It is here that a white man is on trial for allegedly chaining a black man to the back of a pickup truck last June and dragging him to death. Two other white men, both from Jasper, will be tried later. Fear of Speaking Up Jasper has lost much of its antebellum flavor, though there are still people here you'd swear are characters straight out of Fried Green Tomatoes. Houston is a couple hours away, Dallas just a little over three. The kids wear Tommy Hilfiger and the attorneys are classically groomed.
Oldsmobile sedans are more plentiful than pickups sporting gun racks.
Last night I was talking to a couple of employees at Wal-Mart. But yes, indeedy, this town is racist, they say. There's a hierarchy here that cannot be toppled. Crimes are covered up, they say. And they don't dare speak up, or even give their names out of fear.