John William King

Case record: John William King

Background

John William King was a white supremacist.

King was convicted of murdering James Byrd, Jr. in a 1998 hate crime. In the account of the incident, King was accused of dragging Byrd behind a truck until the African-American man died.

King had no previous record of racism, but he allegedly joined a white-supremacist prison gang for self-protection. King had previously been gang-raped in prison by black prisoners, after which he allegedly emerged “transformed.”

People

• John William King — white supremacist; defendant; convicted of kidnapping and murder; later sentenced to death.
• James Byrd, Jr. — victim; African-American man; age 49; killed in 1998.
• Shawn Allen Berry — co-defendant; truck driver; convicted of capital murder; later sentenced to life in prison.
• Lawrence Russell Brewer (Lawrence Russell Brewer Jr.) — co-defendant; convicted of capital murder; later sentenced to death.

Additional individuals and identifiers mentioned in the case narrative:

• Guy James Gray — District Attorney.
• Haden "Sonny" Cribbs — King’s attorney.
• Ronald King — King’s adoptive father; apologized to the Byrd family after the conviction.
• Kylie Greeney — King's girlfriend; interviewed by authorities; discussed King’s prison nickname.
• Marco Williams and Whitney Dow — filmmakers associated with a documentary about the crime.
• Dennis Rodman — offered to pay for Byrd’s funeral.
• Doug Tracht (AKA The Greaseman) — made a derogatory comment; was fired from WARW.
• Jane — apartment manager who rented an apartment to King and his pregnant girlfriend in March (as described).
• Joe Roy — head of the intelligence project of the Southern Poverty Law Center (as described).
• Sheriff Billy Rowles — sheriff (as described).

The offence

James Byrd, Jr. accepted a ride from three drunk men named Shawn Allen Berry, Lawrence Russel Brewer, and John William King. Byrd had already known one of them.

Instead of taking Byrd home, the three men beat Byrd behind a convenience store, tied him to their pickup truck with a chain tied around his waist, stripped the man naked, and dragged him about three miles.

It was not known whether Byrd was alive during the dragging.

Lawrence Russell Brewer claimed that Byrd’s throat had been slashed before he was dragged. Forensic evidence suggested that Byrd had been attempting to keep his head up, and an autopsy suggested that Byrd was alive for much of the dragging and died after his right arm and head were severed when his body hit a culvert. Byrd’s body had caught a sewage drain on the side of the road resulting in Byrd’s decapitation.

King, Berry, and Brewer dumped Byrd’s mutilated remains in the town’s black cemetery, and then went to a barbecue.

A wrench with “Berry” was found within the area along with a lighter that had “Possum” written on it, which was King’s prison nickname.

The next morning, Byrd’s limbs were scattered across a very little used road. The police found 75 places littered with Byrd’s remains.

Numerous aspects of the Byrd murder echoed lynching traditions, including mutilation or decapitation, and revelry such as a barbecue or picnic during or after.

Investigation

State law enforcement officials and Jasper’s District Attorney Guy James Gray determined that since King and Brewer were well-known white supremacists, the murder was a hate crime, and decided to bring in the FBI less than 24 hours after the discovery of Byrd’s remains.

Investigators described evidence collected along the route:

• A lighter with “Possum” inscribed on it along with a triangular symbol.
• A torque wrench set with the name “Berry” inscribed in cursive handwriting.
• A compact disc by the heavy metal rock group Kiss.
• Byrd’s tennis shoes, shirt, wallet, keys, and even his dentures were found along the route.
• A chain was mentioned in the narrative as being used during the incident.
• A “HEAD” marking in Day-Glo orange chalk was mentioned at a scene-related location.
• A broken culvert was mentioned in relation to the route and findings.
• Saliva tests done on cigarettes found in the clearing reportedly pointed to all three charged in the murder.
• Byrd’s blood was also allegedly found on King’s shoes.
• Blood spattered on the undercarriage on the passenger side was described.
• Red clay and vegetation stuck to the undercarriage were described as similar to the clay and vegetation the killers’ truck had driven through.
• A local resident said he saw Byrd between 2:30 and 2:45 that morning walking along Martin Luther King Drive in east Jasper, and later riding in the back of a gray or black stepside pickup with two or three white men inside.
• Posters and other items at King’s apartment in western Jasper were described as indicating sympathy with white supremacist groups.
• A jailhouse letter was intercepted by jail officials.

Tattoos and written materials were also described:

• One of Byrd’s murderers, John King, had a tattoo depicting a black man hanging from a tree.
• Other tattoos included Nazi symbols, the words “Aryan Pride,” and the patch for the Confederate Knights of America, described as a gang of white supremacist inmates.
• The prosecution submitted 22 pages of documents handwritten by King intended to serve as bylaws for a racist group King hoped to start: the “Confederate Knights of America Texas Rebel Soldiers.”

A statement associated with King’s perspective on evidence and motives was reproduced in the narrative (see “Verbatim quotations”).

Arrest / custody and pre-trial events

The trial narrative described that King was in custody for the charge described as the dragging death of Byrd and that he was expected to be among the first of three to stand trial.

In the narrative, Berry was arrested by 9 p.m. Sunday for several traffic violations and his 1982 gray Ford truck was impounded.

Trial

Venue and timing

The testimony phase of King’s trial started in Jasper, Texas on February 16, 1999.

Charges at trial

King was found guilty of kidnapping and murder on February 23, 1999.

King pled not guilty to the charges.

Jury details

The jury included eleven whites and one black.

Prosecutor’s position and evidence described

District Attorney Guy James Gray made an opening statement arguing that physical evidence and King’s racist writings would demonstrate his responsibility for the murder.

Prosecutors entered evidence including a lighter found at the woodlands clearing where Byrd was chained to the truck. The lighter was engraved with “KKK” and King’s prison nickname.

The prosecution submitted 22 pages of documents intended to serve as bylaws for a racist group King hoped to start: the “Confederate Knights of America Texas Rebel Soldiers.”

The narrative included that Byrd was initially conscious while being dragged and tried to prop his head up from the pavement by leaning on his elbows. His head was severed after one mile while his torso was dragged for an additional two miles before being dumped in front of a black cemetery.

The prosecution stated it would submit DNA evidence further linking King to the crime scene.

Defence position described

King’s attorney, Haden "Sonny" Cribbs, declined to make an opening statement.

In the weeks leading up to the trial, King had written to Texas newspapers claiming that Berry acted alone in killing Byrd and that neither he nor Brewer were present.

In his confession to the police, Berry maintained that all three were present, and that Brewer and King attacked Byrd and chained him to Berry’s pickup truck.

Sentencing

King was sentenced to death on February 25, 1999.

The narrative also states:

• Brewer was sentenced to death.
• Berry was sentenced to life in prison.

Appeals / post-conviction history

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals upheld King’s death sentence. The appeal outcome was described as unanimous rejection of all eight of King’s challenges to his conviction.

The court ruled that:

• “the act of chaining Byrd to the truck and dragging him for a mile and a half was, by itself, kidnapping under the law,” and
• “Dragging a chained man from a truck also constitutes the use of deadly force to restrain that person and prevent his liberation.”

The court also said King’s guilt was supported by:

• DNA evidence,
• “the extensive evidence of (King's) hatred for African-Americans,” and
• King’s letters to the media and a co-defendant.

The court described that the letters could have been construed by the jury as an admission of his role in Byrd’s murder.

Outcome

His death sentence was upheld by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals in an unanimous opinion rejecting all eight challenges to his conviction.

Other details

Personal history and prison background described

King was attacked and raped by black prisoners in prison. A magazine commentary described:

“Victims of prison rape often turn their anger against innocents when they are set free. ... Shortly after arriving in prison, King — then 5-foot-7 and 140 pounds (64 kg) — was attacked by black prisoners and raped ... He emerged from the dungeon transformed.”

King was described as having been arrested when he was 15 for burglary and dropping out of Jasper High School. He was again arrested for stealing beer and pool cues and was sent to correctional boot camp.

A narrative described probation being revoked and King being sentenced to an eight-year prison sentence.

In 1995, King was described as being in the Beto I Unit, a 3,200-inmate penitentiary in Tennessee County, Texas.

In prison King met Lawrence Brewer, and both became associated with a small circle of inmates using the name of the North Carolina-based Ku Klux Klan faction, the Confederate Knights of America.

The narrative described a racial conflict between white and Hispanic prisoners in 1995 involving King.

The narrative described King sending out letters proclaiming racist views and allegiance to the Aryan Brotherhood, described as affiliated to the paramilitary Aryan Nations.

A fellow inmate testified that King had vowed to kidnap and kill a black man after he got free as part of a gang initiation rite called a “blood tie.”

A separate narrative stated that prosecutors said King wanted to attract attention and recruits to a racist group he planned to start in Jasper.

Jailhouse letter quoted

A jailhouse letter to Brewer was intercepted by jail officials. The narrative stated King wrote:

“Regardless of the outcome of this, we have made history. Death before dishonor. Sieg Heil!”

Article quotations

A quotation attributed to Joe Roy was included:

“This episode is a horrendous example of the rage that is out there,” said Joe Roy, head of the intelligence project of the Southern Poverty Law Center in Montgomery, Ala. “More often than not, it's based on dehumanization of blacks, whites, Asians, gays. There's a daily dose of hatred. They're dehumanized: `This isn't a human being we're dragging behind a vehicle, it's a thing, a target.' "

A quotation attributed to Sheriff Billy Rowles was included:

“We have no organized KKK or Aryan Brotherhood groups here in Jasper County,” said Sheriff Billy Rowles, a declaration that prompted whoops and catcalls from the black residents.

Another quotation attributed to Sheriff Billy Rowles was included:

“These guys aren't smart enough to retaliate,” Rowles said of the trio.

A quotation attributed to Ronald King was included:

“That ain't the boy I knew.”

A quotation attributed to Ronald King, regarding the way King was raised, was included:

“The way he was raised, I don't see how he could have that kind of hate in him."

Excerpt from John William King’s statement to the Dallas Morning News (verbatim)

The narrative included an excerpt from a statement associated with King:

“The word objective refers to the attitude of the observer, who should remain unemotional, unbiased and unprejudiced when evaluating the truth or falsity of what reported to be facts. The validity of a fact must not be judged in advance (prejudged); as was Shawn Berry's statement released, in an affidavit of probable cause, to the public. Whereas, in light of substantial evidence implicating his involvement, Berry has admitted he lied and recanted his initial statement. . . Given a description as to the whereabouts of the dirt trail, where an alleged beating of the deceased occurred, it's essential to acknowledge the fact that Shawn Berry co-inherited a small tract of land adjacent to the tram road; which he visited quite frequently. Therefore, the fact that my cigarette lighter, with "Possum"inscribed upon it, was found near the scene of the crime, along with other items, i.e., several hand tools with BERRY inscribed on them, a compact disc belonging to Shawn Berry's brother, Louis, and my girlfriend's watch, as well as items of the deceased, are all verified facts; implementing [sic] that these items could have fallen from Shawn Berry's truck during a potential struggle with the deceased while on the tram road. However, unacknowledged facts remain; that I, along with Russell Brewer and Louis Berry, had been borrowing Shawn Berry's truck to commute to and from an out of town land clearing job each day. My girlfriends [sic] watch was kept in Shawn Berry's truck for us to keep track of the time. Louis Berry had brought along several of his CD's for our listening pleasure during our hourly drive each morning and evening, which he had a tendency to leave in his brother's truck. Furthermore, the aforementioned cigarette lighter had been misplaced a week or so prior to these fraudulent charges that have been brought against Russell Brewer and me. This so forth, does not prove the presence of my girlfriend, Louis Berry, Russell Brewer, nor myself at the scene of the crime; verifiably, only the owners of the property in question... Scientists, authorities, investigative reporters and a credulous public need a word of caution about incidents of poor observations. In such incidents as Mr. Brewer's and my involvement in this case, authorities and the media are making accusations based on visual judgement [sic] and criminal histories of slight deviations from what is considered normal. Procedures are often flawed because the results could be easily influenced by the observer's desire to gain recognition or to contribute to a national honor. That should not be interpreted that no facts can be trusted. Mistakes are easy to make. The main point is to prudently cautious about accepting facts as true. We must be ready to listen to people who think our facts are wrong, and make an effort to check the facts we so often take for granted... The authorities, and general public alike, evaluated the purported facts of Mr. Brewer's and my involvement, in this inhumane act, with a subjective view based on emotional appeal, orchestrated by a biased media. It's been prematurely concluded that this was some sort of hate crime, with me implicated as the initiator, despite unsubstantial evidence. Thus overlooking facts that imply otherwise... Decide just what you believe. In a review of verified facts, a diverse motive for murder will be objectively established; thus insinuating Russell Brewer's and my innocence. A more meaningful way of looking at the situation would be to make references to Shawn Berry's irate temper, abusive behavior, and steroid use. For example - On several occasions, Louis Berry, my girlfriend - Kylie Greeney, Alan Cunningham, and myself among others have witnessed Shawn Berry physically assault Ms. Christie Marcontell whenever she defied his wishes. Incidents include: Shawn Berry has threatened Christie Marcontell with a knife, then proceeded to cut any of her clothes to shreds, which he deemed inappropriate for her to wear in public. On different occasions, Shawn Berry has been viewed, with knife in hand, threaten to slice the tires on Marcontell's vehicles if she tried to flee his violent tirades. Once, even cutting the protective covering (or car-bra) from the front of Marcontell's car when she tried to drive away as he approached her. Though Christie Marcontell never filed charges on Shawn Berry; she did, however, file several complaints of assault against him, with both the Newton and Jasper Police Departments. Furthermore, though charges for the possession and use of an illegal substance have never been filed either, friends and family have bear [sic] witness to Shawn Berry inject a substance, he claimed to be H.G.H. (Human Growth Hormones), or steroids, into his body; with hopes of enhancing his size and strength... Along with the steroid use and complaints of assault, Shawn Berry is also known to have an alcohol problem and has been charged with two separate counts of Driving While Intoxicated. The outcome of the first DWI left Berry with a totaled Chevy pickup, a head wound which required staples and two severely injured passengers. The second DWI induced the revocation of his driver's license, and though his license was never reinstated, Shawn Berry continued to drink and drive on the roadways. Fortunately for Mr. Berry his probation officer was not compelled to revoke his probation; despite unaccounted violations. . . Those of us, who knew Shawn Berry as a friend, knew him as a ludicrous alcoholic and volatile individual, who frequently engaged in wanton behavior outside of his relationship to Ms. Christie Marcontell.Shawn Berry was someone I valued as a close and personal friend, despite our occasional differences. Garrison Keillor said it best when saying, "Sometimes you have to look reality in the eye and deny it"... Several statements and the theories against Shawn Berry, Russell Brewer, and myself (John W. King), for a prospective motive in this horrid crime have been presented to the public. Against the wishes of my attorney, I shall share with you objective facts and my account of what happened during the early morning hours of June 7, 1998... After a couple of hours of drinking beer and riding up and down rural roads adjacent to highway 255, off highway 63, looking for a female's home who were expecting Shawn Berry and Russell Brewer. Berry, though frivolous anger and fun at first, begun to run over area residents [sic] mailboxes and stop signs with his truck, due to negligence in locating the girls [sic] residence. Becoming irate with our continued failure to locate the female's house, Shawn Berry's behavior quickly became ballistic as he sped through area residents[sic] yards in a circular manner and made a racket with his trucks' tailpipes, managing to sling our ice chest from the back of his truck several times. During his little conniption [sic] fit, Shawn Berry then stopped just ahead of a mailbox on highway 255, took a chain from the back of his truck, wrapped it around the post of the mailbox, and proceeded to uproot and drag the mailbox east on highway 255. Stopping yards short of the highway 63 North intersection, where he then removed this chain, replaced it, and continued to drive to a local convenient store (Rayburn Superette) to try and call the female who was expecting him and Brewer. Fortunately, no one answered at the girl's house, and after repeated request [sic] from me as well as complaints from Russell Brewer of a throbbing toe he injured during a recovery of our ice chest, Shawn Berry then agreed to take us to my apartment. . . Shawn Allen Berry, driving with a suspended license and intoxicated, while taking Russell Brewer and me home those early morning hours, decided to stop by a mutual friend of ours' home, located on McQueen Street: to inquire as to what the residents and his brother, Louis Berry, were doing. On our way there, we passed a black man walking east on Martin Luther King Drive, whom Shawn Berry recognized and identified as simply "Bird": [sic] a man he befriended while incarcerated in the Jasper County Jail, and Berry stated: supplied him with steroids. Shawn Berry then proceeded to stop his truck approximately ten yards ahead of this individual walking in our direction, exit his vehicle and approach the man. After several minutes of conversation, Shawn Berry returned to the truck and said his friend was going to join us, because Berry and Byrd had business to discuss later; and thus, Byrd climbed into the back of Shawn Berry's truck and seated himself directly behind the cab. While continuing on to our friend's residence, where supposedly Louis Berry was to be, we noticed there were neither lights on nor signs of activity in the trailer as we approached. We decided to proceed on to my apartment; but contrary to Russell Brewer's and my request, Shawn Berry drove to, and stopped at, another local convenient store (B.J.'s Grocery), just east of the Jasper city limits. Shawn Berry then asked Russell Brewer if he could borrow fifty to sixty dollars, because he needed a little extra cash to replenish his "juice" (steroid) supply. After Brewer gave Shawn Berry the remainder of what money he had, to return to Sulphur Springs, Texas on, [sic] Berry asked if Russell Brewer and I would ride in the back of his truck and let his friend, Byrd, sit up front so they could discuss the purchase and payment of more steroids for Shawn Berry. Russell Brewer and I obliged on the condition, Berry take us to my apartment without further delay, which, after a brief exchange of positions he did. . . Once we arrived at my apartment, Shawn Berry informed Russell Brewer and me that he was leaving, so that he could take Byrd to get the steroids and then home. He asked if Brewer or I would bring a small cooler of beer down for him and his friend, along with a bottle of bourbon Berry had bought a few days prior. Russell Brewer and I went up to my apartment, and began to fill a small cooler with approximately 6-8 beers; realizing I left my wallet and cigarettes in Shawn Berry's truck, I opted to bring the cooler back down to Berry. After retrieving my wallet, but unable to locate my cigarettes, I then returned upstairs to my apartment, into my bedroom, and proceeded to call an ex-girlfriend before retiring to bed in the predawn hours of June 7, 1998. . . That of which may have occurred afterwards, I cannot justifiably say; but considering such facts as, Shawn Berry's known steroid use, Violent temper and abusive behavior, combined with his alcoholism and association with a known convicted drug offender (James Byrd), who Shawn Berry admittedly stated, supplied him with illegal substance a conclusive verifiable motive for murder could be substantiated in an objective way. Thus alleviating an unsubstantiated subjective motive of racial hate and supremacy; which investigators would like to conjure up to ensure a credulous case against Russell Brewer and me, therefore gaining recognition as contributors to the National Honor of a solution to America's racial problems... One of the basic problems that arise when using subjective observations is that there are many kinds of illusions that distort our judgements [sic]. Furthermore, Russell Brewer and myself are being stereotyped and persecuted due to our differences in appearance, criminal histories, and the pride we openly express for our race. Unfortunately, when people have one-sided opinions, or strongly favor one point of view, authorities and the media try to mold opinions by suppressing facts that tend to show their opinions to be wrong. They forget that we live in a real world in which "facts" approximate an ideal of precision to varying degrees...”

Reactions and later impact described

• Byrd’s murder was strongly condemned by Jesse Jackson and the Martin Luther King Center as an act of vicious racism and drew national attention on white supremacist prison gangs.
• The victim’s family created the James Byrd Foundation for Racial Healing after his death.
• A movie about the crime, called “Jasper, Texas,” was produced and shown on Showtime in 2003.
• A documentary called “Two Towns of Jasper,” made by Marco Williams and Whitney Dow, premiered on PBS’s P.O.V. series in the same year.
• Basketball star Dennis Rodman offered to pay for Byrd’s funeral; Byrd’s family declined, but accepted a $25,000 donation by Rodman to a fund started to support Byrd’s family.
• Doug Tracht (AKA The Greaseman) made a derogatory comment about James Byrd while at CBS-owned WARW radio station in Washington, D.C., after playing Lauryn Hill’s song “Doo Wop (That Thing)”. The February 1999 incident ended his radio career, leading to protests and he was fired from WARW and lost a position as a volunteer deputy sheriff in Falls Church, Virginia.

Advocacy and legislation described

• Some advocacy groups, such as the NAACP National Voter Fund, made the case an issue during George W. Bush’s presidential campaign in 2000.
• The narrative stated that the advocacy groups accused Bush of implicit racism because he opposed special hate crime legislation and declined to appear at Byrd’s funeral.
• After Governor Rick Perry inherited the rest of George W. Bush’s unexpired term, the 77th Texas Legislature passed the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act on May 11, 2001.

Timeline

• February 16, 1999 — Testimony phase of King’s trial started in Jasper, Texas.
• February 23, 1999 — King was found guilty of kidnapping and murder.
• February 25, 1999 — King was sentenced to death.
• May 11, 2001 — The 77th Texas Legislature passed the James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act.