HUNTSVILLE, Texas — One of the most painful chapters in Southeast Texas history is moving closer to a resolution.
John William King, the accused ring leader in the brutal 1998 slaying of James Byrd Jr., is scheduled to be executed this week.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Parole in Austin voted 7 to 0 Monday afternoon, April 22, not to recommend a 120-day reprieve for King's execution and 7 to 0 no to recommend commutation.
READ MORE | Here's how the clemency process in Texas works
King faces execution by lethal injection in the death chamber in Huntsville on April 24.
READ MORE | Execution date set for Jasper man convicted in 1998 dragging death of James Byrd, Jr. this spring
In 1998, three men chained Byrd by his ankles to the bumper of a pickup and dragged him three miles on an old logging road on the outskirts of Jasper.
Two other men, Shawn Berry and Lawrence Russell Brewer, were convicted in the case. Berry is serving a life sentence, and Brewer was executed in 2011.
The Jasper community shared with 12News in June how they are remembering James Byrd Jr. 20 years after his death and healing from the incident.
12News will be following this story live from Huntsville on Wednesday, April 24.
