Bush's indifference and Republican lobbying killed this bill in the state Senate.
Compassionate conservativism seems to begin with the haters in Texas.
Dragging death victim's daughter backs Texas hate crime bill
Francis Byrd-Mullins, daughter of hate crime victim James Byrd
March 5, 1999
Web posted at: 9:11 p.m. EST (0211 GMT)
AUSTIN, Texas (CNN) -- As her father's convicted killer sits on death row and two more suspects await trial, the daughter of a Texas murder victim is urging state lawmakers to pass a hate crimes bill.
"No law will change the events of June seventh," Francis Renee Byrd-Mullins testified with trembling hands and moistened eyes before a Senate State Affairs Committee on Thursday. "But I hope by being here today, my testimony will help to prevent any other acts of violence of this nature from occurring in America."
Last summer, Byrd-Mullins' father, James Byrd Jr., was chained alive to the back of a pickup truck and dragged for several miles until his body was ripped apart.
"It was a crime against black Americans, and it was also a crime against humanity," Byrd-Mullins said.
She urged support for a bill that would establish a Texas Human Rights Protection Act to allow victims of hate crimes to seek civil remedies in the form of compensatory and punitive damages.
"My father's death serves as a tragic reminder that despite decades of laws, too many people have too little respect for the rights of others whose only crime is being different," she said.
State Sen. Royce West sponsored the legislation which he said would send a message "that if you commit a hate crime, you will pay a high cost, not only to society, but to your victim as well."
The measure calls for civil penalties up to $100,000 and would give more enforcement authority to the Texas Human Rights Commission.
"What happened to James Byrd Jr., what happened to [gay murder victim] Matthew Shepard shouldn't happen to an American in 1999 as we move into the next millennium," West said.
After Byrd-Mullins testified, all committee members rose to applaud and then embrace her.
Reporter Rich Parsons of CNN affiliate KXAN and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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