TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE

Name:  King, John William

TDCJ Number:  999295

Date of Birth:  11/03/1974

Date Received:  02/25/1999

Age (when Received):  24

Education Level (Highest Grade Completed):  10

Date of Offense:  06/07/1998

Age (at the time of Offense):  23

County:  Jasper

Race:  White

Gender:  Male

Hair Color:  Brown

Height (in Feet and Inches):  5′ 9″

Weight (in Pounds):  198

Eye Color:  Brown

Native County:  Atlanta

Native State:  Georgia

Prior Occupation:  carpenter, laborer

Prior Prison Record:  TDCJ-ID #624420, 10-year sentence for one count of Burglary; 7/28/97 released on Parole to Orange County

Summary of Incident:  On 06/07/98, during the nighttime hours, the subject and co-defendants, Lawrence Brewer and Shawn Allen Berry, murdered James Byrd Jr., a 49-year old black male, by dragging the victim behind their 1982 gray Ford pickup truck, located on Huff Creek Road, in Jasper, Texas. The subject and the co-defendants picked the victim up while he was hitchhiking in Jasper.

Co-Defendants:  Berry, Shawn; Brewer, Lawrence Russell

Race and Gender of Victim:  Black male