One of the more heinous hate crimes in recent decades will have another milestone as a second killer is executed in Texas.
Jasper Texas was the site where James Byrd Jr. was dragged to death in 1998.
The town's past will be revisited this coming week, when the convicted ringleader in Byrd's slaying is scheduled to be executed. Local leaders insist Jasper is a welcoming place that punished Byrd's killers and will never forget what happened to him. But other townspeople, as well as members of Byrd's family, believe Jasper has never fully accepted the crime's place in its history. They say some tensions between the white and black communities remain unresolved.
In the early morning hours of June 7, 1998, three white men beat Byrd after offering him a ride. They then chained the 49-year-old to the back of a truck and dragged his body for nearly 3 miles along a secluded road in the piney woods outside Jasper. Byrd was alive for at least two miles before his body was ripped to pieces. Prosecutors said he was targeted because he was black.
John William King, 44, an avowed racist who orchestrated the attack, is slated to be put to death Wednesday. He will be the second man executed in the case. Lawrence Russell Brewer was executed in 2011. The third participant, Shawn Allen Berry, was sentenced to life in prison.
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