Supreme Court Denies Appeal Of Texas Death Row Inmate

HOUSTON, TX -- A Texas death row inmate who killed a black man by dragging him behind his truck 20 years ago had his Supreme Court appeal turned down. John William King, 43, will face the death penalty for chaining James Byrd to his truck and killing him on June 7, 1998, in Jasper. King tried to convince the Supreme Court that he had ineffectual legal representation, KTRE reported.

"On June 7, 1998, Byrd, 49, accepted a ride from three drunk men named Shawn Allen Berry, Lawrence Russel Brewer, and John William King. He had already known one of them. Instead of taking him home, the three men beat Byrd behind a convenience store, tied him to their pickup truck with a chain tied around his waist, stripped the man naked, and dragged him about three miles. It is not known whether he was alive during the dragging,"murderpedia.org states.

Brewer was sentenced to death and executed Sept. 21, 2011, while Berry received life in prison, murderpedia.org added.

It is unclear when King will be executed. Texas currently has 235 inmates sitting on death row, the third most in the country behind California (740) and Florida (354), according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Texas has had the most executions so far this year with 10.

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Photo of King John William King via murderpedia.org