Texas executes white supremacist ringleader who beat and fatally dragged James Byrd Jr

John William King was executed on Wednesday. He is seen in an undated photo

Time ran out for white supremacist John William King at precisely 6.56 pm on Wednesday when his constant appeals against the death sentence for a crime that horrified America could save him no longer.

That was the moment he was given a lethal injection for one of the most notorious murders of the past 25 years — the dragging death of James Byrd Jr.

In the death chamber, King refused to open his eyes to look at three relatives of the man he had dragged three miles down backroads in Texas, injuring him so badly his genitals were ground down.

When asked if he had a final statement, he responded: ‘No.’ Earlier he had submitted a nine-word statement: ‘Capital Punishment: Them without the capital get the punishment.’

King breathed his last in the Texas judicial system’s death chamber in Huntsville after the Supreme Court rejected his final appeal. He had tried to claim that his lawyer had admitted guilt in a bid to avoid the death sentence.

James Byrd Jr

Byrd's grave

James Byrd Jr (left) was dragged 3 miles to his death before his body was dumped in front of an African-American church. His gave is seen right

The Supreme Court issued its ruling denying a stay of execution for King on Wednesday

The Supreme Court issued its ruling denying a stay of execution for King on Wednesday

Witnesses, including Byrd's two sisters and a niece, enter the Huntsville Unit prior to King's execution on Wednesday evening

Witnesses, including Byrd’s two sisters and a niece, enter the Huntsville Unit prior to King’s execution on Wednesday evening

After the execution, Byrd's family members Clara Taylor, Louvon Harris and Tiffany Taylor (pictured) leave the Huntsville Unit

After the execution, Byrd’s family members Clara Taylor, Louvon Harris and Tiffany Taylor (pictured) leave the Huntsville Unit

Byrd's family members leave the Huntsville Unit after witnessing King's execution

Byrd’s family members leave the Huntsville Unit after witnessing King’s execution

What appear to be King's final possessions are removed from the Huntsville Unit following his execution

King's possessions were placed n a plastic bag

What appear to be King’s final possessions are removed from the Huntsville Unit following his execution by lethal injection on Wednesday

He was given a lethal injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital for his role as leader of three men who chained James Byrd Jr. to a pick-up truck in Jasper, Texas, in 1998 and dragged him to his death.

Criminal Justice Department spokesman Jeremy Desel said King was pronounced dead at 7:08 pm and his death was peaceful. ‘Apart from him saying the word ‘No,’ it was like he was asleep,’ he said.

Two of Byrd’s sisters, Clara Taylor and Louvon Harris, and a niece, Tiffany Taylor, traveled to Huntsville to watch the execution. Clara Taylor called the death ‘peaceful and dignified unlike the savage, brutal, inhumane murder of James.’ 

She said her brother had been ‘thrown around like a sack of potatoes’ as he was dragged behind a pick-up truck.

King was the second man to be executed for the murder. A third is serving a life sentence and is not due for parole until 2034.

Bill King waited out his last hours in a holding cell immediately adjacent to the ground floor death chamber. He was hoping against hope for a stay from the Supreme Court or a grant of clemency from Texas’s fervently pro-death penalty governor Greg Abbott.

King — prisoner number 999295 — had some friends visit him as late as 11.28 am, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. But no members of his family were present to witness his death, said Desel.

He had earlier taken a shower, according to a timeline of his final days provided by the department.

A 'death watch' log distributed by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows how King spent the final two days prior to his execution

A 'death watch' log distributed by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows how King spent the final two days prior to his execution

A ‘death watch’ log distributed by the Texas Department of Public Safety shows how King spent the final two days prior to his execution. He declined counsel from a chaplain

Byrd's sister Clara Taylor addresses the media, flanked by Louvon Harris and Tiffany Taylor

Byrd’s sister Clara Taylor addresses the media, flanked by Louvon Harris and Tiffany Taylor

Byrd's sister Clara Taylor addresses the media outside the Huntsville Unit after the execution

Byrd’s sister Clara Taylor addresses the media outside the Huntsville Unit after the execution

Byrd’s family members speak out after witnessing his execution 

Taylor speaks after witnessing the execution of her brother's killer on Wednesday

Taylor speaks after witnessing the execution of her brother’s killer on Wednesday

Byrd’s sister Carla Taylor read from a family statement after she, another of his sisters and his niece witnessed the execution.

King’s ‘execution tonight was just punishment for his actions,’ she said, noting that Byrd had three children and four grandchildren. 

‘James’ legacy continues to be of peace and nonviolence,’ she said.

Louvon Byrd Harris, another of Byrd’s sisters, said King’s execution sent a ‘message to the world that when you do something horrible like that, that you have to pay the high penalty.’

Compared to ‘all the suffering’ her brother suffered before his death, Harris said King and Brewer got ‘an easy way out.’ 

King did not request a spiritual adviser to be with him at his death, although records show he spoke with a pastor on Tuesday.

King’s execution attracted only a handful of supporters on either side of the capital punishment debate A few outside the redbrick building asked why the ultimate penalty had taken so long.

A young woman who only identified herself as Katie carried a sign saying ‘A Hate Crime? Drug Out 20 Years??’

And Ricky Jason, who made a documentary called Byrd: The Life and Tragic Death of James Byrd Jr., told DailyMail.com: ‘I am against capital punishment, but for what he did I am for it.

‘They should burn his ashes and put him in hell with the devil.’

On the other side of the argument — and at the other end of the street outside the prison — Gloria Rubac of the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement said she is opposed to all executions.

‘We will still protest this execution even though we despise what happened in Jasper,’ she said, adding that Byrd’s son was also opposed.

And Pastor David Jeremiah admitted King’s was a ‘heinous crime’ but said nothing would be gained by putting him to death. 

Ricky Jason holds a photo of James Byrd Jr outside the Huntsville Unit. ¿I am against capital punishment, but for what he did I am for it,' he said

Ricky Jason holds a photo of James Byrd Jr outside the Huntsville Unit. ‘I am against capital punishment, but for what he did I am for it,’ he said

Jason holds a photo of James Byrd Jr outside the Huntsville Unit

Jason holds a photo of James Byrd Jr outside the Huntsville Unit

Protesters opposed to the death penalty also gathered outside the Huntsville Unit

Protesters opposed to the death penalty also gathered outside the Huntsville Unit

Activists with the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement gathered to protest the execution

Activists with the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement gathered to protest the execution 

Filmmaker shares death row letter from John William King 

Filmmaker Ricky Jason shows off a letter from King outside the Huntsville Unit

Filmmaker Ricky Jason shows off a letter from King outside the Huntsville Unit

'Do you and Ross really want to associate with an unrepentant racist supremacist like me?' read the 2008 letter (above) from King

‘Do you and Ross really want to associate with an unrepentant racist supremacist like me?’ read the 2008 letter (above) from King

Shortly before King’s execution, flimmaker Ricky Jason shared for the first time a letter penned by the convicted killer. 

Jason made a documentary called Byrd: The Life And Tragic Death Of James Byrd Jr. 

In the 2008 letter, King addressed Jason, and Byrd’s son, Ross.

‘Do you and Ross really want to associate with an “unrepentant racist” like me?,’ read the letter from King. ‘If not, speak now, or forever bite your tongues. Because there are no false pretenses about me.’

King goes on to write he wasn’t there at the time of the murder, and offered no remorse.

Byrd, a former vacuum cleaner salesman, was killed on June 7, 1998 when he accepted an early-morning lift from Sean Berry whom he knew casually. King and the third man convicted of his murder, Russell Brewer, were with Berry.

They told the 49-year-old father-of-three to get into the bed of Berry’s 1982 Ford pick-up truck. King got angry that his friend would give a lift to an African-American.

Berry drove to a convenience store and then King took the wheel and instead of taking Byrd home, he drove to a remote dirt road, known locally as The Tram Road, outside Jasper.

When Berry asked him what he was doing, King replied ‘Fixing to scare the s**t out of this n****r.’

At trial King — who was described as the ringleader — was said to have mercilessly beaten Byrd with a bat before he and Brewer urinated and defecated on him. Brewer kicked him so hard he injured his toe.

They then sprayed Byrd’s face with black paint and chained him by the ankles to the gray truck and dragged him down The Tram Road before turning left on to Huff Creek Road. Autopsy results showed Byrd was still alive for roughly half the trip before his head struck a culvert.

The rear of the 1982 pickup truck owned by King's co-defendant Shawn Allen Berry of Jasper, Texas, is shown in 1998. The ball of the hitch was removed by the FBI in their investigation

The rear of the 1982 pickup truck owned by King’s co-defendant Shawn Allen Berry of Jasper, Texas, is shown in 1998. The ball of the hitch was removed by the FBI in their investigation

A photo taken in 1998 shows where the victim James Byrd Jr's keys were found in the road after his body was dragged for three miles behind a pickup truck

A photo taken in 1998 shows where the victim James Byrd Jr’s keys were found in the road after his body was dragged for three miles behind a pickup truck

John William King smiles in 1999 on his way to court during his murder trial

John William King smiles in 1999 on his way to court during his murder trial

His elbows, knees and backside were skinned to the bone. His genitals were ground away totally.

The three men then dumped his headless body outside a church cemetery and drove off to a barbecue.

The body was discovered some eight hours later, missing not only the skull but also its right arm.

A woman living on Huff Creek Road discovered the head and arm in a ditch outside her home. Police followed a brown trail of dried blood from the cemetery to the woman’s house and then up The Tram Road.

They discovered 81 separate pieces of Byrd’s body along the road. Where the blood trail ended they discovered items including Byrd’s wallet, a Kiss CD, a broken beer bottle, a wrench with the word ‘Berry’ scrawled on it and a cigarette lighter etched with a triangular Ku Klux Klan symbol and the word ‘Possum’ — King’s prison nickname.

The three men, who shared an apartment in Jasper, were soon arrested.

King and Berry had gone to school together in Jasper, but both dropped out, Berry in eighth grade, King two years later.

King is seen in 1999 as he is escorted into the Jasper County Courthouse for the penalty phase of his capital murder trial in Jasper, Texas. He was unemotional as he was sentenced to die

King is seen in 1999 as he is escorted into the Jasper County Courthouse for the penalty phase of his capital murder trial in Jasper, Texas. He was unemotional as he was sentenced to die

Sisters of James Byrd Jr., from left, Mary Verrett, Louvon Harris and Mylinda Washington react after co-defendant Shawn Allen Berry was found guilty Thursday, Nov. 18, 1999 in Jasper, Texas

Sisters of James Byrd Jr., from left, Mary Verrett, Louvon Harris and Mylinda Washington react after co-defendant Shawn Allen Berry was found guilty Thursday, Nov. 18, 1999 in Jasper, Texas

Stella and James Byrd Sr. arrange flowers around a new headstone commemorating their son, James Byrd Jr., Monday, Feb. 1, 1999 in Jasper, Texas

Stella and James Byrd Sr. arrange flowers around a new headstone commemorating their son, James Byrd Jr., Monday, Feb. 1, 1999 in Jasper, Texas

They ended up in a prison boot camp together after being nabbed for a burglary. The camp, which used military-type discipline in a bid to turn young offenders’ lives away from crime, appeared to work for Berry, who tried to go straight and got a job as manager of Jasper’s only movie theater.

But King’s life went the other way and he was in and out of prison for years. He was eventually sent to the maximum-security George Beto prison where he met career criminal Brewer, who was seven years older than him, and serving a sentence for dealing cocaine.

Both joined the Confederate Knights of America, a racist group linked to the Klan, for protection. ‘If you don’t join you become someone’s wife,’ Brewer’s lawyer Bill Morian said at the time of the men’s arrest.

King claimed his extreme racist views came from being repeatedly raped by black inmates.

King was the first white man ever to be sentenced to death in Texas for killing a black man. Brewer was sentenced to die at a later trial and was executed, aged 44, in 2011. He ordered a last meal of two chicken-fried steaks with gravy and onions, a triple meat bacon cheeseburger, a cheese omelet with half a loaf of white bread, a large bowl of fried okra with ketchup, a pound of barbecue, three fajitas, a meat-lover’s pizza, a pint of Blue Bell ice cream and a slab of peanut butter fudge and three root beers.

When the massive feast was delivered to him, he told guards he wasn’t hungry and didn’t eat any of it. Brewer’s excessive order led the state to ban the practice of allowing condemned prisoners to choose their own final meal.

The day before his execution, he told a Houston radio station: ‘As far as any regrets, no, I have no regrets. No, I’d do it all over again, to tell you the truth.’ 

Berry, now 44, was sentenced to life in prison. He will be eligible for parole in 2034. While in prison he married the mother of his child. 

King will be the second man executed in the case. Lawrence Russell Brewer (pictured) was executed in 2011

Shawn Allen Berry (pictured), was sentenced to life in prison and is still serving his sentence

King’s co-defendants: Lawrence Russell Brewer (left) was executed in 2011. The third participant, Shawn Allen Berry (right), was sentenced to life in prison and is still serving his sentence. He is due for parole in 2038 

Etchings of hatred: The tattoos sported by self-proclaimed ‘avowed racist’ John William King and what they symbolize 

Jasper, a city of fewer than 8,000 people 140 miles north-east of Houston near the Louisiana border, has been trying to come to terms with Byrd’s grisly murder for two decades.

Before it, it had been known as relatively hate-free, compared to other East Texas towns. There are roughly the same number of blacks and whites in Jasper and at the time it had an African-American mayor.

But racial tension resurfaced after Jasper’s first black police chief was fired in 2012, and two of the three black city council members who hired the chief were ousted in a recall election. The recall effort was marred by racial slurs.

Byrd’s grave in the Jasper City Cemetery has twice been vandalized and is now protected by a fence for protection.

King’s execution was marked by a vigil in the James Byrd Jr. Memorial Park in Jasper. It was to be led by the Rev Ron Foshage, a white Roman Catholic priest. ‘We don’t want King to go to Hell,’ Foshage told the local paper, the Jasper Newsboy. ‘The Byrd family does not want King to go to Hell. If that happens we lose, God loses.’ 

A park in Jasper, Texas was named after murder victim James Byrd Jr

A park in Jasper, Texas was named after murder victim James Byrd Jr

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