A white supremacist convicted of killing a 49-year-old black man by dragging him along a road behind his truck is set to be executed.

John William “Bill” King, 44, was put on death row for kidnapping and killing James Byrd while he hitchhiked in Jasper, Texas, on 7 June 1998.

Along with Shawn Berry and Lawrence Brewer, King was convicted of chaining Mr Byrd to the back of their 1982 grey Ford pickup truck and dragging him along a road for three miles before dumping his body in front of an African-American church.

It is believed the father-of-three was still alive for at least two miles before his body was ripped to pieces.

Prosecutors said he was targeted because he was black.

James Byrd murder: White supremacist John William King to be executed Show all 8 1 /8 James Byrd murder: White supremacist John William King to be executed James Byrd murder: White supremacist John William King to be executed In this photo taken 10 April 2019, Mylinda Byrd Washington, 66, left, and Louvon Byrd Harris, 61, hold up photographs of their brother James Byrd in Houston. James Byrd was the victim of what is considered to be one of the most gruesome hate crime murders in recent Texas history in 1998. AP/Juan Lozano James Byrd murder: White supremacist John William King to be executed Ricky Jason wears a photograph of James Byrd outside the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Huntsville Unit before the execution of Lawrence Russell Brewer in Huntsville, Texas, 21 September 2011. James Byrd died in 1998 after he was chained to a truck and dragged along a road for three miles. AP/David J Phillip James Byrd murder: White supremacist John William King to be executed In this photo taken on 25 February 1999, John William King grins as he is led from the Jasper County Courthouse in Texas after a jury sentenced him to death in his capital murder trial for the killing of James Byrd. Paul Buck/AFP/Getty Images James Byrd murder: White supremacist John William King to be executed Photo released 17 Febuary 1999 by the Jasper County District Attorney's office shows some of the tattoos on John William King who was convicted of murder in the dragging death of James Byrd in Jasper, Texas, in 1998. HO/AFP/Getty Images James Byrd murder: White supremacist John William King to be executed John William "Bill" King is escorted through a Jasper County courtroom. Adrees Latif/Reuters James Byrd murder: White supremacist John William King to be executed The grave site of James Byrd in Jasper, Texas. AP/Juan Lozano James Byrd murder: White supremacist John William King to be executed 24 February 1999: John William King is escorted into the Jasper County Courthouse during the murder trial of James Byrd. Paul Buck/AFP/Getty Images James Byrd murder: White supremacist John William King to be executed Jasper city council member Rashad Lewis stands in front of a restaurant in Jasper, Texas, on 12 April 2019 after discussing the legacy of James Byrd's death on 7 June 1998 and its impact on Jasper. AP/Juan Lozano

According to authorities, King is openly racist and has offensive tattoos, including one of a black man with a noose around his neck hanging from a tree.

A “KKK” (Ku Klux Klan) engraved lighter was among the evidence police found at the scene, court documents showed.

King was scheduled to die by lethal injection at Huntsville death chamber in Texas at 6pm (11pm GMT) on Wednesday.

According to CNN, jail officials obtained a letter King wrote to Brewer after they were convicted which said: “Regardless of the outcome of this, we have made history.”

“Death before dishonor. Sieg Heil!” the letter continued, using a Nazi salute.

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King has always maintained his innocence, saying that he left the two other men before Byrd was killed.

His lawyers filed an appeal to the US Supreme Court after a Texas appeals court denied a request to halt the execution on Monday.

Berry and Brewer were also convicted of murder.

Berry was sentenced to life in prison while Brewer, also a white supremacist, was sentenced to death.

Some of Mr Byrd’s family members have said they would have rather seen the men spend the rest of their lives in prison.

“You can’t fight murder with murder,” his son Ross Byrd said the night before Brewer’s execution in 2011.

King would be the third inmate in Texas and the United States to be executed in 2019, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre.