25 Facts About Byron Looper

Byron Looper spent most of his childhood in Georgia, where his father, Aaron Looper, was a school superintendent.

In 1988, Byron Looper ran for the Georgia House of Representatives as a Democrat, losing to Wyc Orr in the Democratic primary.

Byron Looper enrolled as a graduate student in the Stetson School of Business and Economics at Mercer University in Atlanta.

In 1992, Byron Looper returned to Tennessee and became a Republican.

Byron Looper lost a race for the Tennessee House of Representatives in 1994, when he ran against incumbent legislator Jere Hargrove.

Byron Looper seldom went to work, and many instances of irregularities in property tax assessments were reported.

In March 1998, following an investigation by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation, Byron Looper was indicted on 14 counts of official misconduct, theft of services and official oppression for theft, misuse of county property, and misuse of county employees.

Byron Looper claimed the charges were politically motivated due to Democratic control of Putnam County politics and the Tennessee General Assembly.

Byron Looper failed to obtain the congressional nomination, finishing third in a field of four candidates, but he was unopposed for the state senate nomination.

Byron Looper usually won re-election with ease, and the 1998 campaign was expected to be no different.

Byron Looper later turned up in Hot Springs, Arkansas, where he met with a friend, United States Marine Corps recruiter Joe Bond.

Bond and Byron Looper had been friends as children, and Byron Looper had rekindled the friendship in the summer of 1998, largely on the basis of wanting Bond's expertise in small arms.

Byron Looper had stayed with Bond for a while, talking a great deal about how he had murdered his senate opponent and how he needed, among other things, to change the tires on the car he had used in the murder, as well as hide the car.

Byron Looper was charged with 1st degree murder and arrested on October 23,1998.

Byron Looper was arraigned at a hearing that featured Bond as a surprise witness for the state.

Accordingly, after Burks's death, Byron Looper became the only candidate listed on the official ballot for Burks's senate seat.

Ultimately, Byron Looper's trial was not moved; jurors were brought in from Sullivan County to reduce the chance that they had been influenced by pretrial publicity.

Wes Rex and Joe Bond were both prominent witnesses for the prosecution, as were two political consultants, who reported having been contacted at various times by Byron Looper, who had told both men that he wanted to run a political race, and felt the surest way to win would be to murder his opponent.

In late 2001, Byron Looper sued a TV station and individual station personnel for depicting him unfavorably in a broadcast interview.

Meanwhile, Byron Looper was the subject of "Eliminating the Competition", episode 163 of the TV series American Justice.

Byron Looper filed a lawsuit against Tennessee Department of Correction personnel and the contractor that provided medical services in Tennessee prisons, charging that the conditions of his confinement were unconstitutional and that he was not receiving adequate medical care.

Byron Looper filed several unsuccessful motions to overturn his conviction.

Byron Looper was found dead in his prison cell on June 26,2013.

Byron Looper finished in fourth place in the Democratic primary for the office.

Byron Looper explained that he changed his name to send a message about his political positions.