In June 1977, one of the most infamous prisoners in America briefly slipped through the bars of one of the nation's toughest prisons. The man was James Earl Ray—the convicted killer of Martin Luther King Jr.—and his escape sent shockwaves across the country.

Ray had been serving a 99-year sentence at Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary, a fortress-like facility tucked deep in the mountains of Tennessee and widely considered one of the most secure prisons in the United States. Yet on June 10, 1977, Ray and six other inmates managed to break out, launching one of the largest manhunts in Tennessee history.

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