murder of James Byrd, Jr.

murder of James Byrd, Jr., killing of James Byrd, Jr., an African American man, on June 7, 1998, in the East Texas town of Jasper. Byrd was dragged to his death after being chained by the ankles to the back of a pickup truck by three white men—John William King, Lawrence Russell Brewer, and Shawn Allen Berry.

Byrd was born on May 2, 1949, in Beaumont, Texas, and raised in Jasper. In 1967 Byrd was in the last segregated class to graduate from Jasper’s J.H. Rowe High School before it was consolidated with Jasper High as part of a desegregation plan. He married in 1970 and had three children before divorcing in 1993. Between 1969 and 1996, Byrd was incarcerated several times for various offenses, including theft, forgery, and violation of parole. Byrd was well known around Jasper and could frequently be seen walking about town, as he did not own a car.

The killers

Berry, Brewer, and King all had spent time in prison for various convictions. Berry and King had been friends since high school and remained close. While in prison, King met Brewer, who had been in and out of prison since 1987. Just weeks before Byrd’s slaying, Brewer had come to Jasper and moved into King’s apartment. Brewer and King were both associated with a white supremacy group while in prison and came home covered with many racist tattoos. After the murder, investigators found a copy of the white supremacists’ manifesto The Turner Diaries and similar literature in King’s apartment, further indicating his connection with white supremacist groups.

The murder

On June 7, 1998, Byrd spent the day drinking and socializing with friends and family in Jasper, across town from his apartment. As he was walking home that Saturday, Berry, Brewer, and King offered him a ride, and he accepted. The three men had been driving around Jasper in Berry’s pickup truck for much of the evening, drinking beer and looking for young women. Witnesses reported seeing Byrd riding in the bed of a gray pickup with two or three men in the cab between 2:30 and 2:45 am. Berry later testified that he had stopped and given Byrd a ride. He said he didn’t know Byrd but had recognized him as somebody who frequently walked around Jasper.

Instead of taking Byrd home, Berry, Brewer, and King drove east out of Jasper and stopped at a small clearing in the woods. Investigators believe there was a fight in the clearing because of the upturned grass, disturbed dirt, and a broken beer bottle, which were consistent with signs of a struggle. In the clearing, the investigators also found several items that could have fallen out of a truck while someone was being pulled out or that could have been left during a struggle.

In the clearing, the three men beat Byrd, and Brewer sprayed Byrd’s face with black paint. After the beating, Byrd was chained by the ankles to the back of Berry’s pickup. The truck traveled along the dirt trail and turned onto the pavement of Huff Creek Road. Byrd was dragged roughly three miles (about five kilometres).

Investigators found Byrd’s personal items scattered along the dirt trail and pavement. His body apparently bounced into a ditch on the right side of the road, hitting the ragged edge of a concrete culvert (a roadside drainage ditch) just below the right arm. The impact severed the arm, shoulder, neck, and head from the rest of the body, which continued to be dragged for another mile. King, Berry, and Brewer then dumped James Byrd’s mutilated remains in the town’s segregated Black cemetery and went to a barbecue. It is not known how long Byrd was alive during the dragging, but Brewer claimed that Byrd’s throat had been slashed before he was dragged. Forensic evidence suggests that Byrd had been attempting to keep his head up, and an autopsy suggested that Byrd was alive for much of the dragging and died only after his head, shoulder, and right arm were severed when his body hit the culvert.

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State law enforcement officials and Jasper’s district attorney determined that, since King and Brewer were well-known white supremacists, the murder was classified as a hate crime. After three separate trials, all three men were found guilty of capital murder. Brewer and King were sentenced to death—they were executed in 2011 and 2019, respectively—and Berry received life in prison.