June 7, 1998: James Byrd Jr. killed in Jasper after being dragged by 3 white men
JASPER, Texas (KTRK) -- June 7 is the 22nd anniversary of the brutal murder of James Byrd Jr., a black man, killed by three white supremacists.
Byrd was dragged to death behind a pick-up truck in a rural area near Jasper.
The FBI was immediately called in and three men were arrested and convicted of his murder.
WATCH: Hear what Byrd's daughter has to say years later
Lawrence Russell Brewer was executed for this crime in 2011.
John William King was executed in 2019.
Shawn Berry is serving a life sentence for his role in the killing.
In 1999, Byrd's family founded the Byrd Foundation for Racial Healing, a non-profit organization that works to promote "racial healing and cultural diversity through education."
Byrd's gruesome slaying led to the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was signed by President Barack Obama in 2009.
The legislation added crimes motivated by victims' race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity and disability to the federal hate crime law. Shepard, an openly gay college student, was abducted, fatally beaten and tied to a fence in Wyoming in October 1998.
