Matthew Shepard, 1998
On October 7, 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay man, was brutally beaten and left tied to a fence in Laramie, Wyoming. He was found 18 hours later, and rushed into intensive care. He never regained consciousness. Shepard died in the hospital on October 12, 1998.
The night of October 7, two men, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, abducted Shepard from a bar and drove to a remote area. They tied him to a split-rail fence and beat him brutally, taking his wallet, keys and shoes with the intention of burglarizing his apartment. When a bicyclist found Shepard the next day, he thought that the young man was a scarecrow, his condition was so poor.
The killers’ stories have changed significantly over time, and there has been much discussion about the motivation for the murder, with one well-known author connecting it to methamphetamine use, rather than a hate crime. The words of the killers, in their interrogations, appear to conflict with that conclusion. Both the Laramie police and the jury in the trial certainly believed that the crime was motivated by hate. Regardless of the motives of the killers, Shepard’s death had a significant and lasting impact on the gay rights movement in the United States and on hate crime legislation in the U.S.
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act was passed by Congress on October 22, 2009 and signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009. The measure expands federal hate crime laws to include crimes motivated by gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or disability. In addition, the law provided for increased funding, increased ability to conduct federal investigations and eliminates the requirements that the crime occur when the victim is involved in a federally protected activity.