Lawrence Russell Brewer was executed in Texas Wednesday night. He was involved 13 years ago in the dragging to death of James Byrd, a black man. Brewer and two other white men kidnapped Byrd, chained him to a pickup truck, and dragged him for 3 ½ miles. It has been described as one of the most vicious hate crimes in U.S. History. The killing was intended to promote Brewer’s white supremacist organization, which was affiliated with the Ku Klux Klan.
In Brewer’s case, the death penalty was deemed a necessity by Jasper County District Attorney Guy James Gray, who said if not put to death, Brewer would kill again. Of the other two men involved in the crime, John William King was also sentenced to death while Shawn Berry was sentenced to life in prison.
