20 Of History's Greatest Villains Who Got What Was Coming To Them

After an assassin pulls the trigger, their name gets plastered across every headline across the world. We discuss their motives and dive into conspiracies, but once the cuffs are on, they tend to fade from the public consciousness. You can find each of these killers' names in the history books, but their ultimate fate has typically been left to our imagination — but not anymore. When the gun smoke cleared, these assassins faced serious consequences.

Lee Harvey Oswald

A former U.S. marine, Oswald was the man who assassinated John F. Kennedy, and prior to settling in Dallas where the murder took place, he'd defected to Russia. He was murdered while being transferred between jails in Dallas by Jack Ruby, who, in turn, was sentenced to life in prison.

Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme

On September 5, 1975, Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme pointed a gun at President Gerald Ford. She was tackled before pulling the trigger and sentenced to life in a West Virginia prison. In 2009, she was released on parole. We're not sure who to blame for this one: the shooter herself, or Charles Manson, the cult leader who inspired her.

Claus Schenk Graf von Stauffenberg

This man initiated one of the few attempts at Hitler's life. He placed an exploding briefcase strategically near his target, but after leaving the room, someone moved the bomb. When it blew up, Hitler was out of range. Claus (left), on the other hand, was then killed by a firing squad.

James Earl Ray

After firing the shot that took the life of Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968, James Earl Ray escaped the scene. Two months later, he was found in London and taken back to America, where he pled guilty to avoid a trial by jury and death sentence. He was given life in prison and died of kidney failure in 1998.