twenty-three), John William King (age twenty-four),
and Lawrence Russell Brewer (age thirty-one). The
three ex-convicts had been driving around in
Berry’s pickup truck, drinking and socializing. Un-
fortunately for Byrd, King and Brewer were white su-
premacists.
King was incensed that Berry offered a ride to an
African American. Berry later claimed that, as they
drove, King and Brewer schemed to harm Byrd. Af-
ter stopping at a secluded location, Byrd was beaten,
stripped, chained by his ankles to the back of the
truck, and dragged approximately three miles down
Huff Creek Road. He sustained horrific injuries, the
most shocking of which occurred when his head,
shoulder, and arm were shorn off by the edge of a
concrete culvert. The remainder of Byrd’s body was
dumped in the African American section of the seg-
regated Huff Creek Cemetery.
Byrd’s body was found later that morning by local
residents. As police investigated the death, they soon
realized that the incident was not a standard “hit and
run,” as first thought. Police were soon led to Berry
by evidence at the crime scene and an eyewitness
who saw Byrd riding in the bed of a gray truck. Un-
der questioning, Berry identified his companions
and claimed that they were responsible for Byrd’s
murder. All three were charged with kidnapping
and murder. In 1999, King and Brewer were found
guilty and sentenced to death. Berry received a life
sentence.
Impact The enormous media coverage generated
by James Byrd’s dragging death reminded Ameri-
cans that racism was alive and well at the end of the
twentieth century. Though a grisly hate crime had
occurred in the small town, the guilty verdicts
helped promote racial healing in Jasper, as did a
park created in Byrd’s memory. Additionally, the
fence that segregated Huff Creek Cemetery was dis-
mantled.
Byrd’s dragging death also triggered national out-
rage and condemnation. African American leaders
denounced the heinous crime. Lawmakers called
for additional legislation to deal with hate crimes.
Additionally, Byrd’s murder focused attention on
the pervasiveness of racial prison gangs. While in
prison, both King and Brewer joined white suprema-
cist gangs, allegedly to protect themselves from
other prisoners. They emerged from prison as fer-
vent racists.Subsequent Events Byrd’s murder compelled the
2001 passage of Texas’s James Byrd Hate Crimes Act.
His family also established the James Byrd Founda-
tion for Racial Healing. Two films were produced
about the event:Two Towns of Jasper(2002) andJasper,
Texas(2003).Further Reading
King, Joyce.Hate Crime: The Stor y of a Dragging in Jas-
per, Texas. New York: Pantheon Books, 2002.
Temple-Raston, Dina.A Death in Texas: A Stor y of
Race, Murder, and a Small Town’s Struggle for Re-
demption. New York: Henry Holt, 2002.
Beth A. MessnerSee also African Americans; Crime; Hate crimes;
Race relations.The Nineties in America Byrd murder case 139