H. Res. 466

In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

June 11, 1998.

Resolved,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

The House of Representatives finds as follows:

(1) Mr. James Byrd, Jr., a 49-year-old disabled African American male from Jasper County, East Texas,

was last seen walking home from a niece’s bridal shower

on June 6, 1998, and allegedly was offered a ride by 3

young white men, who then proceeded to physically and

mercilessly beat Mr. Byrd in Jasper, Texas, then

chained him to the back of a pickup truck and dragged

him until the torso of his body was torn to pieces.

(2) Mr. James Byrd, Jr.’s body was found Sunday,

June 7, 1998, on a bumpy, winding country road about

10 miles from his Jasper home, at the end of a trail of

blood along a 2-mile stretch of road with his head, neck,

and right arm severed.

(3) Mr. Byrd was so brutally disfigured that his

head and torso were completely severed, with his head,
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neck, and right arm found about a mile away, and only

finger prints could be used to identify him.

(4) Mr. Lawrence Russell Brewer, 31, of Sulphur

Springs, Texas and Mr. Shawn Allen Berry, 23, and Mr.

John William King, 23, of Jasper, Texas, all of whom

have past criminal records and have served time in prison or were on probation, have been charged with murder

and are being held without bail.

(5) The police released an affidavit of probable

cause in which Mr. Berry said they had been out drinking and picked up Mr. Byrd as he walked down Martin

Luther King Drive in Jasper early Sunday.

(6) Mr. Berry said that he stopped at a convenience

store, but Mr. King was angry that he was giving a ride

to a black man, so he took over at the steering wheel

and drove to a remote area 7 miles outside of town,

where they killed Mr. Byrd.

(7) The 3 men were known to be members of various hate groups, including the Ku Klux Klan and the

Aryan Brotherhood.

(8) This was not a random act of violence, but a

senseless, hate-filled crime.

(9) The Federal Bureau of Investigation also is investigating to see if the 3 could be charged with violating

Mr. Byrd’s Federal civil rights.
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(10) One of the suspects allegedly said that they

wanted to ‘‘start the Turner Diaries early,’’ referring to

a novel about race war that is popular reading among

some hate groups and white supremacists.

(11) This incident is reminiscent of the brutal

slayings that occurred at the turn of the century and in

the 1920s and 1930s, with brutal hangings which

brought the National Association for the Advancement

of Colored People into existence and contributed to its

growth in its early days.

(12) This and similar incidents threaten the peaceful coexistence, security, and foundation of all communities.

SEC. 2. CONDEMNING THE KILLING OF JAMES BYRD, JR.

The House of Representatives—

(1) condemns the actions which occurred in Jasper,

Texas as unacceptable and outrageous, to be condemned

by all people of all races, creeds, and religions;

(2) pledges to do everything in its power, including

holding public hearings, to probe the underlying causes

of this brutal killing and to make sure that the United

States does not return to the days when such hatred,

brutality, violence, hangings, and murder were deemed

acceptable;
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(3) calls on the Federal Bureau of Investigation,

the Department of Justice, the White House, and all

other Federal law enforcement agencies to conduct an

immediate, full, and fair investigation into all of the

facts of the case to aggressively respond to this tragedy

with indictments, and urges the prosecution proceed aggressively with a fair but speedy trial;

(4) calls upon each Member of Congress and every

citizen of the United States, in his or her own way,

through his or her church, synagogue, mosque, workplace, or social organization, to join in denouncing and

getting others to denounce this outrageous murder of

another human being; and

(5) pledges to join in efforts to bring an end to racism and an end to the fear and hatred which underlie

it, and to encourage all Americans to dedicate themselves to ending racism and violence in the United

States.

Attest:

Clerk.