Son of dragging victim pleads for killer's life

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The son of James Byrd Jr., a black man dragged to death in 1998 by a white supremacist in Jasper, led a fast and prayer vigil to fight for the life of his father’s killer. John W. King, the


first of two white men sentenced to death for the 49-year-old Byrd’s slaying, has almost exhausted his state appeals. Byrd’s son, Ross, who initially favored the sentence, has since changed


his mind. “When I heard King had exhausted his appeals, I began thinking, ‘How can this help me or solve my pain?’ and I realized it couldn’t,” Byrd said. MORE TO READ