i watched a movie last night...jasper,texas
wow not so sure what i feel now after watching it i have also stood strong and don't believe in the death penalty but i must say this movie really makes you wonder yes i know they are human as well but the one guy he didn't care that he did what he did(he is now sitting on texas dr) i kindda feel thats where he belongs... has anyone seen the movie? what was your thoughts? i also found it to be disturbing in parts i'm still speechless over it and i feel for the victims family this was just so hmmmm well anyways just wanted to know if anyone saw the movie and their thoughts

Pooh, yes, I have seen this movie. For those of you who haven't, you really should. Here's a brief synopsis of what the movie is about...

The time: June 1998. The place: The sleepy town of Jasper, TX. Three young, self-styled white supremists overpower a 49-year-old black man named James Byrd Jr., chain him to the back of their pickup, and literally drag him to death. What follows is a media firestorm, exacerbated by scores of network and cable-TV news services, the grim pronouncements of so-called pundits, and the intrusion upon Jasper of several extremist activists, ranging from members of the Ku Klux Klan to the newly formed Black Panthers. As the frenzy continues, the heretofore peaceful, if somewhat tenuous, relationship between the white and black residents of Jasper is severely strained, with echoes of past racism resounding throughout the area. In the center of the controversy are two decent, hard-working public servants: R.C. Horn, the first black mayor of Jasper, and Billy Rowles, the town's white sheriff. Also profoundly affected by the appalling murder of Byrd are the respective parents of the victim and the killers. Happily, when the dust clears, justice is done (two of the murderers are condemned to death, the third sentenced to life imprisonment), and, instead of being wrenched apart, the black and white communities of Jasper draw closer together than they have ever been.

Miranda

Pooh, I wanted to post the information about the movie so that members of WAP would know what I was talking about when I made some of the comments I am about to make. I hope you don't mind.

I saw this movie when it first came out. I remember when all of this happened, and followed it in the news from start to finish. Even though I don't know any of the people involved in this incident, it touched my life in many ways. My family is inter-racial... Whites, African American, Mexican, along with the children of their marriages. I live in the South, and where I live, there is a lot of talk about KKK and racial discrimination. Cases like this, really get to me. If you go several miles in any direction from my home, you tend to run into white supremacists, and people claiming to be involved with the KKK. I am sure some of them are involved in the KKK, and many others brag that they are, when they aren't.

I don't believe in the DP under any circumstances. I never have and never will. I feel that all three of these men should have been given life w/o parole. To me, murder, in any capacity, is murder. What these men did was horrific and uncalled for. It was done because of prejudice and hate. I personally hope that all three of them think about what they did to this man on a daily basis. I hope they have nightmares about it every single night. Nothing could be a better punishment for them than to have to live with what they did and have it haunt them every day of their lives.

Yes, they are only human. I know that. But by sentencing them to death, all that does is creates more victims (their families), and when they are finally executed, what kind of havoc could that cause to rise up in Jasper again? This small town has a history of racial problems.

OK... I'm off my soapbox. I think I have said enough. Sorry folks; this is a hard one for me to swallow.

Miranda

I know what you mean poohblueu, after seeing the movie the emotions of hate and disgust and the crime and the attitute of not caring by the persons involved.

I live in TX and know the story quite well, but still do not believe more hate brought into our souls is the answer for using the DP.
Nor for the families involved. But, it sure was a wake up call" what the mind and soul is capable of, when hate and maddness is brought in look what the hate and maddness did here so using the same back is not healthy.

If given life w/o parole and much time to remember and then writing them over yrs will maybe make it even harder as they see how none hate and non violence the other side of humanity may get thru and no chance to make amends except pay for lives and see the people outside join together instead of split further the opposite of what they believed is going to live w/also...

i do agree with you both i did post this comment right after watching the movie i don't live in the south but have in the past and i have seen things i would rather not remember the only male in the movie that was shown in court he is who i really had been thinking of he like didn't care one bit about any of this and the message he said to the news for james's family was more then i could handle i just can't believe people really wanna live life like this i also have a few nephews that are bi-racial and we get the looks and people talk but i never let in bother me i do hope when they get older people can see them for what they atre and not the color of their skin

I don't believe that those men (the murderers) will ever feel any remorse for their actions. From what I have seen, those racial feelings are deeply ingrained in some sections of the south. They see their hatred as a good thing. I think that they may even be treated as heros, in prison.
As an example, they just indicted one of the men guilty of killing three civil rights workers, back in the 60s. This man is now an old man, and he spits at the suggestion that what he did was wrong.
To be put to death is the only punishment they will understand.

I saw the movie and I know what you mean. The acts he committed were ruthless and he did not show any remorse.

I also think back to a movie I saw about the life of Ted Bundy (Mark Harmon played the lead role). It was, The Deliberate Stranger, and he was cold too. But I still think that the death penalty is not the right way to deal with someone like that. I don't want to start a political debate here but the death penalty is just a government-sanctioned murder.

Will