Murder of James Byrd Jr.
E641698
The Murder of James Byrd Jr. was a 1998 racially motivated hate crime in Jasper, Texas, in which an African American man was brutally killed by being chained to a pickup truck and dragged along a road, becoming a pivotal case in U.S. hate-crime legislation.
Statements (47)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
crime in the United States
ⓘ
hate crime ⓘ |
| alsoKnownAs | Dragging death of James Byrd Jr. ⓘ |
| associatedWith |
civil rights advocacy
ⓘ
hate-crime prevention efforts ⓘ |
| categorizedAs | lynching in the United States ⓘ |
| causeOfDeath | decapitation and dismemberment due to dragging ⓘ |
| consideredTurningPointIn | public awareness of modern racist violence in the United States ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| date | 1998-06-07 ⓘ |
| hasMemorial | James Byrd Jr. memorial sites in Jasper ⓘ |
| influenced |
Texas hate-crime legislation
ⓘ
expansion of U.S. federal hate-crime laws ⓘ |
| involvedVehicle | pickup truck ⓘ |
| legalJurisdiction | State of Texas NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| legalOutcomeForJohnWilliamKing | death sentence ⓘ |
| legalOutcomeForLawrenceRussellBrewer | death sentence ⓘ |
| legalOutcomeForShawnAllenBerry | life imprisonment ⓘ |
| location | Jasper, Texas NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| methodOfKilling | dragging behind a pickup truck ⓘ |
| motive |
racism
ⓘ
white supremacist ideology ⓘ |
| notableFor |
extreme brutality of the killing
ⓘ
role in naming the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act ⓘ |
| partOf |
history of hate crimes in the United States
ⓘ
history of racism in the United States ⓘ |
| perpetrator |
John William King
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Lawrence Russell Brewer NERFINISHED ⓘ Shawn Allen Berry NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| perpetratorsAffiliation | white supremacist groups ⓘ |
| perpetratorsRace | white ⓘ |
| receivedMediaCoverage |
international media
ⓘ
national media in the United States ⓘ |
| relatedToLegislation | Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| state | Texas ⓘ |
| subsequentExecutionOfPerpetrator |
John William King executed in Texas in 2019
ⓘ
Lawrence Russell Brewer executed in Texas in 2011 ⓘ |
| tookPlaceOnRoad | rural road outside Jasper, Texas ⓘ |
| trialLocation | Jasper County, Texas NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| victim | James Byrd Jr. NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| victimAgeAtDeath | 49 ⓘ |
| victimBirthplace | Jasper, Texas NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| victimEthnicity | African American ⓘ |
| victimGender | male ⓘ |
| victimOccupation | former vacuum salesman ⓘ |
| victimReligion | Christian ⓘ |
| year | 1998 ⓘ |
Referenced by (1)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.