Voting Station

James Byrd, Jr.

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Victim

The Resume

    (May 2, 1949-June 7, 1998)
    Hate Crime Murder Victim
    A KKK member put a KKK sticker on his tombstone

Why he might be annoying:

    He smoked.
    He hitchhiked.
    After his murder, the KKK held rallies in the town where the crime was committed (Jasper, TX).
    The residents of Jasper were forced to look at their own prejudices and racial hatred some believed was non-existent.
    Some are slow to recognize the seriousness of the crime.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He was brutally murdered by being kidnapped, beaten unconscious, spray painted in the face with black paint, tied to the back of a pick-up truck, pants dropped down to his ankles, dragged 2.5 miles over pavement through a rural black community in Jasper County called Huff Creek, leaving his skin, blood, arms, head, genitalia, and other parts of his body strewn along the highway, his remains were dumped in front of a black cemetery.
    His family couldn't afford a grave site or tombstone for him but he got both from an unlikely source (Dennis Rodman.}
    The three white perpetrators of the crime, Shawn Berry, Bill King and Russell Brewer, were all caught, tried and convicted of capital murder. Berry received life in prison and King and Brewer received the death sentence.
    Texas governor, Rick Perry, signed into law the 'James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Act' that amended the previous generic hate crimes law to include race, color, disability, religion, national origin or ancestry, age, and gender or sexual orientation (May 11, 2001).
    Research: Tim Howard

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

Year In Review:

    In 2023, Out of 7 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2022, Out of 9 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
    In 2021, Out of 80 Votes: 47.50% Annoying
    In 2020, Out of 77 Votes: 41.56% Annoying
    In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2018, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
    In 2017, Out of 10 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
    In 2016, Out of 12 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
    In 2015, Out of 15 Votes: 26.67% Annoying
    In 2014, Out of 26 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
    In 2013, Out of 20 Votes: 45.00% Annoying
    In 2012, Out of 81 Votes: 50.62% Annoying
    In 2011, Out of 20 Votes: 35.00% Annoying
    In 2010, Out of 57 Votes: 47.37% Annoying
    In 2009, Out of 80 Votes: 37.50% Annoying
    In 2008, Out of 46 Votes: 39.13% Annoying
    In 2007, Out of 155 Votes: 43.87% Annoying
    In 2006, Out of 323 Votes: 41.80% Annoying
    In 2005, Out of 531 Votes: 42.00% Annoying
    In 2004, Out of 611 Votes: 41.24% Annoying
    In 2003, Out of 1073 Votes: 42.31% Annoying
    In 2002, Out of 2763 Votes: 36.66% Annoying