[basil]

Having spent a lot of time in Jasper through the years--(my uncle was once mayor there), I can tell you that Jasper is just another little east Texas town--probably comparable to any small town in the US. There are good people there, and some not so good. There are wealthy, and poor, liberals, conservatives, probably a representative of just about any group of people you can name. It just happened that some particularly vile types did this heinous deed, so the whole town must suffer the ignominy of it.

[Black Bart]

Heard from someone who comes from the Jaspar area that the media has seriously misrepresented this story.

His reports were that James Byrd and some others had seriously beaten a relative of one of these men over a drug deal gone bad. The three men sought Byrd out for retaliation.

If true, it wasn't right, but it also wasn't a racially motivated act. Just criminals dealing with other criminals.