Murder Defendant Cries Foul in Letter

A white ex-convict on trial in the dragging death of a black man claimed in a letter to a local newspaper that he was being judged unfairly, but still has “law and order in my heart.” As lawyers tried for a third day to pare a 122-member jury pool, the Jasper (Texas) NewsBoy, a twice-weekly paper, published John William King’s letter. “I don’t know why you are so eager to condemn me for this man’s murder when no testimony has yet been heard, and I don’t care about that, either,” King, 24, wrote. “The system is turning against me; but I still have law and order in my heart.” He could face the death penalty if convicted of killing James Byrd Jr. on June 7 by dragging him nearly three miles behind a pickup.