how old was james byrd jr

Where was James Byrd Jr born?

Born on May 2, 1949, in Beaumont, Texas, James Byrd Jr. was the third among eight children born. His parents, Stella and James Byrd Sr., raised the family in an East Texas community called Jasper, and their lives revolved around church life.

What happened to James Byrd?

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

What is the James Byrd Jr Act?

In 2001, then Texas Governor Rick Perry signed the James Byrd Hate Crime Act into law. Byrd’s mother, Stella, was instrumental in ensuring the passage of the legislation. In 2009, the United States Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act which President Barack Obama signed the into law.

Who is Robert Byrd?

Born on May 2, 1949 in Beaumont, Texas to Stella and James Byrd, Sr., Byrd was one of eight children. He was raised in Jasper, an East Texas town with a history of racial strife. The Greater New Bethel Baptist Church was a central part of the family’s life. James, Sr., was a deacon and Stella taught Sunday School.

Is the movie Jasper Texas true?

Jasper, Texas is a 2003 American made-for-television drama film directed by Jeffrey W. Byrd. The teleplay by Jonathan Estrin is based on a true story and focuses on the aftermath of a crime in which three white men from the small town of Jasper, Texas, killed African American James Byrd Jr.

Where is Shawn Allen Berry?

As of 2020, Berry is living in protective custody at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Ramsey Unit, and will be first eligible for parole when he is 63 years old in June 2038.

Where is John William King buried?

According to prison officials, King's body will be cremated, and a friend or family member has up to 30 days to claim his remains. If that does not happen, his remains will be buried at the prison in Huntsville.

What is Jasper Texas best known for?

City of Jasper, Texas. Jasper, Texas is known far and wide as the "Jewel of the Forest". Mild winters, low cost of living, high quality of life, and abundant natural beauty make Jasper a great place to put down roots. Located in deep East Texas amid three beautiful lakes, Jasper is a caring community.

Where is James Byrd Jr buried?

Jasper City Cemetery, Jasper, TXJames Byrd, Jr. / Place of burial

Is Shawn Berry still alive?

As of 2020, Berry was living in protective custody at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Ramsey Unit, and will be first eligible for parole when he is 63 years old in June 2038.

When was William King executed?

April 24, 2019John William King / Date of death

When was the movie Jasper Texas made?

April 11, 2003Jasper, Texas / Initial release

What is the racial makeup of Jasper Texas?

Jasper Demographics Black or African American: 54.24% White: 42.73% Other race: 2.51% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 0.32%

What body of water runs through Jasper Texas?

Sam Rayburn Reservoir is located on the Angelina River, and its dam is located in Jasper County approximately 15 miles north of Jasper. The lake has a surface area of 114,500 acres, and a maximum depth of 80 feet.

What does Jasper stand for?

Jasper (given name)OriginWord/namePersianMeaningTreasurerOther namesRelated namesCaspar, Gasparo, Jesper, Jespa, Kacper1 more row

Where was James Byrd Jr. born?

Victim. James Byrd Jr. was born on May 2, 1949, in Jasper County, Texas, the third of nine children, to Stella Mae (1925–2010) and James Byrd Sr. (1924–2020). His mother was a Sunday School teacher and his father was a deacon at the Greater New Bethel Church.

Who killed James Byrd Jr?

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 supremacists in Jasper, Texas, on June 7, 1998. Shawn Berry, Lawrence Brewer, and John King dragged him for three miles (five kilometers) behind a pickup truck along an asphalt road.

How long did the Three Men drag Byrd to the truck?

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 three miles (five kilometers).

What were the traditions of the Byrd murder?

Numerous aspects of the Byrd murder echo 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 Center as an act of vicious racism and it also focused national attention on the prevalence of white supremacist prison gangs.

How many children did James Byrd have?

After graduating from high school, he married and had three children: Renee, Ross, and Jamie. He worked as a vacuum salesman. Ross Byrd, the only son of James Byrd Jr., has been involved with "Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation", an organization that opposes capital punishment.

Why did Bush not attend Byrd's funeral?

Bush 's presidential campaign in 2000. They accused Bush of implicit racism, since as governor of Texas, he opposed hate-crime legislation. 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 Rick Perry, who inherited the balance of Bush's unexpired term, the act became Texas state law in 2001. In 2009, the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act expanded the 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.

Who were the two teens arrested for desecrating James Byrd Jr.'s grave?

In May 2004, two white teens, Joshua Lee Talley and John Matthew Fowler, were arrested and charged with criminal mischief for desecrating James Byrd Jr.'s grave with racial slurs and profanities.

What was the significance of James Byrd's death?

Byrd’s death focused the nation’s attention on the continued prevalence of hate crimes in modern America. In 2001, then Texas Governor Rick Perry signed the James Byrd Hate Crime Act into law. Byrd’s mother, Stella, was instrumental in ensuring the passage of the legislation. In 2009, the United States Congress passed the Matthew Shepard ...

What did the police use to determine the identity of James Byrd?

Law enforcement agents used finger prints to determine Byrd’s identity. The gruesome nature of Byrd’s death captured national attention and demonstrated that racialized violence in America was not a relic of a Jim Crow past. Born on May 2, 1949 in Beaumont, Texas to Stella and James Byrd, Sr., Byrd was one of eight children.

When did Berry go to prison?

In 1999, Berry was sentenced to life in prison. Their sentences would mark the first time there had been a conviction that resulted in prison time for any individual who aided in the lynching of a black person in the state of Texas. King was executed by lethal injection in 2011.

Where was Byrd born?

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.

When was the murder of Byrd?

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, ...

What time did Byrd ride in the cab?

Witnesses report seeing Byrd riding in the bed of a gray pickup with two or three men in the cab between 2:30 and 2:45 a.m. 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.

Where was James Byrd's body dumped?

King, Berry, and Brewer then dumped James Byrd’s mutilated remains in the town’s segregated black cemetery and went to a barbecue.

Who were the three men who killed James Byrd?

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). John William King (foreground) and Lawrence Russell Brewer being escorted from the courthouse in Jasper, Texas, after being charged in the death of James Byrd, Jr., ...

Did Brewer and King go to jail?

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.

How old was James Byrd when he was in a pickup truck?

Twenty-one years ago, in the east Texas town of Jasper, 49-year-old James Byrd Jr. was walking home late on a Saturday night when three white men in a pickup truck pulled up beside him. The African American man was well-known and well-liked in the town of Jasper. And when the driver, Shawn Berry, offered to give Byrd a ride, Byrd hopped in — after all, he'd known the driver most of his life.

Who is James Byrd Jr's son?

Byrd's only son, Ross, has been active in opposing the death penalty for his father's killers, citing his Christian faith. And, as they did at Brewer's execution eight years ago, James Byrd Jr.'s sisters witnessed John William King's execution Wednesday evening. NPR thanks our sponsors. Become an NPR sponsor.

What happened to King and Byrd?

King was convicted for the dragging death of James Byrd Jr. in the summer of 1998. Pat Sullivan/AP. Instead of taking him home, they took him to a small clearing out in the woods. After offering him a drink, Brewer and King set upon Byrd, beating him, taunting him, urinating on him. They used a baseball bat.

Where was James Byrd Jr. killed?

A section of Huff Creek Road in Jasper, Texas, where James Byrd Jr., a black man, was dragged to death. John William King, the convicted ringleader in Byrd's death, was executed on Wednesday. A section of Huff Creek Road in Jasper, Texas, where James Byrd Jr., a black man, was dragged to death.

When did James Byrd Jr. walk home?

Amiable and disabled, James Byrd Jr. just happened to be walking home to his apartment that early Sunday morning on June 7, 1998.

Who killed James Byrd Jr.?

Convicted killer John William King is escorted from the Jasper County Courthouse in 1999 after being found guilty of capital murder in the dragging death of James Byrd Jr. King was executed Wednesday evening.#N#David J. Phillip/AP hide caption

Who was the dragging death of James Byrd Jr.?

It was a fatal mistake. James Byrd Sr. and his granddaughter Renee Mullins (right) react to the sentencing of John William King to death in Jasper, Texas. King was convicted for the dragging death of James Byrd Jr. in the summer of 1998.

When did James Byrd Jr. leave his hometown?

James Byrd Jr., 49, left a party in his hometown of Jasper, Texas, at around 2 a.m. on June 7, 1998, and began walking home down a dark rural road. Along the way, three young men passing by in a gray pick-up, one of whom Byrd Jr. recognized from around town, and let him hitch a ride in the back.

Who were the sisters of James Byrd Jr.?

Clara Taylor (L) and Mary Verrett (R) sisters of James Byrd Jr., listen as the verdict of guilty is read at the Jasper County Courthouse in Jasper, Texas 23 February, 1999. Jurors needed only two and a half hours to find John William King guilty of capital murder in the dragging death of Byrd. PAUL BUCK/AFP/Getty Image.

What is the Byrd Foundation?

that is more than the story of his murder, the family set up The Byrd Foundation for Racial Healing.

Where was the body of Byrd Jr. found?

Byrd Jr.'s chained remains were hauled further down the road and dumped in front of a black church, left to be discovered on Sunday morning. Police traced the rest of Byrd Jr.'s body back up the road and the dirt track. They began an investigation into a sadistic lynching that would change the law in America.

Who is the forensic pathologist who carried out the Byrd Jr. autopsy?

John William King displaying some of his many tattoos to the camera. Jasper County District Attorney's Office. Dr. Tommy Brown , a forensic pathologist who carried out the victim's autopsy, testified in harrowing detail about the extent of Byrd Jr.'s injuries.

Who were the three people who beat Byrd Jr.?

The trio were white supremacists. The ringleader King, 23, with his friends Shawn Berry, 23, and Lawrence Russell Brewer, 31, drove Byrd Jr. up a dirt logging road. They beat him and chained him to the back of the truck by his ankles.

Is Berry still on death row?

Two decades on death row. Berry is still in prison serving out his time for killing Byrd Jr. And King is still alive on death row, two decades after receiving his sentence, the execution delayed by appeals. He is scheduled to be executed on Wednesday.

Where is James Byrd Jr.?

The community, situated about 140 miles northeast of Houston near the Texas-Louisiana border, is trying to move on from its gruesome past. JASPER, Texas (AP) — A technology company was almost ready to bring up to 300 new jobs to Jasper, Texas, ...

Who is Louvon Byrd Harris?

In the years since the dragging, Byrd's relatives created . Louvon Byrd Harris, 61, another of Byrd's sisters, said her family still hopes to build a multicultural center and museum in Jasper to promote diversity and education.

Did Lewis propose a day to come together in honor of Byrd?

Lewis said he proposed an annual day to come together in honor of Byrd, but his idea was rejected. While a park was named for Byrd and where two of his killers were tried, nothing in Jasper memorializes the dragging death itself. Gatlin said Jasper has not minimized Byrd's death but "we've just tried to move on.".

Overview

Victim

Murder

Perpetrators

Reactions

See also

Further reading

External links