A Death in Texas
 Dina Temple-Raston
 (Reviewer - Narayan Radhakrishnan)
 2002 Henry Holt Publishers
  ISBN: 0805066527

A true-life account of a racial murder of James Byrd Jr., in Jasper, Texas that shocked the conscience of a town & a nation.

Advocate & Sr. Reviewer - Narayan Radhakrishnan writes:

Let me be frank. I have never heard of the town Jasper in Texas, or for that matter about the brutal racial murder that shook that town on June 7, 1998. The murder described is so shocking, so brutal that it is difficult for me to imagine it to be a true incident.

James Byrd Jr., an unassuming middle-aged black man is found murdered. The murderers had apparently chained him to the bumper of a car & dragged him for more than three miles along a rough country road. Hours later the victim's body is found in pieces with the flesh shorn off & the organs dismembered. The predominantly white Jasper community is shocked -- a town that believed racism was a thing of past -- a town that took pride in its peaceful enlightened outlook was suddenly in the heat of racial prejudices & disharmony. Evidence leads to three white men, Bill King, Shawn Berry & Russell Brewer. The three are charged with the murder.

From the initial investigation reports to the ultimate trial, A Death in Texas takes the reader through the life in the Jasper Community following this dastardly incident. Through the eyes of Sheriff Billy Rowles, author Dina Temple-Raston paints a picture of a whole community coming to accept the truth -- such as it is. Billy Rowles emerges as the true hero in this crisis. He kept in check the racial tension, & the growing tension between the Ku Klux Klan members & the Black Panthers in the aftermath of this heinous murder. The author also forcefully brings out the gritty determination of District Attorney Guy James Gray & the fight unto the last stand taken by defense attorney Joe Tonahill in describing the highly publicized trial.

Dina Temple-Raston is a journalist & this is her first book based on her experience in covering the Byrd murder trial. The author's fictionalistic narration is effective in bringing home the true, harrowing & brutal effect the murder had on a whole town. The author's authoritative & detailed account without mincing words is impressive & praiseworthy.

The epilogue mentions that two of the accused are awaiting an execution date -- & whatever be arguments for or against the death penalty -- this is one of the “rarest among the rare cases” (the words used by famed Supreme Court Judge of India, Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer while confirming a death sentence in a murder trial) that truly deserves the death sentence.

To say that I enjoyed the book would not be correct, it is disturbing, enjoyably disturbing!
(02/17/02)

Narayan
2002©Narayan Radhakrishnan
A RebeccasReads.Com Sr. Associate Reviewer

Reviewer's Bio:
I am a 26 years old lawyer practicing in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, India. Along with my legal practice, I have finished post-graduate studies for both Business Law & Human Rights. I am a self proclaimed numero-uno legal thriller lover & am the proud owner of all of Grisham's & Turow's novels. I enjoy John Mortimer's Rumpole & relish an occasional Martini & a rare Scot(ch)t-oline with a Patterson on the side.

My work A FICTION OF LAW is now about 500 pages in length & features 500 lawyer authors & 2000 legal thrillers covering a 300 year period - inclusive of entries from the USA, UK, Asia, Europe, China, Middle East etc. Still in search of a publisher.
www.keralatourism.org