Murder of James Byrd Jr.

James Byrd Jr. (May 2, 1949 – June 7, 1998) was an African American man who was murdered by three white men, two of whom were avowed white supremacists, in Jasper, Texas, on June 7, 1998.

Shawn Berry, Lawrence Brewer, and John King dragged him for 3 mi 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 1+1/2 mi before dumping his torso in front of a Black church.

Brewer and King were the first white men to be sentenced to death for killing a Black person in the history of modern Texas.

James Byrd Jr. was born on May 2, 1949, in Jasper County, Texas, the third of nine children, to Stella Mae Sharp (1925–2010) and James Byrd Sr. (1925–2020).

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 segregated class.

After graduating from high school, he married and had three children: Renee, Ross, and Jamie.

He worked as a vacuum salesman.

James Byrd Jr. was a cousin of Dennetta Lyles King who was Rodney King's first wife and mother to his daughter Lora King.

Ross Byrd, the only son of James Byrd Jr., has been involved with "Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation", 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.

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, spray-painted his face, urinated and defecated on him, and chained him by his ankles to their pickup truck before dragging him for about 3 mi on Huff Creek Road (County Road 278).

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.

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.

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.

A motorist found Byrd's decapitated remains the following morning.

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.

The police found 81 places that included portions of Byrd's remains.

Since Brewer and King were well-known white supremacists, it was determined by state law enforcement officials that the murder was a hate crime.

They called upon the Federal Bureau of Investigation less than 24 hours after the discovery of Byrd's remains.

The special agent in charge of the FBI's Houston office said that they were assisting because of the case's "extreme circumstances".

King had several racist tattoos: a black man hanging from a tree, Nazi symbols, the words "Aryan Pride", and the patch for a gang of white supremacist inmates known as the Confederate Knights of America.

In a jailhouse letter to Brewer that was intercepted by jail officials, King expressed pride in the crime and said that he realized while committing the murder that he might have to die.

"Regardless of the outcome of this, we have made history. Death before dishonor. Sieg Heil!"

King wrote.

An officer investigating the case also testified that witnesses said that King had referenced The Turner Diaries after beating Byrd.

Berry, Brewer, and King were tried and convicted for Byrd's murder.

Brewer and King received the death penalty, while Berry was sentenced to life in prison.

In 2001, Byrd's lynching-by-dragging led the state of Texas to pass a hate crimes law, which later led the United States Congress to pass the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009.

Brewer was executed by lethal injection for his part in the murder on September 21, 2011.

Brewer was executed by lethal injection on September 21, 2011, and King was executed on April 24, 2019.

King was executed by lethal injection at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas, on April 24, 2019.

Berry was sentenced to life imprisonment and will be eligible for parole in 2038.