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.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Murder of James Byrd Jr. canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

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 ⓘ
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 ⓘ
linked to: Texas
legalOutcomeForJohnWilliamKing death sentence ⓘ
legalOutcomeForLawrenceRussellBrewer death sentence ⓘ
legalOutcomeForShawnAllenBerry life imprisonment ⓘ
location Jasper, Texas ⓘ
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 ⓘ
Lawrence Russell Brewer ⓘ
Shawn Allen Berry ⓘ
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 ⓘ
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 ⓘ
victim James Byrd Jr. ⓘ
victimAgeAtDeath 49 ⓘ
victimBirthplace Jasper, Texas ⓘ
victimEthnicity African American ⓘ
victimGender male ⓘ
victimOccupation former vacuum salesman ⓘ
victimReligion Christian ⓘ
year 1998 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

James Byrd Jr. → event → Murder of James Byrd Jr. ⓘ