Cover of A Death in Texas: A Story of Race, Murder and a Small Town's Struggle for Redemption

A Death in Texas: A Story of Race, Murder and a Small Town's Struggle for Redemption

by Dina Temple-Raston · 2001

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On June 7, 1998, a trio of young white men chained a black man named James Byrd, Jr., to the bumper of a truck and dragged him three miles down a country road. From the initial investigation and through the trials and their aftermath, A Death in Texasfollows the turns of events through the eyes of Sheriff Billy Rowles and other townspeople trying to come to grips with the killing. Drawing on extensive interviews with key players, Dina Temple-Raston brings to life a cast of remarkable characters: the unrepentant baby-faced killer, Bill King; Jasper's white patriarch and former Jack Ruby defense attorney, Joe Tonahill; the hard-drinking victim, James Byrd Jr.; the determined district attorney, Guy James Gray; and Sheriff Rowles, who held them together.

Subject
true crimetrue crimeMore like thisLess of thishistoryhistoryMore like thisLess of this
Genre
crimecrimeMore like thisLess of this
Setting
TexasTexasMore like thisLess of this
Audience
adult
Length
medium · 352 pages

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