On the morning of June 7th, 1998 in the town of Jasper, Texas the people of this town were shocked to find the dismembered body of 49 year old James Byrd propped up against the fence of a cemetery. There has always been a history of racial hatred in Jasper (which is made up of half whites, and half African Americans). There are records of obvious homicides that weren't investigated by the police just because the person killed was African American. There was one notable murder that occurred in Jasper in the 1930's where a black man was beaten and shot. The police dismissed the case as being a suicide despite evidence of struggle and the number of broken bones which could not have been self-inflicted. Over the past few decades there has been very few, extreme, racial crimes within Jasper. People believed that the racial barriers were gone. This latest incident has made people realize that there is still racial hatred but is now characterized by more subtle, everyday occurren

*notes - On Tuesday, February 23rd 1999, John William King was convicted of capital murder. He now faces either life in prison or execution. The jury tool only 21/2 hours to deliberate their decision. King appeared unemotional as the verdict was read. He shyed away from court-room TV cameras as he watched the family of James Byrd celebrate.

With many people facing similar circumstances questions are raised as to why King committed such a crime and nobody else has. The theories of neurological disruptions and The General Theory of Deviance are only a few of the possible explanations that have combined to influence the life of John William King. Everybody he has ever interacted with have made him the person he is today. From genetics to feelings of low self-esteem to external factors (such as the labeling theory), all play a part in the make-up of this man. The rewritten examples of my chosen articles only represent small pieces within all the possible factors that have caused him to commit this crime. They do however represent different views of possible root causes.

ces such as favoritism in job hiring and promotions. People have begun the removal of physical barriers such as the one in the cemetery. There was a fence separating the blacks and whites which over time has become an invisible barrier that everybody has become accustomed to.

We believe that the morals (or lack thereof) King had picked up while in jail, accompanied by the instabilities caused by neurological problems, answer the question as to why King committed this barbaric crime.

After carefully reading this article many, many, MANY times and observing the many possible theories, I believe that it is written along the lines of the labeling theory. I have come to this conclusion from the fact that there was no mention of Bill King's racial hatred, prior to his time in prison. Telling the readers that Bill was a failure at school gave me the idea that he was somewhat of an outsider who was reaching for support from anybody. The normal laws of society depicted him as an outcast so he had to compensate by finding a group that did accept him. He found a group that would accept him, while in jail for burglary, and it just happened to be a white supremacist group that lived the dream of 'Aryan Pride'. I'm not dismissing the fact that King may have been racist and prejudice prior to his jail term but that the need to belong to a society, any society, led him to 'rewrite' his moral code to fit that of his new subculture.

In the small town of Jasper, Texas, John William King (24) will go on trial facing capital murder charges. He, along with Lawrence Russell Brewer and Shawn Berry have been charged with the violent beating and the horrific dragging murder of 49 year old James Byrd. King believed that this stunt was necessary to draw attention to a new group that he had planned on forming called the Texas Rebel Soldiers.

Some common words found in the essay are:
James Byrd, Bill King, Klux Klan, William King, Knights America, King Events, Bill King's, Jasper People, African American, Marks Byrd's, james byrd, bill king, racial hatred, capital murder, confederate knights, knights america, confederate knights america, john william, white supremacist, james byrd walking, william king, dragging murder, texas rebel soldiers, 49 james byrd, john william king,
Approximate Word count = 2289
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)