John William King dead: White Supremacist executed in Texas following infamous hate crime

John William King was one of the masterminds behind the infamous murder of Mr Byrd in what is regarded as among the worst hate crimes seen in the US. King was executed via lethal injection on Wednesday following 21 years in prison for his horrific crime. The White Supremacist is the second person to be executed in relation to the death of Mr Byrd.

Speaking shortly after the death of her brother’s killer, Clara Byrd Taylor said: “There was no sense of relief.

“It was a just punishment.”

Such was the outrage of the case at the time that the Texas government passed the James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Act.

Congress more recently enacted the Matthew Shepard and Jame Byrd Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009.

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The act was put in place in order to strengthen laws against crimes motivated by race, religion or any form of discrimination.

One of the other men involved in the horrific attack, Lawrence Russell Brewer was sentenced to death in 2011.

The third and final accomplice, Shawn Allen Berry was spared death and will serve a life sentence.

Berry will be up for parole in 2038 according to US media report.

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Mr Byrd’s family also added that the tension still exists in the local community of Jasper, Texas 20 years on.

Mr Byrd’s other sister, Mylinda Washington said: “I think, quite frankly, people in Jasper are tired of talking about it.

“They want to forget it

“It happened here, and we need to always have that in front of us.”

source: express.co.uk