HUNTSVILLE, Texas, Sept. 21 (UPI) -- Texas Wednesday executed Lawrence Russell Brewer for the 1998 dragging death of James Byrd Jr., officials said.
Brewer, 44, was executed at 7:21 p.m. by lethal injection in Huntsville for the hate crime, CNN reported, citing the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Byrd was dragged for miles while chained to a pickup truck near Jasper, KFDM-TV, Beaumont, Texas, said.
Brewer, one of three men convicted in the killing of Byrd, who was 49, chose a last meal that included two chicken fried steaks, a bacon cheeseburger, fried okra, three fajitas, a pizza, three root beers and a pint of vanilla ice cream, a Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman said.
Brewer had been on death row 12 years.
Families of the condemned and the victim were to occupy separate rooms, each with glass windows allowing a view of the chamber. Several of Byrd's relatives were expected to attend.
Byrd's death led to calls for stiffer penalties for hate crimes and passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, signed into law by President Barack Obama in 2009.
Also convicted in Byrd's death were John William King, 36, whose death sentence is being appealed, and Shawn Berry, 36, who received a life sentence.
