Forty-three years after the heinous lynching of the young African American teenager, Emmett Till, America witnessed again how racism is still extremely present in the American south and how it is the driving force of such brutality that claimed the life of James Byrd, Jr. Many were oblivious to the possibility that hate crimes, such as chaining an innocent man to the back of a truck and dragging him for miles was still a threat in the 21st century, but James Byrd, Jr.’s death proved otherwise. On June 7, 1998 in Jasper, Texas, 49-year-old James Byrd was walking home from his parent’s house when he accepted a ride from three white men, Shawn Berry, Lawrence Russell Brewer, and John King. Although Byrd and Berry were associates who knew each other from around the small town, Byrd was not acquainted with King or Brewer. James Byrd was unaware that both men were affiliated with white supremacists groups formed in prison. The three men did not end up taking Byrd home. Instead, they beat him relentlessly and chained his ankles to the back of a pickup truck. King drove the pickup truck for three miles, dragging Byrd’s body over the asphalt road. Many reports have claimed that Byrd was conscious throughout the entire ordeal, until he was decapitated. The three men drove for another mile or so before leaving Byrd’s torso in front of an African American church. After Byrd’s torso was discovered by church members the following morning, and the investigation began, it was reported that police found Byrd’s remains in 81 different places along that road.
All three men were tried and convicted for Byrd’s murder. Berry was sentenced to life in prison, while King and Brewer were given the death penalty. Brewer was killed by lethal injection on September 21, 2011. Prior to being executed, Brewer showed absolutely no remorse for his crime. “As far as any regrets, no, I have no regrets,” Brewer told KHOU 11 News in Houston. Despite the lack of remorse from Brewer, Byrd’s family members wanted to spare the lives of Brewer, King and Berry surprisingly. James Byrd’s son, Ross Byrd initially supported the death penalty for his father’s killers, until he had a change of heart, opposing all capital punishment. His decision was supported by the idea that violence cannot drive out violence. The amount family members of victims killed by hate-crimes driven by racism who oppose capital punishment has grown in recent years. One of the organizations that has been formed, Murder Victims’ Families For Reconciliation, stands on this guiding principle: “From experience, we know that revenge is not the answer. The answer lies in reducing violence, not causing more death. The answer lies in supporting those who grieve for their lost loved ones, not creating more grieving families. It is time we break the cycle of violence. To those who say society must take a life for a life, we say: ‘not in our name.’”
As a result of James Byrd’s death and the death of Matthew Shepard, another hate-crime that took place in 1998, President Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act in 2009. The law criminalizes violent acts (and attempts to commit violent acts undertaken with a dangerous weapon) when those acts occur because of the actual or perceived race, color, religion, or national origin of any person. —Jamari Devine
