Question

Describe how Texas laws protect our civil liberties and basic civil rights.

What are your thoughts on the James Byrd, Jr., case?

In your opinion, should Texas still have the death penalty?

Answer 1

A

1.civil rights are guarantees that government officials will treat people equally and that decisions will be made on the basis of merit rather than race, gender, or other personal characteristics. Because of the Constitution’s civil rights guarantee, it is unlawful for a school or university run by a state government to treat students differently based on their race, ethnicity, age, sex, or national origin. In the 1960s and 1970s, many states had separate schools where only students of a certain race or gender were able to study.

2.Civil rights are, at the most fundamental level, guarantees by the government that it will treat people equally, particularly people belonging to groups that have historically been denied the same rights and opportunities as others. The proclamation that “all men are created equal” appears in the Declaration of Independence, the due process clause of the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution, and the Texas Constitution’s Article 1 Section 3a requires that the federal government treat people equally.

3.We can contrast civil rights with civil liberties, which are limitations on government power designed to protect our fundamental freedoms. For example, the Texas Constitution’s Article 1 Section 13 the application of “cruel and unusual punishments” to those convicted of crimes, a limitation on government power. As another example, the guarantee of equal protection means the laws and the Constitution must be applied on an equal basis, limiting the government’s ability to discriminate or treat some people differently, unless the unequal treatment is based on a valid reason, such as age. A law that imprisons Asian Americans twice as long as Latinos for the same offense, or a law that says people with disabilities don’t have the right to contact members of Congress while other people do, would treat some people differently from others for no valid reason and might well be unconstitutional. According to the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Equal Protection Clause, “all persons similarly circumstanced shall be treated alike.”

On June 7, 1998, Byrd spent the day drinking and socializing with friends and family in Jasper, across town from his apartment. As he was walking home that Saturday, Berry, Brewer, and King offered him a ride, and he accepted. The three men had been driving around Jasper in Berry’s pickup truck for much of the evening, drinking beer and looking for young women. Witnesses report seeing Byrd riding in the bed of a gray pickup with two or three men in the cab between 2:30 and 2:45 a.m. Berry later testified that he had stopped and given Byrd a ride. He said he didn’t know Byrd but had recognized him as somebody who frequently walked around Jasper.

Instead of taking Byrd home, Berry, Brewer, and King drove east out of Jasper and stopped at a small clearing in the woods. Investigators believe there was a fight in the clearing because of the upturned grass, disturbed dirt, and a broken beer bottle, which were consistent with signs of a struggle. In the clearing, the investigators also found several items that could have fallen out of a truck while someone was being pulled out or that could have been left during a struggle.

In the clearing, the three men beat Byrd, and Brewer sprayed Byrd’s face with black paint. After the beating, Byrd was chained by the ankles to the back of Berry’s pickup. The truck traveled along the dirt trail and turned onto the pavement of Huff Creek Road. Byrd was dragged roughly three miles (around five kilometres).

Investigators found Byrd’s personal items scattered along the dirt trail and pavement. His body apparently bounced into a ditch on the right side of the road, hitting the ragged edge of a concrete culvert (a roadside drainage ditch) just below the right arm. The impact severed the arm, shoulder, neck, and head from the rest of the body, which continued to be dragged for another mile. King, Berry, and Brewer then dumped James Byrd’s mutilated remains in the town’s segregated black cemetery and went to a barbecue.

It is not known how long Byrd was alive during the dragging, but Brewer claimed that Byrd’s throat had been slashed before he was dragged. Forensic evidence suggests that Byrd had been attempting to keep his head up, and an autopsy suggested that Byrd was alive for much of the dragging and died only after his head, shoulder, and right arm were severed when his body hit the culvert.

State law enforcement officials and Jasper’s district attorney determined that, since King and Brewer were well-known white supremacists, the murder was classified as a hate crime. After three separate trials, all three men were found guilty of capital murder. Brewer and King were sentenced to death—they were executed in 2011 and 2019, respectively—and Berry received life in prison.

I don't think there is any mistake done by Byrd. His friends are very bad they don't do like this. 2 are sentenced to death and 3rd was life time prisoned. From my opinion he will also have to face death.In my opinion texas still have death penalty and give peace to that good guy Byrd.