How many times did James Earl Ray escape jail?

James Earl Ray escaped from jail twice. The first time, in 1967, James escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary by hiding in a truck that was transporting bread from the prison bakery.

His second escape on June 10, 1977, which was after he was convicted of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s murder, James (and six other fellow convicts) escaped from Brushy Mountain Penitentiary in Petros, Tennessee. James was captured three days later on June 13, 1977 and given another year of prison.