Murder Victim. He was dragged to death in Jasper, Texas by three white men who were members of the "Confederate Knights-Ku Klux Klan". James Byrd was walking on the road on Huff Creek Road when the 3 white men picked him up and chained him to the back of the pickup truck. He was then dragged 3 miles until his body was mutilated and left near the gate of Jasper black cemeteries. His murder was reported all over the United States and other countries. Media coverage at the murder trial of the three men, Russell Brewer, John William King, and Shawn Berry, was extensive. All three were convicted of capital murder, with Berry receiving life in prison, and Brewer and King receiving the death penalty. Whitney Dow and Marco Williams made a documentary film "Two Towns of Jasper" which aired on PBS in January 2003. Author Joyce King published the work "Hate Crime: The Story of a Dragging in Jasper, Texas" about the case. James Byrd was buried near an old iron fence on the black side of Jasper City Cemetery. That fence, which separated the black and white graves for more than 150 years, was torn down in 1999. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in October 2009.
Murder Victim. He was dragged to death in Jasper, Texas by three white men who were members of the "Confederate Knights-Ku Klux Klan". James Byrd was walking on the road on Huff Creek Road when the 3 white men picked him up and chained him to the back of the pickup truck. He was then dragged 3 miles until his body was mutilated and left near the gate of Jasper black cemeteries. His murder was reported all over the United States and other countries. Media coverage at the murder trial of the three men, Russell Brewer, John William King, and Shawn Berry, was extensive. All three were convicted of capital murder, with Berry receiving life in prison, and Brewer and King receiving the death penalty. Whitney Dow and Marco Williams made a documentary film "Two Towns of Jasper" which aired on PBS in January 2003. Author Joyce King published the work "Hate Crime: The Story of a Dragging in Jasper, Texas" about the case. James Byrd was buried near an old iron fence on the black side of Jasper City Cemetery. That fence, which separated the black and white graves for more than 150 years, was torn down in 1999. The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama in October 2009.
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