Shepard, Matthew (1976–1998)

Matthew Wayne Shepard was born December 1, 1976, in Casper, Wyoming, and was the oldest son of Judy Peck Shepard and Dennis Shepard. He was brutally beaten because of his sexual orientation on October 6, 1998, and died 5 days later.

Matthew attended Casper public schools until the 11th and 12th grades, when he was a student at the private American School in Switzerland. Upon graduating, Matthew returned to the United States. He attended Catawba College in Salisbury, North Carolina, and Casper College in Casper, Wyoming. At Casper College, Matthew was involved in the theater department and political community. He had several parts in plays, as well as being elected student representative on the Wyoming Environmental Council.

Matthew then moved to Denver, Colorado, before ultimately returning to Wyoming. At the time of his murder, Matthew was enrolled at the University of Wyoming, in Laramie, as a political science and foreign relations double major with a minor in foreign language; he was fluent in English, German, and Italian.

On the night of October 6, 1998, Matthew met Aaron James McKinney (22) and Russell Arthur Henderson (21) at the Fireside Bar in Laramie, Wyoming. Matthew left the bar with the men and was driven to a remote area east of Laramie. There he was robbed, beaten, tied to a split-rail fence with his shoelaces, and left for dead. A cyclist found Matthew's body 18 hours later after initially mistaking him for a scarecrow. Alive but unconscious, Matthew suffered from hypothermia, massive brain stem damage, a large skull fracture, and multiple lacerations on his head, face, and neck. His injuries were so severe that doctors were unable to operate and Matthew was kept on full life support. He died on October 12, 1998, having never regained consciousness.

Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney were arrested on October 8, 1998, and charged with kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and attempted first-degree murder. The police found the gun used in the attack, as well as Matthew's shoes and wallet in their truck. Initially the girlfriends of the two men, Chastity Vera Pasley and Kristen Leann Price, provided alibis but the evidence and the inconsistency of their stories supported the prosecution's case. On April 5, 1999, Henderson pleaded guilty and agreed to testify against McKinney to avoid the death penalty. On November 4, 1999, McKinney was found guilty but Dennis Shepard spoke in court about his family's opposition to McKinney being sentenced to death. As a result, both men are serving two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.

This case is often considered a hate crime though, at the time, U.S. and Wyoming law did not allow crimes committed on the basis of sexual orientation to be prosecuted as hate crimes. In September 2005, the House of Representatives voted to expand hate crime law to include some crimes involving sexual [Page 1283]orientation. The amendment now moves on to the Senate. As of May 2005, some 32 states include sexual orientation in their hate crime legislation.