View source for Murder of James Byrd Jr.

{{Short description|1998 hate crime in Texas}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2023}}
{{Infobox person
| name               = James Byrd Jr.
| image              = JamesByrdJr..jpg
| caption            = 
| birth_date         = {{Birth date|1949|5|2}}
| birth_place        = [[Beaumont, Texas]], U.S.
| death_date         = {{Death date and age|1998|6|7|1949|5|2}}
| death_place        = [[Jasper, Texas]], U.S.
| death_cause        = [[Murder]] by [[Dragging death|dragging]]
| occupation         = Vacuum salesman
| children           = 3
| resting_place      = Jasper City Cemetery
}}
'''James Byrd Jr.''' (May 2, 1949 – June 7, 1998) was an [[African Americans|African-American]] man who was murdered by three men, two of whom were avowed [[White supremacy|white supremacists]], in [[Jasper, Texas]], on June 7, 1998. Shawn Berry, Lawrence Brewer, and John King [[Dragging death|dragged]] him for {{convert|3|mi|km|0|abbr=off|sp=us}} behind a Ford [[pickup truck]] along an asphalt road. Byrd, who remained conscious for much of his ordeal, was killed about halfway through the dragging when his body hit the edge of a [[culvert]], severing his right arm and head. The murderers drove on for another {{convert|1+1/2|mi|km|round=0.5|abbr=off|sp=us}} before dumping his [[torso]] in front of a black cemetery.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://edition.cnn.com/US/9807/06/dragging.death.02/|title=3 whites indicted in dragging death of black man in Texas|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=July 6, 1998|access-date=May 4, 2023|archive-date=October 21, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021185132/http://edition.cnn.com/US/9807/06/dragging.death.02/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=CNN2.22.99>{{cite news |work=[[CNN]] |url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9902/22/dragging.death.03/ |title=Closing arguments today in Texas dragging-death trial |date=February 22, 1999|access-date=May 4, 2023}}</ref>

Brewer and King are among the few white men to be executed for killing a black person in Texas since the death penalty was reinstated in the 1970s.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1999-03-03 |title=The Times from Shreveport, Louisiana |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/219368337/ |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Vigneault v. State |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/court-of-criminal-appeals/1980/64068-3.html |access-date=2025-06-26 |website=Justia Law |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|title=Texas Executes White Supremacist for 1998 Dragging Death of James Byrd Jr.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/us/james-byrd-jr-john-william-king.html|last=Robertson|first=Campbell|website=The New York Times|date=April 24, 2019|archive-url=https://archive.today/20220305164853/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/24/us/james-byrd-jr-john-william-king.html|archive-date=March 5, 2022}}</ref> In 2001, Byrd's [[lynching]]-by-dragging led the state of Texas to pass a [[hate crime]]s law, which later led the [[United States Congress]] to pass the [[Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act]] in 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2009/10/620000629/1|title=Obama signs hate-crimes law rooted in crimes of 1998|first=David|last=Jackson|work=[[USA Today]]|date=October 28, 2009}}</ref> Brewer was executed by [[lethal injection]] for his part in the murder on September 21, 2011.<ref name="cbsnews.com">{{cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/white-supremacist-lawrence-russell-brewer-executed-for-dragging-death/ |title=White supremacist Lawrence Russell Brewer executed for dragging death |work=[[CBS News]] |date=September 22, 2011}}</ref> King was executed by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in [[Huntsville, Texas]], on April 24, 2019.<ref name="tdcj.state.tx.us">{{cite web |url=http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/kingjohn.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110611200414/http://www.tdcj.state.tx.us/stat/kingjohn.htm|archive-date=June 11, 2011|title=King John William |website=[[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]|access-date=August 25, 2010}}</ref><ref name="keysDidPrison" /><ref name=":0">{{Cite news|title=Execution date set for John William King for the 1998 dragging death of James Byrd, Junior|last=Graves|first=Darrian|date=December 21, 2018 |work=[[KFDM]] News|url=http://kfdm.com/news/local/execution-date-set-for-john-william-king-for-the-1998-dragging-death-of-james-byrd-junior}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Texas executes white supremacist who dragged black man to death|publisher=[[CBS News]] |agency=[[Associated Press]] |date=April 24, 2019 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/john-william-king-execution-texas-man-executed-today-dragging-james-byrd-jr-to-death-hate-crime-2019-04-24/}}</ref> Berry was sentenced to [[life imprisonment]] and will be eligible for [[parole]] in 2038.<ref name="Teitz">{{cite news |last1=Teitz |first1=Liz |title=Byrd's family: Don't forget him |work=[[The Beaumont Enterprise]] |date=June 2, 2018 |url=https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Byrd-s-family-Don-t-forget-him-12965531.php}}</ref>

==Background==
James Byrd Jr. was born on May 2, 1949,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.adl.org/imagine-world-without-hate-james-byrd-jr|publisher=ADL|title=James Byrd Jr|accessdate=December 23, 2024}}</ref> in [[Beaumont, Texas]],<ref name="brit" /> the third of nine children, to Stella Mae Sharp and James Byrd Sr.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stewart |first1=Steve W. |title=James Byrd, Sr. has died at the age of 95 |url=https://www.kjas.com/news/local_news/article_173802a0-edfc-11ea-bf0b-2791677b309c.html |date=September 3, 2020 |work=[[KJAS (FM)|KJAS]] Radio |access-date=October 13, 2020}}</ref> His mother was a Sunday School teacher and his father was a [[deacon]] at the Greater New Bethel Church. Byrd graduated from Jasper Rowe High School in 1967, the last [[Segregation in the United States|segregated]] class. After graduating from high school, he married and had three children: Renee, Ross, and Jamie. Between 1969 and 1996, Byrd was incarcerated several times for various offenses, including theft, forgery, and violation of parole.<ref name="brit">{{Cite encyclopedia |date=2024-07-12 |title=Murder of James Byrd, Jr. {{!}} Crime, Trials, & Facts |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/murder-of-James-Byrd-Jr |access-date=2024-08-21 |first=Lorenzo M |last=Boyd}}</ref> He worked as a vacuum salesman.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.biography.com/crime-figure/james-byrd-jr |title=James Byrd Jr. |website=Biography.com |date=July 10, 2019 |access-date=June 7, 2020 |publisher=A&E Television Networks }}</ref><ref name=KFDM>{{cite news |title=Mother of James Byrd Jr. dies |work=[[KDFM]] News |date=October 10, 2010 |url=http://www.kfdm.com/articles/pain-39700-dies-praised.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 11, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110211160509/http://www.kfdm.com/articles/pain-39700-dies-praised.html}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Wikstrom |first=Elaine |date=October 7, 2010 |title=Stella Byrd, mother of Jasper dragging victim, dies at 85 |url=https://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/Stella-Byrd-mother-of-Jasper-dragging-victim-1700207.php |work=[[Houston Chronicle]] |agency=Beaumont Enterprise}}</ref> Byrd was a cousin of Dennetta Lyles King, who was [[Rodney King]]'s first wife and mother to his daughter Lora King.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://time.com/6153025/rodney-king-george-floyd-families/ |title=The Families of George Floyd and Rodney King Didn't Ask to Be Part of History—But They Know They Are |date=March 1, 2022 |magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] |first=Janell |last=Ross |access-date=November 25, 2022 }}</ref>

Ross Byrd, James Byrd's only son, has been involved with "Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation",<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mvfr.org/ |title=Home |website=Murder Victims Families of Reconciliation |access-date=October 24, 2016 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20020913033530/http://www.mvfr.org/ |archive-date=September 13, 2002 }}</ref> an organization that opposes [[capital punishment]]. He campaigned to spare the lives of those who murdered his father and appeared briefly in the documentary ''Deadline''.<ref>{{cite periodical |author=Jeralyn|title=Families of Murder Victims Opposed to Capital Punishment |url=http://www.talkleft.com/story/2002/07/05/175/14540|id=Death Penalty |magazine=Talk Left: The Politics of Crime |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604121841/http://www.talkleft.com/story/2002/07/05/175/14540/deathpenalty/Families-of-Murder-Victims-Opposed-to-Capital-Punishment|date=July 5, 2002}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/killing-time-07-05-2003/ |first=Rebecca |last=Leung |title=Killing Time |publisher=[[CBS News]] |date=May 7, 2003}}</ref>

==Murder==
On June 7, 1998, Byrd, age 49, accepted a ride from Shawn Berry (age 23), Lawrence Brewer (age 31), and John King (age 23). Berry, who was driving, was acquainted with Byrd from around town. Instead of taking Byrd home, the three men took Byrd to a remote county road out of town, beat him severely,<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.wacotrib.com/news/higher_education/baylor-researchers-continue-work-on-jasper-murder-as-another-chapter/article_40cb6b26-e50c-5159-b4eb-c214188e2a72.html |title=Baylor researchers continue work on 1998 Jasper murder as another chapter unfolds |date=April 23, 2019 |newspaper=Waco Tribune |first=Rhiannon |last=Saegert |access-date=June 26, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190424040133/https://wacotrib.com/news/higher_education/baylor-researchers-continue-work-on-jasper-murder-as-another-chapter/article_40cb6b26-e50c-5159-b4eb-c214188e2a72.html|archive-date=April 24, 2019|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}}</ref> and chained him by his ankles to their pickup truck before dragging him for about {{convert|3|mi|km|0|abbr=off|sp=us|spell=on}} on Huff Creek Road (County Road 278).<ref>{{cite court |litigants=John William King vs. 1st Judicial District Court of Texas |vol=WR-49,391-03 8869C |reporter=U.S. |date=2019 |url=https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/files/pdf/KingTCCATexasOppositionBrief2019-04-17.pdf }}</ref> Brewer later claimed that Byrd's throat had been slashed by Berry before he was dragged. However, forensic evidence suggests that Byrd had been attempting to keep his head up while being dragged, and an [[autopsy]] suggested that Byrd was alive during much of the dragging. Byrd died about halfway along the route of his dragging, when his right arm and head were severed as his body hit a [[culvert]].<ref name=CNN2.22.99/> While almost all of Byrd's ribs were fractured, his brain and skull were found intact, further suggesting that he maintained consciousness while he was being dragged.<ref name="RobinsonBaughman2016">{{cite book|author1=Paul H. Robinson|author2=Shima Baradaran Baughman|author3=Michael T. Cahill|title=Criminal Law: Case Studies and Controversies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QOffDgAAQBAJ&q=%22are+intact%22&pg=PT362|date=December 31, 2016|publisher=Wolters Kluwer|isbn=978-1-4548-8172-8|pages=362}}</ref>

Berry, Brewer, and King dumped the mutilated remains of Byrd's body in front of an African-American cemetery on Huff Creek Road, then drove off to a barbecue.<ref name=observer/> A motorist found Byrd's decapitated remains the following morning.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/jasper/trial021699.htm |title= First Trial Opens in Dragging Death |newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Paul |last=Duggan |date=February 16, 1999 |access-date=May 12, 2018 }}</ref> Along the area where Byrd was dragged, police found a wrench with "Berry" written on it. They also found a lighter that was inscribed with "Possum", which was King's prison nickname.<ref name=observer>{{cite news |url=http://www.texasobserver.org/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=275 |title=Justice in Jasper |access-date=May 22, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051227000441/http://www.texasobserver.org/showArticle.asp?ArticleID=275 |archive-date=December 27, 2005 |newspaper=[[Texas Observer]] |date=September 17, 1999}}</ref> The police found 81 places that included portions of Byrd's remains.<ref name=observer /><ref name=observer2>{{cite news |url=https://www.texasobserver.org/long-road-out-of-jasper/ |title=Long Road Out of Jasper: A Documentary Chronicles James Byrd Jr.'s Life and Tragic Death |date=July 25, 2013 |work=Texas Observer |first=Josh |last=Rosenblatt |access-date=June 30, 2020 }}</ref> Since Brewer and King were well-known [[white supremacists]], it was determined by state law enforcement officials that the murder was a [[hate crime]].<ref name="EB">{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/event/murder-of-James-Byrd-Jr |title=Murder of James Byrd, Jr. |last=Boyd |first=Lorenzo M. |encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica |access-date=May 14, 2018 }}</ref> They called upon the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] less than 24 hours after the discovery of Byrd's remains.<ref>{{Cite book|author=United States Congress|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qW-1NcIqJc8C&pg=PA4774|title=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the ... Congress|date=2012|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|language=en|page=4774}}</ref> The special agent in charge of the FBI's Houston office said that they were assisting because of the case's "extreme circumstances".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/jasper/charges061098.htm |newspaper=The Washington Post |first=Sue Anne |last=Pressley |date=June 10, 1998 |access-date=May 14, 2018 |title=Black Man Dragged to Death |quote=the bureau is assisting in the investigation because of 'the extreme circumstances' of the case }}</ref>

Berry, Brewer, and King were tried and convicted for Byrd's murder. Brewer and King received the [[Capital punishment|death penalty]], while Berry was sentenced to [[Life imprisonment|life in prison]]. Brewer was executed by lethal injection on September 21, 2011, and King was executed on April 24, 2019.<ref name="cbsnews.com"/><ref name="tdcj.state.tx.us"/><ref name="keysDidPrison"/><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/execution-date-set-for-jasper-man-convicted-in-1998-dragging-death-of-james-byrd-jr-this-spring/269-624576174 |work=[[KVUE (Texas)|KVUE]] News |title=Execution date set for Jasper man convicted in 1998 dragging death of James Byrd, Jr. this spring |date=December 22, 2018 |first=Eleanor |last=Skelton |access-date=December 30, 2018 }}</ref>

==Perpetrators==

===Shawn Berry===
During the trial of Shawn Allen Berry (born February 12, 1975), the prosecution conceded that he was not a white supremacist, but argued that he was just as responsible for Byrd's murder as the other men and suggested that he still might've been influenced by racism or perhaps been a [[Thrill killing|thrill killer]].{{blockquote|"Maybe some of what they were saying rubbed off on him. Maybe he was a thrill seeker... Maybe he wanted to play with a rattlesnake and see what happened."<ref>{{Cite news| title=Prosecutor: Third man took part in slaying |date=November 11, 1999 |newspaper=The Victoria Advocate |via=Google News Archive Search |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=861&dat=19991111&id=LNNHAAAAIBAJ&sjid=EYAMAAAAIBAJ&pg=899,4668167 |agency=Associated Press |access-date=April 5, 2022}}</ref>}}Berry's attorneys had three black men who knew him testify that he was not a racist.<ref>{{Cite news |date=November 16, 1999 |title=Accused Murderer Not Racist, Jury Told |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-nov-16-mn-34084-story.html |access-date=April 5, 2022 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Berry claimed that Brewer and King were almost entirely responsible for the crime. He said he tried to stop them from attacking Byrd until Brewer threatened to do the same to him.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Too Scared to Halt Dragging Death of Black, Suspect Testifies |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1999-11-17-9911170094-story.html |access-date=April 5, 2022 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=November 17, 1999 |language=en}}</ref> Brewer, however, testified that Berry had cut Byrd's throat before he was tied to the truck. The jury decided that minimal evidence supported this claim.<ref name="Texas NAACP">{{cite web|title=Jasper |website=Texas NAACP| url=http://www.texasnaacp.org/jasper.htm|access-date=June 19, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070430140528/http://www.texasnaacp.org/jasper.htm <!-- Bot retrieved archive -->|archive-date=April 30, 2007}}</ref> Berry had also cooperated with the police and was the only perpetrator to show any remorse.<ref>{{Cite news |newspaper=The Washington Post |title=Three Accused Tied to Hate Groups |access-date=April 5, 2022 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/national/longterm/hatecrimes/stories/accused061398.htm }}</ref> As a result, Berry was sentenced to life in prison rather than death. {{as of|2020|df=US}}, Berry is living in protective custody at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's [[Ramsey Unit]],<ref name="keysDidPrison">{{cite news |last1=Keys |first1=Perryn |title=[KILLERS TEMP] Jasper: The road back. Did prison time turn man into one of Byrd's killers? |url=https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/KILLERS-TEMP-755368.php |access-date=July 23, 2010 |work=Beaumont Enterprise |date=7 June 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230624041057/https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/KILLERS-TEMP-755368.php |archive-date=24 June 2023}}</ref> and he will be eligible for parole in June 2038, by which time he will be 63 years old.<ref>"[https://web.archive.org/web/20160105065900/http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=04693746 Berry, Shawn Allen]" ([http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=04693746 Archive] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160105065900/http://offender.tdcj.texas.gov/OffenderSearch/offenderDetail.action?sid=04693746 |date=January 5, 2016 }}). Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved December 28, 2015.</ref> He spends 23 hours per day in a cell measuring {{convert|8|by|6|ft|m|adj=off|abbr=off|sp=us}}, with one hour for exercise. Berry married Christie Marcontell by proxy.<ref>King, Joyce. ''Hate Crime: The Story of a Dragging in Jasper, Texas''. Random House, Inc., 2002. [https://archive.org/details/hatecrimestoryof00king/page/207 207]. Google Books, Retrieved November 3, 2010. {{ISBN|0-375-42132-7}}, {{ISBN|978-0-375-42132-7}}.</ref>

===Lawrence Brewer===
Lawrence Russell Brewer (March 13, 1967 – September 21, 2011) was a white supremacist who, prior to Byrd's murder, had served prison time for drug possession and [[burglary]]. He was paroled in 1991,but was reincarcerated three years later for breaching his parole conditions. During this incarceration, Brewer befriended King in the [[George Beto Unit|Beto Unit]]<ref name="keysDidPrison" /> and, according to his own court testimony, joined a white supremacist prison gang to protect himself from other inmates.<ref name="Court TV Online">{{cite web |website= Court TV Online |url=http://www.courttv.com/archive/trials/brewer/092199_pm_ctv.html |title=Jurors hear parents' tearful plea as they prepare to decide second Texas dragging defendant's fate |access-date=June 19, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081012021911/http://www.courttv.com/archive/trials/brewer/092199_pm_ctv.html |archive-date=October 12, 2008 }}</ref> A psychiatrist testified that Brewer did not appear repentant for his crimes. During the trial, the prosecution labeled him a "racist psychopath".<ref>{{Cite news |author=((CNN Wire Staff)) |date=September 21, 2011 |title=Man executed for dragging death of James Byrd |url=https://www.cnn.com/2011/09/21/justice/texas-dragging-death-execution/index.html |access-date=April 5, 2022 |work=CNN |language=en}}</ref> Brewer was ultimately convicted and sentenced to death.<ref>"[http://168.51.178.33/webapp/TDCJ/InmateDetails.jsp?sidnumber=03897953 Brewer, Lawrence Russell]{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}." [[Texas Department of Criminal Justice]]. Retrieved on January 5, 2010.</ref> He spent 12 years on death row at the Polunsky Unit<ref name="keysDidPrison"/> before being [[execution by lethal injection|executed by lethal injection]] in the [[Huntsville Unit]] on September 21, 2011.<ref>{{cite news |title=Lawrence Russell Brewer executed in 1998 dragging death |author=Heather Nolan and Jessica Lipscomb |url=http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Lawrence-Russell-Brewer-executed-in-1998-dragging-2182092.php |newspaper=Beaumont Enterprise |date=September 22, 2011 |access-date=September 22, 2011 |archive-date=September 24, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110924082925/http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Lawrence-Russell-Brewer-executed-in-1998-dragging-2182092.php |url-status=dead }}</ref> On the day before his execution, Brewer told [[KHOU (TV)|KHOU 11 News]]: "As far as any regrets, no, I have no regrets. No, I'd do it all over again, to tell you the truth."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/21/troy-davis-and-lawrence-b_n_974293.html|title=Troy Davis And Lawrence Brewer, A Tale Of Two Executions|first=Trymaine|last=Lee|date=September 21, 2011|newspaper=[[Huffington Post]]}}</ref>

Notably, Brewer requested a lavish [[last meal]] – two [[chicken fried steak|chicken-fried steak]]s, a triple-patty [[bacon cheeseburger]], a cheese [[omelette]], a bowl of fried [[okra]], a pound of barbecued meat, three [[fajita]]s, a [[Pizza Hut|meat-lover's pizza]], a pint of ice cream, a slab of peanut-butter fudge, and three root beers – but declined to eat any of it, citing a lack of appetite. In response to this, State Senator [[John Whitmire]] asked Texas prison officials to abolish the state's long-standing practice of granting personalized last meals to condemned inmates. Brad Livingston, the executive director of the prison agency, concurred with this request, stating that inmates facing execution would henceforth receive the same meal as other prisoners in their unit.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/23/us/texas-death-row-kitchen-cooks-its-last-last-meal.html|title=Texas Death Row Kitchen Cooks Its Last 'Last Meal'|newspaper=[[New York Times]]|date=September 22, 2011|author=MANNY FERNANDEZ}}</ref>

===John King===
John William "Bill"<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Clues-but-no-firm-answers-in-King-s-path-to-13783857.php|title=Clues, but no firm answers in King's path to infamy|last1=Batson|first1=Monique|last2=Whitney|first2=rea|date=April 21, 2019|work=Beaumont Enterprise|access-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref> King (November 3, 1974 – April 24, 2019) was Berry's longtime friend.<ref name="EB" /> He was accused of beating Byrd with a bat and then dragging him behind a pickup truck until he died. Recently released from a Texas prison prior to the murder, King alleged that he was [[prison rape|gang raped]] by Black inmates multiple times while incarcerated.<ref name="Prison Fellowship">{{cite web| title=Prison Rape – It's No Joke| url=http://www.justicefellowship.org/article.asp?ID=2695| access-date=February 9, 2007| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070315161553/http://www.justicefellowship.org/article.asp?ID=2695|website=Justice Fellowship |archive-date=March 15, 2007}}</ref> He was found guilty and sentenced to death for his role in Byrd's kidnapping and murder, and was on death row at the Polunsky Unit.<ref name="keysDidPrison"/>

King had several racist [[tattoo]]s, including a Black man hanging from a tree, [[Nazism|Nazi]] symbols, the words "[[Aryan race|Aryan]] Pride", and the insignia of a white supremacist prison gang known as the [[Prison gang#White prison gangs|Confederate Knights of America]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/US/9902/16/dragging.death.04/index.html |title=Texas sheriff 'knew somebody was murdered because he was black' |access-date=May 22, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060508212554/http://www.cnn.com/US/9902/16/dragging.death.04/index.html |archive-date=May 8, 2006 |publisher=CNN |date=February 16, 1999 }}</ref> In a jailhouse letter to Brewer that was intercepted by jail officials, King boasted of the crime's impact and his willingness to die for it, writing, "Regardless of the outcome of this, we have made history. Death before dishonor. ''[[Sieg Heil!]]''"<ref name=CNN2.22.99/> An officer investigating the case also testified that King referenced ''[[The Turner Diaries]]'', a notorious white supremacist novel, after beating Byrd.<ref>{{cite web|author=Time Waster |url=http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/jasper1.html |title=The Texas Dragging Death |date=July 2010 |website=The Smoking Gun |access-date=October 24, 2016}}</ref>

King was executed at the Huntsville Unit on April 24, 2019.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.straitstimes.com/world/united-states/us-white-supremacist-convicted-of-lynching-black-man-to-be-executed |work=[[The Straits Times]] |date=April 24, 2019 |title=US white supremacist convicted of killing black man to be executed }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_scheduled_executions.html|title=Death Row Information|website=Texas Department of Criminal Justice |publisher=Government of Texas |access-date=April 22, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/us/avowed-racist-executed-for-1998-dragging-death-of-black-man|title='Avowed racist' offers no last words before execution for dragging death of black man in Texas|first=Samuel|last=Chamberlain|date=April 24, 2019|work=Fox News|access-date=April 25, 2019}}</ref> His appeals to both the [[Texas Court of Criminal Appeals]] and the [[Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles]] were denied two days before.<ref>{{Cite web |last=McCullough |first=Jolie |date=April 22, 2019 |title=John William King ... is set for execution Wednesday. |url=https://twitter.com/jsmccullou/status/1120452012435542016 |access-date=April 23, 2019 |website=Twitter}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Batson |first=Monique |date=April 22, 2019 |title=Parole board: King should be executed as planned |url=https://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/article/Parole-Board-King-should-be-executed-as-planned-13786152.php |access-date=April 22, 2019 |work=Beaumont Enterprise}}</ref>

[[File:PolunskyUnitWestLivingstonTX.jpg|thumb|The condemned perpetrators were held at the [[Allan B. Polunsky Unit]].]]
[[File:HuntsvilleUnitHuntsvilleTX.jpg|thumb|[[Huntsville Unit]], where Brewer and King were executed]]

==Reactions==
Numerous aspects of the Byrd murder echo [[lynching in the United States|lynching traditions]] that were common in the post-Civil War south. These include [[mutilation]] or [[decapitation]] and revelry, such as a barbecue or a picnic, either during or after a lynching. Byrd's murder was strongly condemned by [[Jesse Jackson]] and the [[Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change|Martin Luther King Center]] as an act of vicious [[racism]]. It also focused national attention on the prevalence of [[White supremacy|white supremacist]] [[prison gang]]s.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=qAeESfBx_AgC&pg=PA198 You Can Issue It, But Can You Take It When It Comes Back to You?] by Maya Sanders, iUniverse, 2013, p.198</ref>

Three of Byrd's sisters are [[Jehovah's Witnesses]], and in a joint statement said: "Having a loved one tortured and lynched produced an unimaginable sense of loss and pain. How does one respond to such a brutal act? Retaliation, hateful speech, or promotion of hate-ridden propaganda never entered our mind. We thought: 'What would Jesus have done? How would he have responded?' The answer was crystal clear. His message would have been one of peace and hope."<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/2000601#h=26 |title=The Only Way to Eradicate Hate |magazine=[[The Watchtower]] |date=August 15, 2000 |page=5 |access-date=May 11, 2020 }}</ref>

The victim's family created the James Byrd Foundation for Racial Healing after his death. Basketball star [[Dennis Rodman]] paid their funeral expenses and gave Byrd's family $25,000. Fight promoter [[Don King (boxing promoter)|Don King]] gave Byrd's children $100,000 to be put towards their educational expenses.<ref name="Robinson2005">{{cite book|author=Paul H. Robinson|title=Criminal Law: Case Studies & Controversies|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7XlHAQAAIAAJ&q=Dennis+Rodman+pays&pg=PT1176|year=2005|publisher=Aspen Publishers|isbn=978-0-7355-5075-9|page=1176}}</ref> On the 25th anniversary of Byrd's death, family members reflected in a 2023 interview for the ''Texas Tribune'' that fundraising for the foundation had become much harder as knowledge of Byrd's murder fades; one sister reflected that there was less awareness amongst the public of hatred in the community: "People don't want to fund it because they think there's no hate in the world", she was quoted as saying.<ref name="tex trib 2023"/> A reporter visiting Jasper in 2018 noted that several residents denied Byrd's death had any relation to racism or hate crimes. Writing for the ''[[Pacific Standard]]'' magazine, John Savage said:<ref>{{cite news |last1=Savage |first1=John |title=The Shocking Legacy of America's Worst Modern-Day Lynching |url=https://psmag.com/social-justice/the-shocking-legacy-of-americas-worst-modern-day-lynching |access-date=24 June 2023 |work=Pacific Standard |date=8 June 2018 |language=en}}</ref> {{blockquote|... a dozen white residents have told me that racial hatred wasn't the principal motivation of Byrd's killers. Most of them say the murder was simply the result of a drug deal gone wrong. King's lawyer made the same argument to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals{{nbsp}}...}}

On October 7, 1998, an episode of ''[[Law & Order]]'' titled "DWB" (driving while black) referenced the murder within the plot.<ref name=":1">{{cite journal |last1=Quinn |first1=Laura |title=The Politics of Law and Order |journal=The Journal of American Culture |date=March 2002 |volume=25 |issue=1–2 |pages=130–133 |doi=10.1111/1542-734X.00020}}</ref> Instead of three white supremacists, however, the killers were three white New York City police officers.<ref name=":1" /> As the plot goes, the officers stop and arrest a black man for no reason, and then proceed to drag him to his death, after tying him to the car.<ref name=":1" />

In 1999, the documentary ''Journey to a Hate Free Millennium'' was released, showcasing three United States hate crimes: the [[Columbine High School massacre|shootings at Columbine High School]]; the death of a gay student, [[Matthew Shepard]]; and the murder of Byrd.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Rooney |first1=David |title=Journey to a Hate-Free Millennium |id=Review |url=https://variety.com/2000/film/reviews/journey-to-a-hate-free-millennium-1200462424/ |access-date=24 June 2023 |work=Variety |date=8 May 2000}}</ref> The same year, the city of Jasper named a local park the "James Byrd Jr. Memorial Park" in his honor.<ref name="tex trib 2023"/>

In 2003, a movie about the crime, titled ''[[Jasper, Texas (film)|Jasper, Texas]]'', was produced and aired on [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]]. The same year, a documentary titled ''Two Towns of Jasper'', made by filmmakers [[Marco Williams]] and [[Whitney Dow]], premiered on [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]]'s ''[[P.O.V.]]'' series.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/pov/ |title=POV – Acclaimed Point-of-View Documentary Films |website=PBS |access-date=October 24, 2016}}</ref>

While employed as a radio DJ at station [[WIAD|WARW]] in Washington, DC, [[Doug Tracht]] (also known as the "Greaseman") made a derogatory comment referring to Byrd after playing [[Lauryn Hill]]'s song "[[Doo Wop (That Thing)]]".<ref>"The Reliable Source" Annie Groer, Ann Gerhart. ''[[The Washington Post]]''. Washington, D.C.: March 18, 1999. pg. C.03</ref> The February 1999 incident proved catastrophic to Tracht's radio career, igniting protests from black and white listeners alike. He was quickly fired from WARW and lost his position as a volunteer deputy sheriff in [[Falls Church, Virginia]].<ref>{{Cite news|last=Ahrens|first=Frank|date=February 26, 1999|title='Greaseman' Fired After Protests Over Remark|language=en-US|newspaper=The Washington Post|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1999/02/26/greaseman-fired-after-protests-over-remark/c29fd389-b0b8-4704-b9e3-24fab6307fbb/|access-date=November 5, 2020|issn=0190-8286}}</ref>

In May 2004, two white teens, Joshua Lee Talley and John Matthew Fowler, were arrested and charged with criminal mischief for desecrating Byrd's grave with racial slurs and profanities.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/State-briefs-White-teens-charged-in-grave-1977172.php |title=State briefs: White teens charged in grave desecration|work= Houston Chronicle  |date=May 12, 2004 |access-date=October 24, 2016}}</ref> According to a 2023 report in the ''Texas Tribune'', Byrd's grave has been desecrated on at least one other occasion; as a result of the desecrations, his family had a gated iron-railing enclosure placed around it.<ref name="tex trib 2023">{{cite news |last1=Salhotra |first1=Pooja |last2=Hernández |first2=Jinitzail |title=25 years after James Byrd Jr. was killed for being Black, his loved ones question how much has changed in Texas |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/07/james-byrd-death-texas-hate-crime-racism/ |access-date=24 June 2023 |work=The Texas Tribune |date=7 June 2023 |language=en}}</ref>

===Effect on US politics===
Some advocacy groups, such as the [[NAACP]] National Voter Fund, made an issue of this case during [[George W. Bush]]'s presidential campaign in 2000. They accused Bush of implicit racism, since as governor of Texas, he opposed [[hate-crime]] legislation. Bush, who also opposed federal hate crime laws after becoming president, insisted that "all crimes are hate crimes."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hernández |first=By Pooja Salhotra and Jinitzail |date=2023-06-07 |title=Watch: 25 years after James Byrd Jr. was killed for being Black, his loved ones question how much has changed in Texas |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2023/06/07/james-byrd-death-texas-hate-crime-racism/ |access-date=2025-06-12 |website=The Texas Tribune |language=en}}</ref> Also, citing a prior commitment, Bush did not appear at Byrd's funeral. Because two of the three murderers were sentenced to death and the third murderer was sentenced to life in prison (all three of them were charged with and convicted of capital murder, the highest felony level in Texas), Governor Bush maintained, "we don't need ''tougher'' laws". The 77th Texas Legislature passed the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act. With the signature of [[Governor of Texas|Governor]] [[Rick Perry]], who inherited the balance of Bush's unexpired term, the act became Texas state law in 2001.<ref>{{cite news |title= Texas governor signs into law hate-crimes bill |agency= [[Associated Press]] |newspaper= The Deseret News |date= May 11, 2001 |page= A2}}</ref> In 2009, the [[Matthew Shepard Act|Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act]] expanded the [[Hate crimes in the United States#Federal|1969 United States federal hate-crime law]] to include crimes which are motivated by a victim's actual or perceived [[gender]], [[sexual orientation]], [[gender identity]], or [[disability]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/politics/obama-signs-defense-policy-bill-that-includes-hate-crime-legislation/ |title=Obama Signs Defense Policy Bill That Includes 'Hate Crime' Legislation |work=FoxNews.com |access-date=October 24, 2016 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091030123045/http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/10/28/obama-signs-billion-defense-policy/ |archive-date=October 30, 2009 }}</ref>

===Musical and poetry tributes===
On the 2001 album ''[[Pieces of Me (Lori McKenna album)|Pieces of Me]]'' by singer-songwriter [[Lori McKenna]], the song "Pink Sweater" is dedicated to Byrd;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.netrhythms.co.uk/reviewsm.html#lori |title=Lori McKenna – Pieces of Me (Acoustic Roots) |first=Mike |last=Davies |website=NetRhythms |quote=Pink Sweater, a song dedicated to James Byrd |access-date=May 14, 2018 }}</ref> it condemns his murderers and references their death-penalty convictions with the raucous refrain, "I'll be the one in the pink sweater, dancing around when you're gone." In 2010, Alabama musician [[Matthew Mayfield]] wrote, recorded, and released a song in Byrd's honor. The tune, titled "Still Alive", is the fourth track on Mayfield's EP ''You're Not Home''. "Still Alive" clearly related a stark bitterness towards [[racism]] and equated such hate crimes with [[genocide]]. "Tell Me Why", featuring [[Mary J. Blige]], mentions Byrd on [[Will Smith]]'s fourth album, ''[[Lost and Found (Will Smith album)|Lost and Found]]''.<ref name="Houston Press">{{Cite news |url=http://www.houstonpress.com/music/a-james-byrd-jr-memorial-playlist-6504651 |title=A James Byrd Jr. Memorial Playlist |last=Rouner |first=Jef |date=June 7, 2013 |work=Houston Press |access-date=June 5, 2018 }}</ref> Byrd's son Ross recorded the rap album ''Undeniable Resurrection'' and dedicated it to his father.<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news/byrd-on-a-wire/article_16312620-ee08-502c-9d01-16faefff6cf2.html |title=Byrd on a Wire |last=Sachdev |first=Gian |date=February 19, 2003 |work=Philadelphia Weekly |access-date=June 5, 2018 |language=en |archive-date=November 5, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105215417/https://philadelphiaweekly.com/news/byrd-on-a-wire/article_16312620-ee08-502c-9d01-16faefff6cf2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

"Jasper", by [[Confrontation Camp]], is the fifth track on the album ''[[Objects in the Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear (Confrontation Camp album)|Objects in the Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear]]'' (2000).<ref>{{AllMusic |class=album |id=mw0000069206 |title=Objects in the Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear |access-date=June 5, 2018}}</ref> "Guitar Drag" by sound artist [[Christian Marclay]] is a video- and sound-installation about the murder of James Byrd, in which a guitar was hooked to the back of a truck and dragged down a road, producing feedback and noise.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://glasstire.com/2015/06/30/notes-on-christian-marclays-guitar-drag/ |title=Notes on Christian Marclay's "Guitar Drag" |last=Rees |first=Christina |date=June 30, 2015 |website=Glasstire |language=en-US |access-date=June 5, 2018 }}</ref> "I Heard 'Em Say" by [[Ryan Bingham]] is about Byrd's murder and the racially charged climate around Jasper following the crime (2012).<ref name="Houston Press"/>

Byrd's murder is the subject of [[Lucille Clifton]]'s poem "jasper texas 1998".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/49491/jasper-texas-1998 |title=jasper texas 1998|website=Poetry Foundation | access-date=January 30, 2019}}</ref>

The [[Geto Boys]] track "Eye 4 An Eye" from ''[[Da Good da Bad & da Ugly]]'' refers to Byrd's manner of death in its second verse.

The story of Byrd's murder, and that of [[Matthew Shepard]], are told in a verse of the song "Trouble the Waters" by [[Big Country]] on their album ''[[Driving to Damascus]]'' (named ''[[John Wayne's Dream]]'' in its US release).{{citation needed|date=May 2020}}

Byrd's murder is depicted in [[Nia DaCosta]]'s 2021 film ''[[Candyman (2021 film)|Candyman]]'', featuring him resurrected as one of the souls trapped in the [[Candyman (character)|Candyman]] "hive": in his Candyman form, with his skull exposed, Byrd uses the hook and cables involved in his murder to kill his murderers, ascending into legend. Depicted in the film's [[mid-credits scene]] in the form of [[Shadow play|shadow puppetry]], Byrd's murder was previously featured in DaCosta's 2020 [[Candyman (short film)|promotional short film of the same name]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Dessem|first=Matthew|date=June 18, 2020|url=https://slate.com/culture/2020/06/candyman-trailer-animated-shadow-puppets-nia-dacosta-jordan-peele-manual-cinema.html|title=This Haunting Short Film About Real-Life Racist Killings Is Also a Trailer for ''Candyman''|website=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]]|access-date=June 18, 2020}}</ref> Before that, the murder had been depicted in the film ''[[Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV]]'' which was filmed a year after the murder.

[[Andrea Gibson]] makes multiple references to James Byrd Jr.'s murder in their poem ''Letter to White Queers''. The absence of a major reaction to Byrd's murder, along with other instances of [[Anti-Black racism|anti-black racism]], among queer, [[white Americans]] is contrasted with the response to Shephard's killing.

== See also ==
{{columns-list |colwidth=30em |
* [[Domestic terrorism in the United States]]
* [[Hate crime laws in the United States]]
* [[List of lynching victims in the United States]]
* [[List of people executed in Texas, 2010–2019]]
* [[List of white defendants executed for killing a black victim]]
* [[Race and capital punishment in the United States]]
* [[Racism against African Americans]]
}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
<!-- Reverse/ascending chronological order! -->
* {{cite news |last1=Smith |first1=Jordan Michael |title=When is a lynching a lynching? |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/oct/25/lynching-michael-williams-iowa-police-prosecutors |work=The Guardian |date=25 October 2022|id=[Supported by the Pulitzer Center]}} Analysis of the 2020 murder of Michael Ronnell Williams in Iowa and the authorities' rejection of it as racially motivated. James Byrd Jr. was a cousin of Williams and his father, James Byrd-Williams Sr.
* {{cite news |last1=Croucher |first1=Shane |title=James Byrd Jr. Killer Faces Imminent Execution |url=https://www.newsweek.com/james-byrd-jr-lynching-texas-death-row-execution-1394474 |work=Newsweek |date=20 April 2019 |language=en}} Includes information about hate crime reporting and political attitudes
* {{cite news
|title=In Texas, a Decades-Old Hate Crime, Forgiven but Never Forgotten
|first=Audra D. S.
|last=Burch
|date=July 9, 2018
|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]
|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/09/us/james-byrd-jasper-texas-killing.html}}
* Ainslie, Ricardo. ''Long Dark Road: Bill King and Murder in Jasper, Texas''. [[University of Texas]] Press, 2004.
* King, Joyce. ''Hate Crime: The Story of a Dragging in Jasper, Texas''. Pantheon, 2002.
* Temple-Raston, Dina. ''A Death in Texas: A Story of Race, Murder, and Small Town's Struggle for Redemption''. Henry Holt and Co., January 6, 2002.

==External links==
* [http://www.lizardproductions.com/RememberHisName.html Remember His Name – From Hate To Healing: The Long Road Home] documentary in production by Lizard Productions
* {{Find a Grave|7105192|James Byrd Jr.}}
* {{IMDb title|id=0335185|title=Jasper, Texas}} – television movie
* [http://www.gwu.edu/~action/ads2/adnaacp.html NAACP National Voter Fund – Campaign ads 2000]

{{Jasper, Texas}}
{{Lynching in the United States}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Interwiki extra|qid=Q2825816}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Byrd Jr., James}}
[[Category:1998 in Texas]]
[[Category:1998 murders in the United States]]
[[Category:African-American history of Texas]]
[[Category:Capital murder cases]]
[[Category:Deaths by decapitation]]
[[Category:Deaths by person in Texas]]
[[Category:Jasper County, Texas]]
[[Category:June 1998 crimes in the United States]]
[[Category:Lynching deaths in Texas]]
[[Category:Murders by motor vehicle]]
[[Category:Neo-Nazism in the United States]]
[[Category:Presidency of Bill Clinton]]
[[Category:Racially motivated violence against African Americans in Texas]]
[[Category:Violence against men in the United States]]
[[Category:White nationalism in Texas]]
[[Category:African-American lynching victims]]