October 6, 1998: That gruesome night...
Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old, met Aaron James McKinney and Russel Arthur Henderson
in a bar. After he confided to them that he was gay, they deceived him into
leaving with them in their car. He was robbed, brutally beaten, tied to a fence and
left to die. McKinney and Henderson also found out his address, intending to
burglarize his home. Shepard was discovered 18 hours later, alive and unconscious.
Shepard's injuries were a fracture from the back of his head to the front of his right ear.
He also had catastrophic brain stem damage, which affected the body's ability to regulate
heartbeat, body temperature, and other vital signs. There were also about
12 small lacerations around the head, face and neck. The injuries were deemed
too severe to operate. Shepard never regained consciousness and remained
on full life support. He died at 12:53 a.m. on October 12 at Poudre Valley
Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado.
The blood on Shepard's face had been partially washed away by tears, indicating
that he had been conscious, for some time, after the beating. He had been
pistol-whipped 18 times with a .357-caliber Magnum.
Police apprehended McKinney and Henderson shortly thereafter, finding the bloody
gun as well as the victim's shoes and credit card in their truck. The two
murderers had attempted to get alibis from their girlfriends.
This is the fence Matthew was tied to and left to die.
These are the assholes who brutally murdered Matthew.
May they rot forever
THE TRIAL
It is believed that McKinney and Henderson had posed as homosexuals in order
to trick Shepard into trusting them. During court cases both of the defendants
used varying stories to defend their actions. Most notably they used the "gay
panic defense", arguing that they were driven to temporary insanity by Shepard's
alleged homosexual advances towards them. At another point they stated that
they had only wanted to rob Shepard, and never intended to kill him.
Henderson pleaded guilty on April 5, 1999 and agreed to testify against McKinney
to avoid the death penalty; he received two consecutive life sentences, without
the possibility of parole. The jury in McKinney's trial found him guilty of
first degree murder. As it began to deliberate on the death penalty, Shepard's
parents brokered a deal, resulting in McKinney also receiving two consecutive
life terms without the possibility of parole. Shepard's parents stated, "We are
giving him life in the memory of one who no longer lives" (local Roman Catholic
clerics garnered considerable publicity when they stridently opposed the death
penalty in the case). Since being imprisoned, McKinney and Henderson have both
attempted to justify their actions by claiming that they were dictated by the Bible.
THE AFTERMATH
The heavy media coverage of Shepard's death brought issues of homophobia
and gay-bashing to the forefront of public debate.
People in the entertainment industry expressed their own outrage as various
creative expressions were brought forth in response to the hate represented by
the attacks. Actress Ellen DeGeneres hosted Shepard's memorial services in
Washington, D.C. where she said that her coming out of the closet shortly
before the attacks was "to keep this type of thing from happening". Lesbian
singer Melissa Etheridge penned the song Scarecrow, a tribute to Shepard and
referring to his initially being mistaken for a scarecrow when he was found.
Elton John and Bernie Taupin wrote the song American Triangle a tribute to Shepard.
It was featured on John's 2001 album, Songs from the West Coast. The fence upon
which Shepard was tied and left to die has been declared a nationally protected monument.
Two films were made about the story of Shepard: The Laramie Project
(based on the play of the same name) and The Matthew Shepard Story. Both
won numerous awards. Matthew Shepard can also be seen in the documentary
Dear Jesse, in a brief interview.
At Shepard's funeral, as well as the trial of his assailants, Rev. Fred Phelps
and his supporters picketed. They displayed signs typical of their protests,
with slogans like "Matt Shepard rots in Hell", "AIDS Kills Fags Dead", and
"God Hates Fags". Phelps has since been making efforts to gain a city permit
to build a monument "of marble or granite 5 or 6 feet in height" on which will
be a bronze plaque bearing Shepard's picture and the words: "MATTHEW SHEPARD,
Entered Hell October 12, 1998, in Defiance of God's Warning: 'Thou shalt not
lie with mankind as with womankind; it is abomination.' Leviticus 18:22."
As a counterprotest during Henderson's trial, a friend of Shepard's created
"Angels of Peace", wherein individuals assembled in a circle around the Phelps
group wearing white robes and gigantic wings that literally blocked the protesters
(who were confined to a small protest square by police) from the view of passers-by.
A similar angel tactic has been reused a number of times at other protests by Phelps,
but less effectively as the "Angels" are now required to stay in their own separate
protest square.
the above information was borrowed from various sources including newspapers,
magazines, and online resource centers.
