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Family of James Byrd Jr., Man Dragged to Death, Talks About Forgiveness 20 Years Later

Thursday morning, a memorial bench was installed at the Jasper County Courthouse to honor James Byrd Jr., who was dragged and killed behind a pickup truck 20 years ago.

JASPER, Texas -- It's been 20 years since a man named James Byrd Jr. was chained to the back of a pickup truck and dragged to his death by three white men.

The hate crime in the small East Texas town of Jasper made national headlines back on June 7, 1998.

Painted circles mark evidence in the dragging death of James Byrd Jr. who was dragged to death by three white men on June 7, 1998 in Jasper, Texas. (Paul Buck/AFP/Getty Images)

Byrd’s sister Betty Boatner said reading the Bible helped get her through the pain of losing her brother.

“Trust in the lord with all your heart and lean not into our own understanding,” said Boatner.

“It was devastating I couldn’t believe that this would happen, words cannot express how we felt at that time,” said Boatner.

Boatner was very close to her brother who would come over to her house several times a week.

“He loved to sing, he would play the trumpet like nobody’s business he was just being James Byrd Jr,” said Boatner.

She said the hardest part is knowing he was in pain during the last few moments of his life.

John King, Russell Brewer and Shawn Berry were all convicted of capital murder in the case.

“We got it through it by the grace of god some negative some positive but we made it through,” said Boatner.

Since then, the town has seen change.

The Jasper City Cemetery used to be divided by race, separated by a fence that was taken down in 1999 after standing there for over 160 years.

Former Beaumont enterprise journalist Cathy Frye was reporting when the fence came down.

"They held a ceremony in which they removed the fence. It was very moving," said Frye.

Some residents in Jasper said privately that they believe racism still divides the community.

Boatner said she has not experienced any issues with the people she spends time with.

"Everyone has their own thoughts about this and that. As long as you keep it to yourself," said Boatner.

Boatner said the bible inspired her to spread the message of love and forgiveness to honor her brother.

Boatner now takes care of her 93-year-old father James Byrd Sr. who has Alzheimer’s. Her mother, Stella Byrd, passed away in 2010.

Thursday morning, a memorial bench was installed at the Jasper County Courthouse to honor Byrd.

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