[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 466 Engrossed in House (EH)]


                 In the House of Representatives, U.S.,

                                                         June 11, 1998.
    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.
            Attest:

                                                                          Clerk.