No Racism in Texas. Nope. Not At All. Ten Years After Death of James Byrd Jr.

A death by dragging of a black man in Texas by "friends" ten years after the death of James Byrd Jr.  (who was considered to be a 'friend' of one of his murderers) is met by claims that it wasn't a lynching because his killing was done by friends in  New York Times report "Killing Stirs Racial Unease in Texas"

Though the Times pushes the 'not a lynching' side hard, I'm not convinced.  It's about whose life is valuable and whose is not.

The Times report also examines the state of race relations in Texas, or as well as they can without coming to a conclusion that would be severly embarrassing to the state of Texas, maybe even to the South. 

But it also raises some troubling questions. 

Remember how George Bush stood on stage during the 2000 presidential debates and said the killing of Byrd and the aftermath showed that Texas' weak hate crime law was enough as he proclaimed that all the killers had gotten the death penalty.  (Two out of the three, John William King, and Lawrence Russell Brewer, received the death penalty; one, Shawn Allen Berry, got life in prison.  See here for details on Bush's argument.  

One report I came across while making sure I didn't misremember the facts on the case said the two condemned men in the case were the first white men ever put on death row for killing a black person in the history of state.   (With all the executions they run through in a year? Really?)  I can't remember the source of that, but a WP reported that King was the first white man condemned "since reconstruction" for the death of a black in "Second Man Convicted in Texas Dragging Death"

 Don't wear your eyes out looking for the actual date of execution of these men.  You can't find, even by searching the day on which they paid for their crime.  This is over a decade from the day Byrd was killed,  and almost a decade from the time that the first killer was sentenced.  Brewer even requested an execution date in 2004.  I couldn't find any report saying one was set, though.  The lawyers for the killer made statements showing that Brewer didn't want to actually die, anyway.  He just wanted his appeal to move faster, and, indeed it apparently got to the United States Supreme Court in 2007 where it was read and couldn't get 'CERT'.    (Four Justices must recommend that a case be heard by "The Nine".) 

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice reports that the average length of stay on death row is 10.26 years.  If the State of Texas wants to show it isn't coddling people who really really look like 'lynchers' then they'd better hurry up and set some dates at the least.  Even the Roberts Court passed on one of the men's appeals.

I don't think I would have missed an execution of either of these guys.  The news media would have smelled a big story and sliced it up endlessly for news sandwiches.  Also I couldn't find a report by news searches on even a date set for either man.

Personally, I'd rather have abolition of the primitive practice of execution, but, until that is achieved, it obviously it sends the wrong signal to alcohol and drug sotted male Texan minds to have two white killers cooling their heels for nearly 10 years after their convictions and death sentences. The death of Brandon McClelland seems to show that to be the case.

Usenet copy found of "Killing Stirs Racial Unease in Texas"

tags: lynching  racism  execution  abolition  texas  

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