1}On May 17th, 1977, 524 00:26:24,585 --> 00:26:28,460 {\an1}one of these coded letters disclosed that a package 525 00:26:28,585 --> 00:26:31,376 {\an1}was to be buried somewhere along the highway. 526 00:26:31,501 --> 00:26:34,043 {\an1}Jerry Ray had got a duffel bag 527 00:26:34,168 --> 00:26:35,293 {\an1}and he had stuffed it full of things 528 00:26:35,418 --> 00:26:39,376 {\an1}that he thought his brother could use when he escaped. 529 00:26:39,501 --> 00:26:43,043 {\an1}He put in there some hair dye, a poncho to stay warm, 530 00:26:43,210 --> 00:26:45,168 {\an1}some non-perishable food items, 531 00:26:45,251 --> 00:26:48,126 {\an1}a first aid kit, a pistol, some bullets, 532 00:26:48,251 --> 00:26:50,418 {\an1}and a few other miscellaneous things. 533 00:26:50,585 --> 00:26:53,210 {\an1}He zipped this bag up and he buried it 534 00:26:53,335 --> 00:26:55,710 {\an1}at the cemetery near Brushy Mountain. 535 00:26:55,835 --> 00:27:02,293 {\an1}♪ ♪ 536 00:27:02,418 --> 00:27:06,043 {\an1}- On the evening of June 9th, 1977, 537 00:27:06,168 --> 00:27:10,335 {\an1}James Earl Ray, Doug Shelton, and Earl Hill, 538 00:27:10,460 --> 00:27:15,293 {\an1}huddled up for one last meeting in the prison yard. 539 00:27:15,418 --> 00:27:17,918 {\an1}They decide they have enough pieces of pipe 540 00:27:18,043 --> 00:27:19,876 {\an1}to reach the top of the wall. 541 00:27:20,001 --> 00:27:24,543 {\an1}Tomorrow, June 10th, they're going over the top. 542 00:27:24,668 --> 00:27:29,668 {\an1}That is if someone doesn't rat them out before they leave. 543 00:27:34,626 --> 00:27:37,210 {\an1}It's a sweltering day here in Eastern Tennessee. 544 00:27:37,335 --> 00:27:40,376 {\an1}The mountains are rugged and full of snakes, 545 00:27:40,543 --> 00:27:43,335 {\an1}but it's a darn sight better 546 00:27:43,460 --> 00:27:46,501 {\an1}than life here in Brushy Mountain. 547 00:27:46,626 --> 00:27:50,710 {\an1}Once Twilight falls, three convicted murderers 548 00:27:50,793 --> 00:27:54,418 {\an1}will attempt to climb this 14-foot wall, 549 00:27:54,543 --> 00:27:58,710 {\an1}pass under the ribbons of electrified barbed wire, 550 00:27:58,835 --> 00:28:00,793 {\an1}and escape to freedom. 551 00:28:00,918 --> 00:28:03,085 {\an1}[dramatic music] 552 00:28:03,210 --> 00:28:06,710 {\an1}♪ ♪ 553 00:28:06,835 --> 00:28:10,126 {\an1}In the afternoon, Ray stays late at his job in the laundry 554 00:28:10,251 --> 00:28:12,210 {\an1}to smuggle out the last few pipes 555 00:28:12,376 --> 00:28:14,668 {\an1}they need to build their ladder. 556 00:28:14,793 --> 00:28:18,668 {\an1}- He had taken a pipe and hid it inside of a washing machine 557 00:28:18,751 --> 00:28:20,210 {\an1}that he had opened the back of it up 558 00:28:20,335 --> 00:28:22,001 {\an1}and put the pipe inside of there 559 00:28:22,085 --> 00:28:25,210 {\an1}so that it was undetectable and then use the excuse 560 00:28:25,376 --> 00:28:29,460 {\an1}of servicing the machines to go back in. 561 00:28:29,585 --> 00:28:31,210 {\an1}As soon as the guard would make his rounds, 562 00:28:31,335 --> 00:28:32,293 {\an1}he would get the stuff out 563 00:28:32,418 --> 00:28:33,710 {\an1}and then close everything back up 564 00:28:33,793 --> 00:28:36,626 {\an1}before the guard come back around on his circuit. 565 00:28:36,751 --> 00:28:40,376 {\an1}- Ray hides the pipes in his shirt and his pants 566 00:28:40,501 --> 00:28:43,543 {\an1}and makes his way out to the yard. 567 00:28:43,710 --> 00:28:47,210 {\an1}♪ ♪ 568 00:28:47,293 --> 00:28:49,168 {\an1}- He was going out of the cell block area. 569 00:28:49,251 --> 00:28:51,960 {\an1}He saw another inmate who was fat. 570 00:28:52,085 --> 00:28:53,210 {\an1}They made sure that this inmate 571 00:28:53,376 --> 00:28:55,376 {\an1}was walking inside of Ray 572 00:28:55,501 --> 00:28:58,001 {\an1}and where the prison guard wouldn't see him. 573 00:28:58,126 --> 00:29:00,876 {\an1}Sometimes prison guards would stop you and search you, 574 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:02,210 {\an1}but they were smart enough 575 00:29:02,293 --> 00:29:04,126 {\an1}or knew the routine of some of the guards 576 00:29:04,251 --> 00:29:06,710 {\an1}and we're able to hide the piping. 577 00:29:06,793 --> 00:29:11,168 {\an1}♪ ♪ 578 00:29:11,293 --> 00:29:13,543 {\an1}- When they went out on the yard for exercise 579 00:29:13,626 --> 00:29:14,835 {\an1}that was in the afternoon. 580 00:29:14,960 --> 00:29:18,793 {\an1}That was after supper, simply because it was summer. 581 00:29:18,918 --> 00:29:22,210 {\an1}Didn't get dark until later. 582 00:29:22,335 --> 00:29:23,710 {\an1}- Ray uses some of his bribe money 583 00:29:23,835 --> 00:29:29,210 {\an1}to pay another inmate to create a diversion. 584 00:29:29,376 --> 00:29:31,376 {\an1}- They had a guy to start a fake fire 585 00:29:31,543 --> 00:29:34,168 {\an1}down on the lower part of the yard. 586 00:29:34,293 --> 00:29:37,251 {\an1}James and Doug and all of them are walking around the yard. 587 00:29:37,376 --> 00:29:39,710 {\an1}They noticed the officer in the tower 588 00:29:39,876 --> 00:29:43,376 {\an1}wasn't paying attention. 589 00:29:43,501 --> 00:29:45,793 {\an1}- The prison has nine towers along the wall. 590 00:29:45,918 --> 00:29:50,668 {\an1}Only eight are manned. At the tower closest to the gap 591 00:29:50,793 --> 00:29:54,710 {\an1}and the wire, Floyd Hooks, was the guard on duty that day. 592 00:29:54,876 --> 00:29:56,168 {\an1}Hooks had a reputation 593 00:29:56,251 --> 00:29:58,501 {\an1}for liking to read the evening paper 594 00:29:58,585 --> 00:29:59,876 {\an1}while he sat there on his shift. 595 00:30:00,001 --> 00:30:03,710 {\an1}About 7:30, the sun begins to set behind the mountains 596 00:30:03,835 --> 00:30:08,835 {\an1}and men begin to break away from the horseshoe stakes, 597 00:30:08,918 --> 00:30:10,001 {\an1}the baseball diamonds. 598 00:30:10,085 --> 00:30:14,918 {\an1}♪ ♪ 599 00:30:15,043 --> 00:30:16,168 {\an1}- Ray and his co-conspirators 600 00:30:16,293 --> 00:30:18,418 {\an1}make one last lap around the yard 601 00:30:18,543 --> 00:30:21,876 {\an1}to give the signal for the fight to begin. 602 00:30:22,001 --> 00:30:25,376 {\an1}♪ ♪ 603 00:30:25,501 --> 00:30:26,835 {\an1}- They came by the weight bench. 604 00:30:26,918 --> 00:30:30,418 {\an1}Ray supposedly said, "This time by." 605 00:30:30,543 --> 00:30:32,543 {\an1}Then when they got about halfway from the tower 606 00:30:32,626 --> 00:30:35,043 {\an1}to where they were gonna make the escape, 607 00:30:35,168 --> 00:30:36,835 {\an1}is when the fight started. 608 00:30:36,918 --> 00:30:40,251 {\an1}♪ ♪ 609 00:30:40,418 --> 00:30:42,543 {\an1}You would have one man in each gun tower. 610 00:30:42,668 --> 00:30:45,376 {\an1}You'd have about 200 inmates on the yard. 611 00:30:45,501 --> 00:30:47,835 {\an1}Sometimes you'd have as many as three other officers 612 00:30:47,918 --> 00:30:48,918 {\an1}on the yard too. 613 00:30:49,043 --> 00:30:50,793 {\an1}So you didn't really have a whole lot of help. 614 00:30:50,918 --> 00:30:55,835 {\an1}It can get pretty hairy. Pretty hairy, pretty quick. 615 00:30:55,918 --> 00:30:57,376 {\an1}- When you're an officer, 616 00:30:57,501 --> 00:31:00,210 {\an1}you can't leave your post until you're relieved. 617 00:31:00,335 --> 00:31:01,543 {\an1}So if you're on a post right here 618 00:31:01,668 --> 00:31:04,168 {\an1}and something happens over on the other side somewhere, 619 00:31:04,251 --> 00:31:05,585 {\an1}you can't leave your post 620 00:31:05,710 --> 00:31:07,668 {\an1}because that thing going on over there making a racket, 621 00:31:07,793 --> 00:31:09,710 {\an1}may be to get you to come over there 622 00:31:09,793 --> 00:31:13,668 {\an1}'cause they got something planned where you are at. 623 00:31:13,751 --> 00:31:18,376 {\an1}♪ ♪ 624 00:31:18,543 --> 00:31:22,251 {\an1}- Hooks' not looking when the fight breaks out 625 00:31:22,418 --> 00:31:25,251 {\an1}and these three guys head to the spot at the wall 626 00:31:25,376 --> 00:31:27,460 {\an1}and immediately whip out their sections of pipe, 627 00:31:27,585 --> 00:31:31,710 {\an1}start whirling them together. 628 00:31:31,835 --> 00:31:34,001 {\an1}- Once they kneaded it, they put it together 629 00:31:34,085 --> 00:31:35,501 {\an1}just in a few seconds, 630 00:31:35,626 --> 00:31:38,376 {\an1}they made a hook on the top, similar to a shepherd's hook 631 00:31:38,543 --> 00:31:40,585 {\an1}so that it would stay attached to the wall. 632 00:31:40,710 --> 00:31:44,376 {\an1}When they put it up, it would hook on the backside. 633 00:31:44,501 --> 00:31:46,793 {\an1}- Everything is going as planned. 634 00:31:46,918 --> 00:31:50,543 {\an1}With the ladder assembled, Ray, Sheldon, and Hill 635 00:31:50,626 --> 00:31:55,168 {\an1}head for the wall, but then disaster strikes. 636 00:31:55,293 --> 00:31:56,710 {\an1}- James Earl Ray takes that ladder. 637 00:31:56,876 --> 00:32:00,626 {\an1}He puts it at the spot. He wants to escape. 638 00:32:00,751 --> 00:32:02,043 {\an1}Head over. 639 00:32:02,168 --> 00:32:04,585 {\an1}He puts the ladder right on the electric wire. 640 00:32:04,710 --> 00:32:08,210 {\an1}[electricity zapping] 641 00:32:08,293 --> 00:32:10,543 {\an1}It knocked him back about 10 feet. 642 00:32:10,668 --> 00:32:14,251 {\an1}- 20,000 volts course through Ray's body. 643 00:32:14,418 --> 00:32:16,960 {\an1}He lies twitching on the ground. 644 00:32:17,085 --> 00:32:21,793 {\an1}It seems the escape attempt is over before it has even begun. 645 00:32:28,085 --> 00:32:29,876 {\an1}[dramatic music] 646 00:32:30,001 --> 00:32:32,043 {\an1}♪ ♪ 647 00:32:32,168 --> 00:32:34,501 {\an1}- A massive fight rages in the prison yard 648 00:32:34,626 --> 00:32:38,043 {\an1}at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. 649 00:32:38,168 --> 00:32:39,168 {\an1}Meanwhile, in the back corner, 650 00:32:39,251 --> 00:32:42,543 {\an1}James Earl Ray has just received a massive shock 651 00:32:42,668 --> 00:32:44,585 {\an1}from the prison's electric fence during his attempt 652 00:32:44,751 --> 00:32:48,376 {\an1}to escape via a metal pipe ladder. 653 00:32:48,543 --> 00:32:51,668 {\an1}His accomplices, Doug Shelton and Earl Hill, 654 00:32:51,793 --> 00:32:54,710 {\an1}check to see if he's still alive. 655 00:32:54,793 --> 00:32:57,043 {\an1}- When James took the ladder up for the first time 656 00:32:57,168 --> 00:32:59,543 {\an1}he hit that hot water, it knocked him down. 657 00:32:59,668 --> 00:33:01,501 {\an1}Meanwhile, Doug was checking on James 658 00:33:01,585 --> 00:33:04,668 {\an1}to make sure he's all right, he's telling Earl, 659 00:33:04,793 --> 00:33:08,710 {\an1}"Put the ladder back up. Put the ladder back up." 660 00:33:08,793 --> 00:33:11,168 {\an1}- Ray recovers from the shock and Hill 661 00:33:11,293 --> 00:33:12,793 {\an1}gets the ladder on the wall. 662 00:33:12,918 --> 00:33:15,376 {\an1}The circuit breaker has been tripped 663 00:33:15,501 --> 00:33:17,751 {\an1}and the barbed wire is no longer hot. 664 00:33:17,876 --> 00:33:20,460 {\an1}- James Earl Ray makes his way over the wall first, 665 00:33:20,585 --> 00:33:24,460 {\an1}followed by Doug Shelton and Earl Hill. 666 00:33:24,585 --> 00:33:26,043 {\an1}- Now, when he goes over the wall, 667 00:33:26,126 --> 00:33:27,876 {\an1}you've got about two, three-foot cushion 668 00:33:27,960 --> 00:33:31,918 {\an1}of dirt build up over the years that when you land, 669 00:33:32,043 --> 00:33:34,543 {\an1}you know, less impact on you. 670 00:33:34,668 --> 00:33:36,460 {\an1}- Other inmates see the ladder 671 00:33:36,585 --> 00:33:38,710 {\an1}and they seize the opportunity. 672 00:33:38,835 --> 00:33:42,501 {\an1}We have Larry Hacker, Donald Caylor, Jerry Ward. 673 00:33:42,585 --> 00:33:45,376 {\an1}David Lee Powell is working in the kitchen 674 00:33:45,460 --> 00:33:49,835 {\an1}and sees the action from the window and decides he wants in. 675 00:33:49,918 --> 00:33:53,710 {\an1}He starts running across the yard to make it to the ladder. 676 00:33:53,835 --> 00:33:55,835 {\an1}He's wearing a white kitchen uniform. 677 00:33:55,960 --> 00:33:58,543 {\an1}That catches a guard's eye and he turns 678 00:33:58,668 --> 00:34:01,835 {\an1}and takes aim at the ladder. David makes it over. 679 00:34:01,918 --> 00:34:03,543 {\an1}♪ ♪ 680 00:34:03,710 --> 00:34:05,001 {\an1}- Officer Hooks was in tower four, 681 00:34:05,126 --> 00:34:07,751 {\an1}and he was the failure that was reading the paper. 682 00:34:07,918 --> 00:34:11,126 {\an1}And the tower eight, we called it, was unoccupied 683 00:34:11,251 --> 00:34:13,501 {\an1}next to where they went over. 684 00:34:13,585 --> 00:34:15,043 {\an1}And the next tower around, the officer, 685 00:34:15,210 --> 00:34:18,585 {\an1}he'd seen it happening and he'd come out on his wall 686 00:34:18,710 --> 00:34:23,293 {\an1}and he shot across range, probably 60 yards 687 00:34:23,418 --> 00:34:24,501 {\an1}and hit the last one going over. 688 00:34:24,585 --> 00:34:27,335 {\an1}[gunshot] 689 00:34:27,418 --> 00:34:29,168 {\an1}- Jerry Ward is bringing up the rear. 690 00:34:29,293 --> 00:34:31,251 {\an1}He's shot off the ladder and lands 691 00:34:31,376 --> 00:34:32,668 {\an1}in the middle of the courtyard. 692 00:34:32,793 --> 00:34:34,543 {\an1}At this point, all the inmates are getting in on the act. 693 00:34:34,668 --> 00:34:36,001 {\an1}Everybody starts cheering, 694 00:34:36,085 --> 00:34:37,710 {\an1}"Over the wall, over the wall!" 695 00:34:37,876 --> 00:34:38,751 {\an1}which was apparently the popular cry 696 00:34:38,918 --> 00:34:40,960 {\an1}whenever anybody was trying to get out. 697 00:34:41,085 --> 00:34:42,418 {\an1}[gunshot] 698 00:34:42,543 --> 00:34:44,543 {\an1}- Even amidst the noise of gunfire 699 00:34:44,668 --> 00:34:47,835 {\an1}on the cheering crowd, Officer Floyd Hooks, 700 00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:53,668 {\an1}the guard in the tower closest to the escape, fails to act. 701 00:34:53,793 --> 00:34:56,793 {\an1}- Up here, you couldn't close your eyes. You just couldn't. 702 00:34:56,918 --> 00:34:59,710 {\an1}You just had to keep them open and that's why you were here. 703 00:34:59,835 --> 00:35:01,585 {\an1}You know, if you could go read a newspaper, 704 00:35:01,751 --> 00:35:03,376 {\an1}they wouldn't need you here. 705 00:35:03,543 --> 00:35:04,710 {\an1}The thing I've always wondered about 706 00:35:04,793 --> 00:35:08,626 {\an1}was why when the rifles started firing in tower three, 707 00:35:08,751 --> 00:35:12,376 {\an1}why in the God's name didn't he react to that? 708 00:35:12,543 --> 00:35:14,043 {\an1}If he'd reacted, he could have had a shot 709 00:35:14,210 --> 00:35:16,751 {\an1}at somebody on the other side of the wall behind him, 710 00:35:16,876 --> 00:35:18,668 {\an1}because they had to get down the wall. 711 00:35:18,793 --> 00:35:20,418 {\an1}Then they had to run a little bit 712 00:35:20,543 --> 00:35:21,835 {\an1}before they hit the mountain. 713 00:35:21,918 --> 00:35:24,710 {\an1}So I always wondered how in the world, 714 00:35:24,835 --> 00:35:27,918 {\an1}with all this going on without him getting shot off. 715 00:35:28,043 --> 00:35:31,960 {\an1}- Hook's own explanation for his inaction is laughable. 716 00:35:32,085 --> 00:35:34,626 {\an1}- He says that when James Earl Ray went over, 717 00:35:34,751 --> 00:35:36,460 {\an1}he raced to get his rifle and he fell, 718 00:35:36,585 --> 00:35:37,918 {\an1}hit his head on the door. 719 00:35:38,043 --> 00:35:39,835 {\an1}Closed the door on him, locked him in. 720 00:35:39,918 --> 00:35:41,418 {\an1}That don't sound right. 721 00:35:41,543 --> 00:35:43,585 {\an1}If I'm inside the guard tower, 722 00:35:43,710 --> 00:35:45,668 {\an1}I lock the door on me. I can't get out? 723 00:35:45,751 --> 00:35:47,751 {\an1}That don't make sense. I don't understand that. 724 00:35:47,918 --> 00:35:51,710 {\an1}- It's too late. The horses are already out of the barn. 725 00:35:51,835 --> 00:35:54,418 {\an1}- All hell broke loose here. [laughs] 726 00:35:54,543 --> 00:35:55,501 {\an1}But they went up mountain. 727 00:35:55,626 --> 00:35:57,001 {\an1}They crossed over, 728 00:35:57,126 --> 00:35:59,418 {\an1}but I don't think they really knew where they were headed. 729 00:35:59,543 --> 00:36:01,085 {\an1}They just got the hell out of here. 730 00:36:01,210 --> 00:36:08,043 {\an1}♪ ♪ 731 00:36:09,418 --> 00:36:13,626 {\an1}- As the sun begins to set, a total of six escapees 732 00:36:13,751 --> 00:36:14,960 {\an1}are fighting their way 733 00:36:15,085 --> 00:36:18,710 {\an1}through the rugged mountains of Eastern Tennessee. 734 00:36:18,835 --> 00:36:20,460 {\an1}The guards at Brushy Mountain 735 00:36:20,585 --> 00:36:23,293 {\an1}scramble to lock the prison down, 736 00:36:23,418 --> 00:36:25,460 {\an1}organize a manhunt, 737 00:36:25,585 --> 00:36:29,793 {\an1}and alert the townspeople. 738 00:36:29,918 --> 00:36:33,585 {\an1}- One of the things about Brushy Mountain is every day 739 00:36:33,710 --> 00:36:36,710 {\an1}at noon, a whistle blows. [whistle blows] 740 00:36:36,793 --> 00:36:38,668 {\an1}But if there is an escape, 741 00:36:38,751 --> 00:36:41,210 {\an1}the whistle is blown at that time, too. 742 00:36:41,293 --> 00:36:44,501 {\an1}And then it's according to how many people escaped. 743 00:36:44,585 --> 00:36:47,376 {\an1}[whistle blows six times] 744 00:36:47,460 --> 00:36:52,543 {\an1}♪ ♪ 745 00:36:52,710 --> 00:36:54,043 {\an1}So those whistles went up. 746 00:36:54,168 --> 00:36:56,418 {\an1}And so the guards and people in the community 747 00:36:56,543 --> 00:36:58,210 {\an1}know that something has happened. 748 00:36:58,335 --> 00:37:01,043 {\an1}Know that there's an escape or an escape attempt. 749 00:37:01,210 --> 00:37:03,626 {\an1}- I heard the whistle blow and I was eating supper 750 00:37:03,751 --> 00:37:06,543 {\an1}and I told my wife, I said, "God, listen to this." 751 00:37:06,710 --> 00:37:07,710 {\an1}And it just kept tootin'. 752 00:37:07,876 --> 00:37:11,668 {\an1}And then it just kept with the long blasts. 753 00:37:11,751 --> 00:37:13,626 {\an1}And I told my wife, I said, "Oh, my God, honey." 754 00:37:13,751 --> 00:37:15,001 {\an1}I said, "Half of 'em gone." 755 00:37:15,085 --> 00:37:18,293 {\an1}So I run back up here and this goes along with it. 756 00:37:18,418 --> 00:37:19,668 {\an1}Our telephone system went out. 757 00:37:19,751 --> 00:37:22,293 {\an1}♪ ♪ 758 00:37:22,418 --> 00:37:24,251 {\an1}- We have a small, simple phone system 759 00:37:24,376 --> 00:37:25,210 {\an1}here in the county. 760 00:37:25,293 --> 00:37:26,501 {\an1}And everybody calling the prison, 761 00:37:26,626 --> 00:37:29,835 {\an1}and it clogged all the systems up, and it just went dead. 762 00:37:29,918 --> 00:37:32,001 {\an1}And the governor trying to call in and people like that, 763 00:37:32,085 --> 00:37:34,876 {\an1}you know, of importance, they couldn't get in. 764 00:37:35,043 --> 00:37:37,835 {\an1}It got hectic for a while and it was just like a circus. 765 00:37:37,918 --> 00:37:39,335 {\an1}They probably running wide open 766 00:37:39,460 --> 00:37:40,876 {\an1}and not knowing which way to go. 767 00:37:41,001 --> 00:37:43,876 {\an1}- The scene at the prison is total chaos. 768 00:37:44,043 --> 00:37:45,710 {\an1}They're responsible for one of the most 769 00:37:45,835 --> 00:37:48,585 {\an1}infamous prisoners in America 770 00:37:48,751 --> 00:37:52,126 {\an1}and they just let them get away. 771 00:37:58,751 --> 00:38:01,251 {\an1}[dramatic music] 772 00:38:01,418 --> 00:38:04,168 {\an1}- James Earl Ray, along with five other inmates, 773 00:38:04,251 --> 00:38:08,835 {\an1}has just escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary. 774 00:38:08,918 --> 00:38:12,376 {\an1}As night falls, they go their separate ways. 775 00:38:12,501 --> 00:38:16,710 {\an1}Ray is alone in the harsh, snake-infested mountains, 776 00:38:16,793 --> 00:38:20,710 {\an1}trying to find his way to nearby Route 116. 777 00:38:20,876 --> 00:38:23,376 {\an1}- When James Earl Ray got out of Brushy Mountain, 778 00:38:23,501 --> 00:38:26,918 {\an1}he was expecting to find that survival kit 779 00:38:27,043 --> 00:38:28,835 {\an1}that Jerry had buried for him 780 00:38:28,918 --> 00:38:30,876 {\an1}at the cemetery by the highway. 781 00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:33,085 {\an1}However, he zigzagged into the woods 782 00:38:33,210 --> 00:38:34,918 {\an1}and actually got lost in the woods 783 00:38:35,085 --> 00:38:38,751 {\an1}and never got a chance to get that survival kit. 784 00:38:38,876 --> 00:38:41,835 {\an1}- Meanwhile, hundreds of law enforcement agents 785 00:38:41,960 --> 00:38:46,543 {\an1}from across the country descend on the area. 786 00:38:46,626 --> 00:38:48,876 {\an1}- You have FBI agents, 787 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:51,835 {\an1}the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, its agents, 788 00:38:51,960 --> 00:38:54,210 {\an1}the Tennessee Highway Patrol, 789 00:38:54,335 --> 00:38:57,876 {\an1}state troopers with local Sheriff's departments, 790 00:38:58,001 --> 00:39:02,918 {\an1}constables, prison guards and self-deputized posses 791 00:39:03,043 --> 00:39:04,376 {\an1}of everybody who lives within, 792 00:39:04,460 --> 00:39:08,085 {\an1}you know, miles of the prison and wants in on the action. 793 00:39:08,210 --> 00:39:13,293 {\an1}♪ ♪ 794 00:39:13,418 --> 00:39:16,376 {\an1}- This little community was turned upside down. 795 00:39:16,460 --> 00:39:18,960 {\an1}I mean, there's only 500 people that lives here. 796 00:39:19,085 --> 00:39:22,793 {\an1}And when you've got ABC, NBC, CBS, 797 00:39:22,918 --> 00:39:25,043 {\an1}every news agency in the country, 798 00:39:25,126 --> 00:39:27,501 {\an1}biggest thing to hit this place in a long time. 799 00:39:27,585 --> 00:39:30,168 {\an1}Sure was. 800 00:39:30,293 --> 00:39:32,585 {\an1}- Now, James Earl Ray's escape was a huge embarrassment. 801 00:39:32,751 --> 00:39:35,335 {\an1}The governor of Tennessee expressed embarrassment. 802 00:39:35,418 --> 00:39:37,876 {\an1}You have members of Congress demanding answers. 803 00:39:38,001 --> 00:39:39,710 {\an1}How could this possibly happen? 804 00:39:39,793 --> 00:39:44,835 {\an1}What's behind this? Why was nobody watching? 805 00:39:44,918 --> 00:39:48,293 {\an1}- One told me after, "We don't give a damn what you tell me. 806 00:39:48,418 --> 00:39:50,710 {\an1}You bastards turned him loose and we're gonna prove it." 807 00:39:50,835 --> 00:39:53,460 {\an1}Well, we didn't turn him loose. 808 00:39:53,585 --> 00:39:56,168 {\an1}One guy sat on his rear end and that's how he got away. 809 00:39:56,251 --> 00:39:57,668 {\an1}- [barking] 810 00:39:57,793 --> 00:40:01,043 {\an1}- But it's critical to everyone involved in this manhunt 811 00:40:01,210 --> 00:40:05,001 {\an1}that James Earl Ray be caught alive, if at all possible. 812 00:40:05,126 --> 00:40:08,376 {\an1}Nobody wants another Lee Harvey Oswald-type situation 813 00:40:08,543 --> 00:40:10,626 {\an1}where the only person who might know the truth 814 00:40:10,751 --> 00:40:11,543 {\an1}is killed. 815 00:40:11,710 --> 00:40:16,001 {\an1}♪ ♪ 816 00:40:18,501 --> 00:40:22,126 {\an1}♪ ♪ 817 00:40:22,251 --> 00:40:27,001 {\an1}- After 48 hours, four of the escapees have been caught, 818 00:40:27,085 --> 00:40:30,668 {\an1}but James Earl Ray is still on the loose. 819 00:40:30,751 --> 00:40:32,168 {\an1}- You know, that had to be miserable 820 00:40:32,251 --> 00:40:35,710 {\an1}'cause she had rocks, stumps, trees, thorn bushes, 821 00:40:35,793 --> 00:40:38,376 {\an1}and they didn't have nothing to eat, you dehydrate, 822 00:40:38,460 --> 00:40:41,085 {\an1}days without sleep, that drains your system. 823 00:40:41,251 --> 00:40:43,626 {\an1}- The FBI still searches in vain, 824 00:40:43,751 --> 00:40:48,876 {\an1}but the Brushy Mountain police dogs have picked up a scent. 825 00:40:49,001 --> 00:40:55,835 {\an1}♪ ♪ 826 00:40:55,960 --> 00:40:58,293 {\an1}- About 10:30 that night, 827 00:40:58,418 --> 00:41:01,668 {\an1}the dogs get a scent and they take off. 828 00:41:01,751 --> 00:41:04,251 {\an1}Takes them over the railroad, up the mountains, 829 00:41:04,376 --> 00:41:08,501 {\an1}through the woods, drags on for about three hours. 830 00:41:08,626 --> 00:41:14,835 {\an1}♪ ♪ 831 00:41:14,960 --> 00:41:16,418 {\an1}Around 2:00 a.m., 832 00:41:16,585 --> 00:41:20,501 {\an1}the dogs stopped and alert on a pile of leaves. 833 00:41:20,626 --> 00:41:24,043 {\an1}♪ ♪ 834 00:41:24,168 --> 00:41:29,918 {\an1}And under the pile of leaves... 835 00:41:30,043 --> 00:41:34,168 {\an1}is James Earl Ray. 836 00:41:34,293 --> 00:41:37,501 {\an1}He lies there as still as possible. 837 00:41:37,585 --> 00:41:40,876 {\an1}Try not to even breathe, but the dogs have found him 838 00:41:41,001 --> 00:41:44,001 {\an1}and he knows it ultimately. 839 00:41:44,085 --> 00:41:48,960 {\an1}One of the guards says, "Are you hurt?" 840 00:41:49,085 --> 00:41:52,626 {\an1}James Earl Ray says, "No, I'm okay." 841 00:41:52,751 --> 00:41:54,335 {\an1}He didn't resist. 842 00:41:54,418 --> 00:41:57,918 {\an1}He gave himself up once they found him. 843 00:41:58,043 --> 00:42:04,876 {\an1}♪ ♪ 844 00:42:05,043 --> 00:42:09,210 {\an1}- After 54 hours on the run, 845 00:42:09,335 --> 00:42:13,501 {\an1}James Earl Ray was brought back to Brushy Mountain. 846 00:42:13,626 --> 00:42:18,960 {\an1}A short while later, the last escapee is caught. 847 00:42:19,085 --> 00:42:21,585 {\an1}- If he had turned to the left, six miles, 848 00:42:21,751 --> 00:42:23,043 {\an1}he would have got away. 849 00:42:23,210 --> 00:42:25,043 {\an1}Because six miles is a highway 850 00:42:25,168 --> 00:42:26,876 {\an1}and they went the wrong way. 851 00:42:27,043 --> 00:42:29,168 {\an1}Now, the way that they went, 852 00:42:29,251 --> 00:42:33,126 {\an1}there was not another town or anything for 20 or 30 miles 853 00:42:33,251 --> 00:42:37,501 {\an1}and he only got six miles in a little over two days. 854 00:42:37,585 --> 00:42:39,543 {\an1}That's not a very far. 855 00:42:39,710 --> 00:42:41,918 {\an1}♪ ♪ 856 00:42:42,085 --> 00:42:44,168 {\an1}- James Earl Ray tried to escape 857 00:42:44,251 --> 00:42:47,918 {\an1}from Brushy Mountain again two years later, but was caught 858 00:42:48,043 --> 00:42:51,168 {\an1}before he could even get over the wall. 859 00:42:51,251 --> 00:42:53,918 {\an1}He spent the rest of his life behind bars. 860 00:42:54,043 --> 00:42:57,043 {\an1}He had always maintained his innocence. 861 00:42:57,126 --> 00:43:00,210 {\an1}In 1998, gravely ill with hepatitis, 862 00:43:00,335 --> 00:43:02,210 {\an1}Ray told a reporter, 863 00:43:02,335 --> 00:43:06,626 {\an1}"If they're waiting for a deathbed confession... 864 00:43:06,751 --> 00:43:08,168 {\an1}they can go to hell."