HUNTSVILLE, Texas—An avowed racist who orchestrated one of the most gruesome hate crimes in U.S. history was executed on April 24, in Texas for the dragging death of a black man.
John William King received lethal injection for the slaying nearly 21 years ago of James Byrd Jr., who was chained to the back of a truck and dragged for nearly 3 miles along a secluded road in the piney woods outside Jasper, Texas. The 49-year-old Byrd was alive for at least 2 miles before his body was ripped to pieces in the early morning hours of June 7, 1998.
