Matthew Shepard

Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was a gay American student at the University of Wyoming who was beaten, tortured, and left to die near Laramie on the night of October 6, 1998.

He was taken by rescuers to Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he died six days later from severe head injuries received during the attack.

Suspects Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were arrested shortly after the attack and charged with first-degree murder following Shepard's death.

Significant media coverage was given to the murder and what role Shepard's sexual orientation played as a motive for the crime.

The prosecutor argued that the murder of Shepard was premeditated and driven by greed.

McKinney's defense counsel countered by arguing that he had intended only to rob Shepard but killed him in a rage when Shepard made a sexual advance toward him.

McKinney's girlfriend told police that he had been motivated by anti-gay sentiment but later recanted her statement, saying that she had lied because she thought it would help him.

Henderson pleaded guilty to murder, and McKinney was tried and found guilty of murder; each of them received two consecutive life sentences.

Shepard's murder brought national and international attention to hate crime legislation at both the state and federal level.

Matthew Shepard was born in 1976 in Casper, Wyoming; he was the first of two sons born to Judy (née Peck) and Dennis Shepard.

His younger brother, Logan, was born in 1981.

The two brothers had a close relationship.

Shepard attended Crest Hill Elementary School, Dean Morgan Junior High School, and Natrona County High School for his freshman through junior years.

As a child, he was "friendly with all his classmates", but was targeted and teased due to his small stature and lack of athleticism.

He developed an interest in politics at an early age.

Saudi Aramco hired his father in the summer of 1994, and Shepard's parents subsequently resided at the Saudi Aramco Residential Camp in Dhahran.

During that time, Shepard attended the American School in Switzerland (TASIS), from which he graduated in May 1995.

There, he participated in theater, and took German and Italian courses.

He then attended Catawba College in North Carolina and Casper College in Wyoming, before settling in Denver, Colorado.

Shepard became a first-year political science major at the University of Wyoming in Laramie with a minor in languages, and was chosen as the student representative for the Wyoming Environmental Council.

Shepard was an Episcopalian and once served as an altar boy in the church.

He was described by his father as "an optimistic and accepting young man who had a special gift of relating to almost everyone. He was the type of person who was very approachable and always looked to new challenges. Shepard had a great passion for equality and always stood up for the acceptance of people's differences."

Michele Josue, who had been Shepard's friend and later created a documentary about him, Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine, described him as "a tenderhearted and kind person."

In 1995, Shepard was beaten and raped during a high school trip to Morocco.

This caused him to experience depression and panic attacks, according to his mother.

One of Shepard's friends feared that his depression had driven him to become involved with drugs during his time at college.

Multiple times, Shepard was hospitalized due to his clinical depression and suicidal ideation.

On the night of October 6, 1998, Shepard was approached by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson at the Fireside Lounge in Laramie; all three men were in their early 20s.

McKinney and Henderson offered to give Shepard a ride home.

They subsequently drove to a remote rural area and proceeded to rob, pistol-whip, and torture Shepard, tying him to a split rail fence and leaving him to die.

It was erroneously reported by the news that he had been tied to a barbed wire fence.

Many media reports contained the graphic account of the pistol-whipping and his fractured skull.

Reports described how Shepard was beaten so brutally that his face was completely covered in blood, except where it had been partially cleansed by his tears.

The assailants' girlfriends testified that neither McKinney nor Henderson was under the influence of alcohol or other drugs at the time of the attack.

McKinney and Henderson testified that they learned of Shepard's address and intended to steal from his home as well.

After attacking Shepard and leaving him tied to the fence in near-freezing temperatures, McKinney and Henderson returned to town.

McKinney proceeded to pick a fight with two men, 19-year-old Emiliano Morales and 18-year-old Jeremy Herrara.

Shepard's murder inspired a number of films, novels, plays, songs, and other works, including The Laramie Project (a 2000 play and 2002 film) and Judy Shepard's 2009 memoir The Meaning of Matthew.

In October 2009, the United States Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (commonly the "Matthew Shepard Act" or "Shepard/Byrd Act" for short), and on October 28, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law.

Following her son's murder, Judy Shepard became a gay rights activist and established the Matthew Shepard Foundation.