A terrible killer is executed

King, 44, was a racist in Texas who along with two other white racists men murdered a black man named Byrd.  King was the mastermind who concocted the attack against Byrd in the early morning hours of June 7, 1998. On that day, he and his two accomplices, all white, offered Byrd, who was Black hitchhiking for a ride. The three white racists brutally beat him before chaining him to the back of a pickup truck. The men then dragged Byrd’s body for nearly 3 miles along a secluded road in Jasper, Texas. Byrd was alive for at least two miles while his body was being shredded. Scores of Byrd’s body parts were strewn along the country road. His head was found on one part of the road and an arm was found at another part of the road. His testicles were also torn off. The killers dumped what was left of Byrd at a black church cemetery just outside of Jasper.

In 1999, Brewer was found guilty of capital murder and was put to death in 2011. Berry cooperated with authorities and received a life sentence. He is still serving a life sentence and is not due for parole until 2034.  He will have served as many as 51 years in prison by the time he is released. 

King  who was described as the leader of three men was executed by lethal injection in Texas on May 23^rd 2019. King had no final verbal words but issued a written statement criticizing the death penalty.  He should have written a statement denouncing vigilantism. He was given a lethal injection of the barbiturate pentobarbital for his role as leader in the murder which stunned America 21 years ago.

I was one of the persons in Canada that was instrumental in having capital punishment abolished in Canada but my reason for my intake on this issue was the possibility of Canada executing innocent persons for crimes they didn’t commit.  I have no qualms about murderers like King being executed.

While King was strapped on the gurney, King, closed his eyes to Byrd's sisters Clara Taylor and Louvon Harris, and niece Tiffany Taylor, after they arrived in the execution chamber to watch his lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas

King had some friends visit him as late as 11.28 pm the previous night, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. But no members of his family were present to witness his death.  Prior to his execution, he declined counsel from a chaplain.

King had 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. His wishful stay and clemency were dashed to the floor while he was waiting for his death.

The Supreme Court of the United States rejected his final appeal. He had tried to claim that his lawyer had admitted his guilt in a bid to avoid the death sentence.  The court gave no reason as to why they declined his request.

Criminal Justice Department spokesman Jeremy Desel said King was pronounced dead at 7:08 am and his death was peaceful. 'Apart from him saying the word ‘Nigger’, it was like he was going asleep.”

King’s death was 'peaceful and dignified unlike the savage, brutal death his victim had suffered in agony before he died.  

Jasper’s interim mayor, Gary Gatlin, pointed out that leaders of all races in the community came together at the time to help the town heal. “It certainly doesn’t go away, and we certainly will remember what happened,” Gatlin said.