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 Af-
rican 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 pris-
on 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 drink-
ing 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 var-
ious 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 in-
vestigating 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 peace-
ful coexistence, security, and foundation of all commu-
nities.
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 ag-
gressively 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, work-
place, 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 rac-
ism and an end to the fear and hatred which underlie
it, and to encourage all Americans to dedicate them-
selves to ending racism and violence in the United
States.
Attest:
Clerk.