It's 9 a.m. on August 7, 1959, in Alton, Missouri. Petty Crook in his early 30s

drives down the road in his blue 1950 Buick. He eyes the pistol resting in the passenger seat.

He's on his way to rob a grocery store. This crook has already served time for a series of crimes. He knows if he gets caught

again, he could go to prison for decades, but he's willing to take the risk. He pulls the

Buick into the grocery store parking lot and kills the engine. He wipes the sweat from his hands, grabs his pistol, and steps out of the car.

He slams the door behind him and makes a beeline for the store.

Once inside, he marches directly to the cash register.

Crook points his gun at a terrified cashier and demands all the money in the till.

The cashier's hands trem the money in the till.

Cashier's hands tremble as he opens the register, pulls out a stack of bills.

Crook grabs the cash and runs for the door.

Back in the parking lot, he slides into the viewing.

He tosses the gun and the money onto the passenger seat.

He fires up the engine, peels out of the parking lot, barrels down the road. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he smiles as the grocery store fades into the distance behind him.

This small-time crook, James Earl Ray, first turned to a life of crime after the United States

Army discharged him from his post in Germany in 1948.

When James returned home, he struggled to find legitimate work and was riddled with financial

problems. According to some people close to him, James blamed minority groups for his woes.

But after holding up the grocery store, James' problems got worse. A witness placed James at the scene of the

crime. Police tracked him down and arrested James for armed robbery. A repeat offender, he was

sentenced to 20 years in prison. That sentence will send James down a path that will eventually

have him committing an infamous crime that will leave an indelible scar on America.

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