[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 466 Considered and Passed House (CPH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                               H. RES. 466

          Condemning the brutal killing of Mr. James Byrd, Jr.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             June 11, 1998

   Ms. Waters (for herself, Mrs. Northup, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Clay, Mr. 
   Stokes, Mr. Rangel, Mr. Dixon, Mr. Owens, Mr. Towns, Mr. Lewis of 
   Georgia, Mr. Payne, Ms. Norton, Mr. Jefferson, Mrs. Clayton, Mr. 
Bishop, Ms. Brown of Florida, Mr. Clyburn, Mr. Hastings of Florida, Mr. 
 Hilliard, Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. McKinney, Mrs. Meek 
of Florida, Mr. Rush, Mr. Scott, Mr. Watt of North Carolina, Mr. Wynn, 
 Mr. Thompson, Mr. Fattah, Ms. Jackson-Lee, Mr. Jackson, Ms. Millender-
 McDonald, Mr. Cummings, Ms. Carson, Ms. Christian-Green, Mr. Davis of 
Illinois, Mr. Ford, Ms. Kilpatrick, Mr. Meeks of New York, Ms. Lee, Mr. 
Gephardt, Mr. Bonior, Mr. Turner, Mr. Lampson, Mr. Gonzalez, Mr. Frost, 
Mr. Stenholm, Mr. Hall of Texas, Mr. Ortiz, Mr. Edwards, Mr. Green, Mr. 
   Bentsen, Mr. Doggett, Mr. Rodriguez, Mr. Hinojosa, Mr. Reyes, Mr. 
Sandlin, Mr. Gingrich, Mr. Armey, Mr. Watts of Oklahoma, Mrs. Tauscher, 
   Mr. Brady of Pennsylvania, Mr. Hastert, Mr. Boehner, Ms. Dunn of 
  Washington, Ms. Pryce of Ohio, Mr. Linder, Mr. Fazio of California, 
Mrs. Kennelly of Connecticut, Mr. Traficant, Mr. McNulty, Mr. Wamp, Mr. 
Shays, Mr. Menendez, Mrs. Chenoweth, Mr. Sisisky, Mr. Engel, Ms. Furse, 
Mr. Miller of California, Mr. Olver, Ms. Harman, Mrs. Bono, Mr. King of 
    New York, Mr. Bachus, and Mr. Poshard) submitted the following 
    resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

                             June 11, 1998

     Committee on the Judiciary discharged; considered and adopted

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
          Condemning the brutal killing of Mr. James Byrd, Jr.

    Resolved,

SECTION 1. FINDINGS.

    The House of Representatives finds as follows:
            (1) Mr. James Byrd, Jr., a 49-year-old disabled African 
        American male from Jasper County, East Texas, was last seen 
        walking home from a niece's bridal shower on June 6, 1998, and 
        allegedly was offered a ride by 3 young white men, who then 
        proceeded to physically and mercilessly beat Mr. Byrd in 
        Jasper, Texas, then chained him to the back of a pickup truck 
        and dragged him until the torso of his body was torn to pieces.
            (2) Mr. James Byrd, Jr.'s body was found Sunday, June 7, 
        1998, on a bumpy, winding country road about 10 miles from his 
        Jasper home, at the end of a trail of blood along a 2-mile 
        stretch of road with his head, neck, and right arm severed.
            (3) Mr. Byrd was so brutally disfigured that his head and 
        torso were completely severed, with his head, neck, and right 
        arm found about a mile away, and only finger prints could be 
        used to identify him.
            (4) Mr. Lawrence Russell Brewer, 31, of Sulphur Springs, 
        Texas and Mr. Shawn Allen Berry, 23, and Mr. John William King, 
        23, of Jasper, Texas, all of whom have past criminal records 
        and have served time in prison or were on probation, have been 
        charged with murder and are being held without bail.
            (5) The police released an affidavit of probable cause in 
        which Mr. Berry said they had been out drinking and picked up 
        Mr. Byrd as he walked down Martin Luther King Drive in Jasper 
        early Sunday.
            (6) Mr. Berry said that he stopped at a convenience store, 
        but Mr. King was angry that he was giving a ride to a black 
        man, so he took over at the steering wheel and drove to a 
        remote area 7 miles outside of town, where they killed Mr. 
        Byrd.
            (7) The 3 men were known to be members of various hate 
        groups, including the Ku Klux Klan and the Aryan Brotherhood.
            (8) This was not a random act of violence, but a senseless, 
        hate-filled crime.
            (9) The Federal Bureau of Investigation also is 
        investigating to see if the 3 could be charged with violating 
        Mr. Byrd's Federal civil rights.
            (10) One of the suspects allegedly said that they wanted to 
        ``start the Turner Diaries early,'' referring to a novel about 
        race war that is popular reading among some hate groups and 
        white supremacists.
            (11) This incident is reminiscent of the brutal slayings 
        that occurred at the turn of the century and in the 1920s and 
        1930s, with brutal hangings which brought the National 
        Association for the Advancement of Colored People into 
        existence and contributed to its growth in its early days.
            (12) This and similar incidents threaten the peaceful 
        coexistence, security, and foundation of all communities.

SEC. 2. CONDEMNING THE KILLING OF JAMES BYRD, JR.

    The House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns the actions which occurred in Jasper, Texas as 
        unacceptable and outrageous, to be condemned by all people of 
        all races, creeds, and religions;
            (2) pledges to do everything in its power, including 
        holding public hearings, to probe the underlying causes of this 
        brutal killing and to make sure that the United States does not 
        return to the days when such hatred, brutality, violence, 
        hangings, and murder were deemed acceptable;
            (3) calls on the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the 
        Department of Justice, the White House, and all other Federal 
        law enforcement agencies to conduct an immediate, full, and 
        fair investigation into all of the facts of the case to 
        aggressively respond to this tragedy with indictments, and 
        urges the prosecution proceed aggressively with a fair but 
        speedy trial;
            (4) calls upon each Member of Congress and every citizen of 
        the United States, in his or her own way, through his or her 
        church, synagogue, mosque, workplace, or social organization, 
        to join in denouncing and getting others to denounce this 
        outrageous murder of another human being; and
            (5) pledges to join in efforts to bring an end to racism 
        and an end to the fear and hatred which underlie it, and to 
        encourage all Americans to dedicate themselves to ending racism 
        and violence in the United States.
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