Co-defendant Berry led police to the chain allegedly used in the crime BACKGROUND: Get details on the case RELATED VIDEO CNN's Susan Candiotti reports on a fellow inmate's testimony about King Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K

February 18, 1999
Web posted at: 10:00 p.m. EST (0300 GMT)

In this story: Blood initiation Defense: Racist tattoos for prison survival RELATED STORIES, SITES

JASPER, Texas (AP) -- The prosecutor in the trial of one of three white men accused of dragging a black man to death said a logging chain was stretched out to its full 24 1/2 feet in the courtroom Thursday because "you always show the jury what things kill somebody."

John William King and two other men are accused of chaining James Byrd Jr. to the back of a pickup truck and dragging him almost three miles. Prosecutors said Byrd was alive and conscious until the bumpy logging road tore his body apart.

FBI agents testified they found human tissue and blood both at the crime scene and underneath the truck belonging to one of King's co-defendants, Shawn Berry. Both are said to match the victim's.

Jasper County District Attorney Guy James Gray told reporters outside the courthouse that any blood or other evidence had been washed off before authorities recovered the chain. "And besides," Gray said, "any time you cover something with dirt, it's nearly impossible to get DNA."

FBI agent Norman Townsend testified that on June 8, the day after Byrd's death, Berry led authorities behind the trailer of Tom Faulk, a man who said he has known King for 15 years. Berry kicked up a piece of plywood covering a hole where the logging chain was discovered.

Hoover testifies King once talked about "taking a black out"

Blood initiation

Also taking the witness stand Thursday was a man who did time with King, 24, in a Texas prison. The ex-con said he and King had talked behind bars about killing a black man to prove loyalty to the white supremacist gangs they belonged to.

"To get in you have to have a blood tie," said William Matthew Hoover, a convicted robber.

When asked how they would kill the black man, Hoover, 28, said, "Kidnapping, maybe put in the back of the car, take him out in the woods ... kill him."

Outside the courthouse, Gray was asked if the testimony meant Berry was the only one of the three defendants not yet initiated into the gang. Gray said there was another interpretation. "Sometimes people joined gangs in the pen and they don't get a chance to 'blood in,' and they wait until they get outside to do the 'blood in' thing," Gray explained.

Hoover's prison photo album, introduced into evidence, showed a handwritten note from King inviting Hoover to a gathering of old prison mates for a barbecue and "bashing on July 4, 1998."

Hoover described the planned bashing as a beating. By the date of the event, King was in jail on suspicion of Byrd's murder.

Defense attorneys suggest King's racist tattoos helped him survive in prison

Defense: Racist tattoos for 'prison survival'

Defense attorneys tried Thursday to show that King's racist and satanic tattoos were intended to help the defendant survive in prison.

Under cross-examination, Jasper police officer Rich Ford acknowledged that the symbols on John William King's skin could be interpreted in different ways but insisted they expressed values and beliefs.

"Some may have expression of love, and some may have expression of hate," Ford said.

But he acknowledged the tattoos could have been meant to intimidate other inmates who might prey on a 5-foot-7 white man in prison.

"It's in the eye of the beholder," defense attorney Brack Jones told him.

"Yes, sir," Ford replied.

Prosecutors Wednesday had labeled the tattoos as evidence of King's racist beliefs and as motivation for the brutal killing of Byrd.

Jones noted Hoover mentioned King had been assaulted while in prison, suggesting that was a reason for King's racist views.

"His attitude changed in the penitentiary," Jones said. "And the tattoos were put on in the penitentiary. We felt these things were explained to the jurors."

Asked if the prison system ultimately was on trial here, Jones said, "I'm only indicating what the evidence shows. The evidence speaks for itself."

"All I can do is point out what the facts are," Gray said. "All I want to do is prove he was bad, he's racist and did it and is going to do other things in the future."

Correspondent Susan Candiotti and The Associated Press contributed to this report.