kcentv.com - KCEN HD - Waco, Temple, and KilleenLawrence Brewer execution set for 6 p.m.

Lawrence Brewer execution set for 6 p.m.

One of three men convicted of the racially-based killing of a black man from Jasper has only hours to live.

Lawrence Russell Brewer will be put to death at 6 p.m. for his role in the killing of James Byrd, Jr.

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice says Brewer's family will be allowed to see him one last time this morning. Later today he will be brought from the Polunsky Unit in Livingston to his isolation cell in Huntsville.

There he'll have his final meal, meet with a chaplain, and make his final phone call. 

He will then be taken to the execution chamber.

The execution chamber is a 9-foot by 12-foot room with turquoise walls and a gurney. When Jim Willett was the warden of Huntsville Unit, he added a pillow to the gurney. Two adjacent rooms, which view into the execution room through glass windows, house the family or families of the crime victim and the family of the condemned.
	Death chamber in Huntsville

Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesperson Jason Clark says because of the nature of the case, security will be in full force.

"We've met with both local and state police and so you'll see an increase presence of law enforcement on the day of the execution and we're just doing that to be proactive just because of the nature of the crime," Clark said.

President signs bill into law because of Byrd Murder

The murder of Byrd is a case that touched off a national movement to increase the punishment for hate crimes.

Byrd's dragging death led to the Federal October 22, 2009 Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, commonly known as the "Matthew Shepard Act".  President Barack Obama signed the bill into law on October 28, 2009. 

The other men convicted:

John King is sentenced to death and currently held at the TDCJ Polunsky Unit.

Shawn Berry was spared the death penalty and was sentenced to life in prison. He is eligible for parole June 7, 2038.

12News HD's Jackie Simien will have live reports from Huntsville tonight at 5,6 and 6:30 p.m.