Lawrence Russell Brewer executed

HUNTSVILLE - The State of Texas has executed Lawrence Russell Brewer for the dragging death of James Byrd Junior.

Brewer was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m. Wednesday at the Walls Unit in Huntsville.

6 News reporter Lindsey Kovacevich was a witness to the execution. 

She reports two of James Byrd Junior's sisters, Louvon Harris and Clara Taylor, and a niece, Tiffany Taylor, were witnesses to the execution. They were the first to be escorted down the street and into the Walls Unit for the execution. Media witnesses were taken through the courtyard and Brewer's mother, father, brother and two friends soon followed to prepare to witness the execution. 

Lindsey reports that once the witnesses were inside the viewing room, they saw Brewer strapped to the gurney. He was wearing white clothing and a white sheet was pulled up to his chest. He was pale and appeared nervous. Brewer looked only at his family and almost started to cry. His parents and brother were very emotional throughout the entire execution, crying for much of the time.

When the mixture of lethal chemicals began flowing into his body, Brewer looked away from his family and stared at the ceiling. His eyes quickly closed and within minutes, he breathed heavily a few times, his chest heaved once, and then there was silence. Only then did his brother look back at him. By then, Brewer was dead.

His family didn't talk to reporters when the execution was over. 

Clara Taylor, one of Byrd's sisters, said she was here for her brother but also her mother.

Taylor said the execution is the first step toward justice. The next step step is the execution of John William King, the other convicted killer sentenced to death. He doesn't have an execution date. Shawn Allen Berry, the third man convicted of capital murder in Byrd's killing, is serving a life sentence. He isn't eligible for parole until June 7, 2038.    

Lindsey was the only television reporter to witness the lethal injection. In July, Brewer granted Lindsey his first and only interview in the years since the dragging death in 1998.

Part 1: KFDM Brewer interview

Part 2: KFDM Brewer interview

Byrd family reaction to Brewer interview

Earlier Wednesday, Brewer was given about four hours of personal time to meet with family and friends at the Polunsky Unit, Death Row, in Livingston, before he was driven to Huntsville. He refused to eat the large final meal he requested.

Brewer had been on Death Row for the past 12 years for the 1998 murder in which Byrd was dragged several miles down Huff Creek Road just outside of Jasper. Byrd tried to hold himself up by his elbows. His body swung from side to side until it struck a culvert and he was decapitated.

According to the TDCJ, the witness list to the execution included:

Victim witnesses-

*Louvon Harris/sister of James Byrd Junior

*Clara Taylor/sister of James Byrd Junior

*Tiffany Taylor/niece of James Byrd Junior

Personal witnesses-

*John Brewer/Lawrence Russell Brewer's brother

*Helen Brewer/Lawrence Russell Brewer's mother

*Lawrence Brewer/Lawrence Russell Brewer's father

*Karen Hanks Nance/friend

*Morris Paul Gillham 

In KFDM's interview with Brewer in July, he continued to maintain his innocence and expressed no remorse for taking part in the crime.

"I know in my heart I participated in assaulting him but I had nothing to do with the killing as far as dragging him or driving the truck or anything," Brewer told KFDM reporter Lindsey Kovacevich. "I have no regrets. I'd do it all over again to tell you the truth."

In August KFDM spoke with a sister of James Byrd Junior. Betty Boatner said the world should never forget what happened to her brother in 1998. Referring to Brewer, she said, "I don't hate him. I really feel sorry for him because of the path he chose. His life had to be miserable that he had to join a group that hated someone so much he'd take their life."

Brewer interview Part 1: August 10 report - LIVINGSTON - 13 years after the the dragging death of James Byrd Junior, Lawrence Russell Brewer, the first defendant to receive an execution date, has granted his first interview.

Sometime after 6 in the evening on September 21, Brewer is scheduled to die by injection in Huntsville for a hate crime that made headlines across the nation and the world.

Brewer is one of three men convicted of capital murder for the dragging death of James Byrd Junior. Byrd was tied to a chain and dragged for several miles down Huff Creek Road on the outskirts of Jasper. It was June 7, 1998. Law enforcement officers quickly arrested Lawrence Russell Brewer, John William King and Shawn Allen Berry. All three were convicted of capital murder. Berry got a life sentence. King and Brewer received the death penalty.

A judge recently set Brewer's execution date for September 21. That prompted KFDM News to seek an interview with the convicted killer. He agreed. A spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said to their knowledge it was his first interview.

KFDM News reporter Lindsey Kovacevich and photographer Drue Barrilleaux traveled to death row in Livingston two weeks ago for the interview.

Brewer was 31 years old when he took part in the murder of James Byrd Junior. Brewer is now 44. His life for more than a decade has been spent primarily in a small cell on death row.

He answered all of our questions about the crime, about his ties to what investigators call a white supremacy group, and his thoughts about execution.

We also spoke with former Jasper County sheriff Billy Rowles to help put of Brewer's answers in perspective. The former sheriff told us some of the answers aren't supported by the evidence.

"No, I don't regret going there," Brewer told KFDM News during his interview. "I'd go again to Jasper."

Huff Creek Road is on the outskirts of Jasper. It's a winding, tree-lined road. A peaceful place. That image was shattered by a crime so graphic it became known across the country and the world.

"That's all I could see whenever I looked out the sliding glass window of the truck is Shawn (Berry) bending over at a pair of ankles," said Brewer.

Many call it a modern-day lynching with a chain instead of a rope. The dragging death of James Byrd Junior. June 7, 1998.

"I know in my heart I participated in assaulting him, but I had nothing to do with the killing as far as dragging him or driving the truck or anything."

The words of Lawrence Russell Brewer, 13 years later, offering his version of the events.

It's the first time he's given an interview from prison. The Polunsky Unit in Livingston is where death row is located. It's surrounded by razor wire and guard towers. It has been Brewer's home beginning in September of 1999.

"I literally seen Shawn Berry use a knife to cut Byrd's throat," said Brewer.

Brewer has stuck to that story since his capital murder conviction.

"There was absolutely no throat cut," said former Jasper County sheriff Billy Rowles. There's not even scratches. No knife cuts on James Byrd at all."

Billy Rowles was the Jasper County Sheriff when Byrd was dragged to his death. Rowles investigated every detail of the case and worked hand in hand with Guy James Gray, the district attorney at the time.

"He's communicated to Guy Gray and I that Byrd was already dead when he put the chain on him. That just didn't happen. There is absolutely no evidence of that at all."

What the evidence showed is that Byrd was alive when he was tied to a 24 1/2 foot chain and dragged behind a pickup truck for several miles down Huff Creek Road.

It was an agonizing death. Byrd struggled to hold himself up by his elbows. The ground chipped away at his bones. His body swung from side to side until it struck a culvert and came apart.

It brings back memories the former sheriff wants to put to rest.

"Sickening," said Rowles. "A lot of bad memories out here. I still remember walking and the body was right in the middle of the road."

"I have no regrets," Brewer said during his interview. "I'd do it all over again to tell you the truth."

We wondered what Brewer would say to the Byrd family if he had a chance to speak with them. Byrd's mother, Stella, died last year. His father, James Byrd Senior, still lives in the family's home in Jasper.

"Absolutely nothing," said Brewer. "I would like to speak with the mom and father. Tell them face to face exactly what happened in private instead of through the media."

"Going through all those trials and still absolutely zero remorse," said Rowles. "That's just so far over my head I can't comprehend it."

Rowles and others close to the case say to understand more about Brewer, more about what led to the crime, you can look at the tattoos that cover his body. They tell a story of hate.

"I wouldn't consider it a white supremacist," said Brewer. "More like a separatist. Like you do your thing and we do our thing."

Brewer joined the Confederate Knights of America when he was in prison. It was years before he ended up in Jasper. He says the group molded him. It molded his views about blacks and other minorities.

"I came out of prison after being there for four years and watching the blacks and Mexicans literally beat people near to death just to get them to say that they'd give up," said Brewer. "So I come out of that mentality. Had hatred toward them so I just wanted to be around white people."

Beliefs branded on his body and showing his loyalty to the Confederate Knights.

"When you're a member you need to identify yourself," said Brewer. "Everyone would recognize you."

Lawrence Russell Brewer will now be forever linked to the murder of James Byrd Junior.

"This is a scar on Jasper," said Rowles. "We are still carrying these scars. They're not gone. It's a shame that everybody can't accept life that way. To treat all people with respect and dignity. That would be my prayer."

A prayer the former sheriff says is unanswered because of the events that took place on this logging road 13 years ago.

Rowles and former district attorney Guy James Gray visited Brewer in prison a few weeks ago.

They wanted to meet with him one last time to make sure, in their words, they got it right. That when Brewer is executed there would be no question in their minds that he's guilty of capital murder for the dragging death of James Byrd Junior. They spent a couple of hours talking with Brewer and listening, and are convinced they did get it right.

Part 2: Brewer interview: August 11 report - LIVINGSTON - 44-year-old year old Lawrence Russell Brewer is confined to death row in Livingston waiting for Wednesday, September 21, the date when he's scheduled to die by injection. Brewer is one of three men convicted of capital murder for the dragging death of James Byrd Junior.

Byrd was tied to a chain, first by his neck, then his ankles and dragged for several miles down Huff Creek Road on the outskirts of Jasper. It was June 7, 1998.

Law enforcement officers quickly arrested Lawrence Russell Brewer, John William King, and Shawn Allen Berry. All three were convicted of capital murder. Berry got a life sentence. King and Brewer received the death penalty for the hate crime that made headlines across the nation and the world.

When a judge recently set Brewer's execution date, it prompted KFDM news to request an interview. Brewer agreed. It's the first interview he's ever granted since his trial and conviction 12 years ago, according to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.

Wednesday night, in part 1 of Lawrence Brewer: The First Interview, he talked about the dragging death of James Byrd Junior. We also heard from former Sheriff Billy Rowles, who said Brewer's version of some of the events is contradicted by the evidence and untrue.

In the second part of the report by Lindsey Kovecevich and photographer Drue Barrilleaux, Brewer talks about death row, where he spends 22 hours a day in his cell. He says his upcoming execution is "a way out" and that "20 feet is the most you'll ever walk in your life without hands behind your back. Keeps getting worse every day in here."

"There's no life in here. It's like living in a cement storage shed," said Brewer.

A 60 square foot cell on death row at the Polunsky Unit in Livingston is his home.

"Confined to this cell 22 hours a day, 5 days a week," said Brewer.

Secluded from the 300 death row inmates inside a razor wire fence and the 2,500 other prisoners who don't have a date with death.

"All the time he sat in that cement cage and all the time he's had to think. I can't believe there's no remorse there. It just shows he's different from us," said former Jasper County Sheriff Billy Rowles. He's reacting to the KFDM interview with Brewer.

"As far as I'm concerned it's over. He did wrong," said Rowles.

The dragging death investigation was his life for years. Recently he met with Brewer to make certain, in his mind, Brewer deserves to die.

"He said on there 'I'm ready to go. I was there. I was a part of it.' And that's what happens to people that do that. He's ready to go and I'm ready to get it over with," added Rowles.

"Some days I'm wishing for a date to come and some days I'm not wishing for a date," said Brewer. "So now that it's here I'm willing to accept it."

What are Brewer's views about the death penalty? They might surprise you.

"I'm for the death penalty. I feel that if you take a life you should pay for it by taking your own life if you're actually guilty of taking a life," Brewer told us.

Brewer maintains he didn't take part in killing Byrd on June 7, 1998. The facts at his trial and the investigation contradict that.

"This is a good out for me. I don't want a life sentence-period-with or without parole. I wouldn't be happy with that," said Brewer.

So Brewer waits; waits for the day when he's escorted down the hallway and into the death chamber in Huntsville. He'll be strapped to a gurney, an IV placed in his arm. Brewer will get a chance to make a final statement before a combination of drugs, a lethal cocktail, flows into his body until he's pronounced dead.

"I'm glad it's about to come to an end," said Brewer.

Coming to an end isolated in a room at a prison in Huntsville. About 100 miles away from a road where James Byrd Junior suffered alone. The victim of a hate crime that made his name known across the world. A world still working to learn from what happened here, in Jasper, Texas.

While on death row, Brewer has no physical contact with other inmates. Prisoners are fed three times a day. A guard puts the tray through a slot in their cell door. Recreation is separated, but often times inmates try to yell across the yard and pass notes to each other on a string.

Now that Brewer has an execution date, he's been moved to another area on death row with even greater security. Brewer will be transferred to the Walls Unit in Huntsville on the day of his execution.

We're told a sister of James Byrd Junior will be among those watching his lethal injection.

Some people have criticized our decision to interview Lawrence Russell Brewer and broadcast some of his comments. They've told us the report serves no purpose and Brewer doesn't deserve the attention.

We spoke with Betty Boatner, a sister of James Byrd Junior. She lives in Jasper. Boatner is one of 7 surviving children of James Byrd Senior and Stella Byrd. Stella died last year. James Jr is the only sibiling to die.

Boatner told KFDM News the world must never forget what happened. The family wants people to talk about the crime against James Byrd Junior. She said we must learn from history.

"Some want us to forget it," said Boatner. "We can't and shouldn't forget. We have the right to remember and hope that others take heed and learn from it. People have to learn from history so we don't repeat it. Everyone must learn from it. If you disagree with someone, you shouldn't take their life just because of the color of their skin."

She told us the crime doesn't reflect on Brewer's parents.

"It's not their fault," said Boatner. "I met with his dad at trial. whatever punishment he was given, that's the law. Brewer needs to make peace with himself before he meets his maker."

And referring to Brewer, she said, "I don't hate him. I really feel sorry for him because of the path he chose. His life had to be so miserable that he had to join a group that hated someone so much he'd take their life. Even though people give you the ammunition to hate, I refuse to. Hate is like cancer. It will eat you up. If I saw him face to face, I'd tell him I forgive him for what he did. Otherwise, I'd be like him. My mom forgave all three of them. My mom didn't want violence anywhere."

Byrd family reacts to Brewer interview - JASPER - The family of James Byrd Junior is credited with helping Jasper avoid violence after the dragging death. They urged the community to remain calm.

Byrd's mother, Stella, died last year. His father, James Byrd Senior, still lives at the family' home in Jasper. The couple had eight children. Seven are alive.

KFDM News spoke with Betty Boatner, a sister of James Byrd Junior, who lives in Jasper. We asked her about the interview with Lawrence Russell Brewer. Some people have called us to say he doesn't deserve the exposure and that Jasper doesn't need this sort of publicity again.

"Some want us to forget it," said Boatner. "We can't and shouldn't forget. We have the right to remember and hope that others take heed and learn from it. People have to learn from history so we don't repeat it. Everyone must learn from it. If you disagree with someone, you shouldn't take their life just because of the color of their skin."

We asked about Lawrence Russell Brewer.

"If I saw him face to face, I'd tell him I forgive him for what he did. Otherwise, I'd be like him. My mom forgave all three of them. My mom didn't want violence anywhere."