Sylvester Turner: “last Sunday morning James Byrd, a constituent of mine from Jasper, Texas, was brutally murdered when he was beaten…”

“last Sunday morning James Byrd, a constituent of mine from Jasper, Texas, was brutally murdered when he was beaten, chained and dragged from the back of a truck. This senseless act of violence was committed against a black man by three white men with a criminal record. The people of Jasper, Texas, both black and white, have joined in denouncing this shocking act. The local officials have called upon the Justice Department to fully prosecute the perpetrators and to seek the death penalty. I have urged the U.S. Attorney to prosecute with the full force of Federal civil rights laws. For those of us who believe that racial prejudice and hatred have no place in American society, this tragic event is a reminder that much is left to be done, that no American is safe until every American treats his neighbor with dignity, regardless of the color of his skin. Let us renew our commitment to root out the vestiges of racial prejudice, that the tragic death of James Byrd be not in vain. Our hearts go out today to the Byrd family, their grief is shared by the people of Jasper, Texas, and by the American people.”