 james byrd, jr. (may 2, 1949 &ndash; june 7, 1998) was an african-american who was murdered by three men, of whom at least two were white supremacists, in jasper, texas, on june 7, 1998. shawn berry, lawrence russell brewer, and john king dragged byrd for three miles behind a pick-up truck along an asphalt road. byrd, who remained conscious throughout most of the ordeal, was killed when his body hit the edge of a culvert, severing his right arm and head. the murderers drove on for another mile before dumping his torso in front of an african-american cemetery in jasper. byrd's lynching-by-dragging gave impetus to passage of a texas hate crimes law. it later led to the federal matthew shepard and james byrd, jr. hate crimes prevention act, commonly known as the matthew shepard act, which passed on october 22, 2009, and which president barack obama signed into law on october 28, 2009.obama signs hate-crimes law rooted in crimes of 1998 (usa today, oct 28, 2009) lawrence russell brewer was executed by lethal injection for this crime by the state of texas on september 21, 2011.white supremacist lawrence russell brewer executed for dragging death (cbs news, september 22, 2011) king remains on texas' death row while appeals are pending,"king, john william." texas department of criminal justice. retrieved on january 5, 2010. while berry was sentenced to life imprisonment. ==victim== james byrd, jr. was born in beaumont, texas, one of nine children, to stella (1925 &ndash; october 7, 2010) and james byrd, sr. (born 1924).mother of james byrd, jr. dies (october 7, 2010) ===family=== ross byrd, the only son of james byrd, has been involved with murder victims' families for reconciliation, an organization that opposes capital punishment. he has campaigned to spare
1998_in_Texas 1998_murders_in_the_United_States African-American_history_of_Texas Capital_murder_cases Homicides_by_motor_vehicle Racially_motivated_violence_against_African_Americans