Speaking for the Byrd family, Clara Taylor says that though they are not advocates of the death penalty, there seemed to be no choice in this case RELATED VIDEO Watch the jurors' news conference Windows Media 28K 80K Watch the sentence being read Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K Profile of John King, a man who some say changed after entering prison, from CNN's Susan Candiotti Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K BACKGROUND: Get details on the case POST YOUR OPINION: Race relations Death penalty

In this story: King's death sentence one for history books Jury felt obligation Father hopes for death row redemption Prosecutor uncomfortable with capital punishment RELATED STORIES, SITES

JASPER, Texas (CNN) -- The family of a black man who was dragged to death behind a pickup truck is satisfied that the death sentence gave his convicted killer Thursday will do some good for others.

"They sent a message throughout the world that hate crime must stop, and if you do not believe that, see what happened to Bill King. So it's a deterrent to even younger children that you're going to pay for your decisions," said Mary Verrett, sister of the victim, James Byrd Jr.

John William King, 24, was led off to prison cursing his victim's family. Verrett said she wasn't surprised by King's behavior.

"I wouldn't expect for him to say, 'God bless the Byrd family.' It just sums up the total personality of this young man," she said. "He has no remorse, even in the face of death."

In a statement issued later through his attorney, King maintained his innocence of the brutal murder.

His handwritten note also said, "It's been obvious from the beginning that this community would get what they desired, so I'll close with the words of Francis Yockey: 'The promise of success is with the man who is determined to die proudly when it is no longer possible to live proudly.'"

Yockey was a neo-Nazi writer who died in 1960.

King's death sentence one for history books

After sentencing, King was taken from the Jasper County Courthouse for the 75-mile drive to the state prison in Huntsville. He will first undergo psychological and physical testing at a diagnostic unit about two miles from the building where executions take place.

King is expected to spend at least six years on death row because state law requires all death penalty cases to be appealed.

The verdict makes King the second white person sentenced to die in Texas for killing a black person -- at least since the state reinstated the death penalty in the mid-1970s.

The only white man ever executed in Texas for killing a black person was a farmer who killed another white farmer's favorite slave in the 1850s.

King cursed at the Byrd family as he exited the courthouse

Jury felt obligation

Jury foreman Joe Collins read from a statement after the verdict.

"As a group, we all agree that we are just common citizens who felt that serving on this jury was an obligation and not a privilege," he said.

Collins, the lone black on the 12-member panel, said the discovery of weapons -- a handmade knife and a noose made from electrical wire -- in King's jail cell after his arrest showed he was a continuing danger and played a key part in determining the death sentence.

"He will hurt or harm someone," Collins said. "Each of us believes that justice has been served."

Another juror, Lequeta Flowers, said the jury sifted through the evidence looking for a redeeming quality in King. "But it just wasn't there," she said. Had they found any mitigating factor, it might have led to a lesser sentence.

Father hopes for death row redemption

King's father, Ronald King, asked in a written statement for prayers for the Byrds, for his family and "for my son, for redemption and healing even on death row."

"I hope we can find meaning from this tragedy, in the needless and senseless death of James Byrd," said the statement handed out by the elder King's priest. "We are all human beings, black and white.... We must learn to love one another and not hate."

While the jury was deliberating, King met for about 20 minutes Thursday morning with his 68-year-old father, who has emphysema and received medical treatment for breathing difficulties after leaving the courthouse.

"That's probably the last time he'll ever touch his daddy again," said King's attorney, Haden "Sonny" Cribbs.

Cribbs told reporters that King never voiced any remorse for the crime. He also said that although the death sentence wasn't unexpected, "It doesn't make you feel good right now."

Prosecutor uncomfortable with capital punishment

Prosecutor Guy James Gray, a Catholic, said he was uncomfortable with capital punishment but understood it was his duty to enforce the law.

"Any prosecutor that enjoys getting the death penalty has just got a little something wrong with him," Gray said. "You temper your enthusiasm over a verdict you know is right and just and what the jury should have done under the facts with just that little hesitation that it's just not something you enjoy doing."

Two other men, Shawn Berry, 24, and Lawrence Brewer, 31, are awaiting trial for the June 7, 1998, crime.

Correspondents Charles Zewe, Susan Candiotti and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Reuters contributed to this report.

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