Matthew Shepard, a gay student at the University of Wyoming, was found tied to a fence after being savagely beaten by two men in Laramie, Wy.
Shepard’s murder brought national as well as international attention to the issue of hate crime legislation at the state and federal levels.
Shortly after midnight, 20-year-old Shepard met Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson in a bar. McKinney and Henderson offered Shepard a ride in their car. Shepard was robbed, pistol-whipped, tortured, tied to a fence in a remote, rural area and left to die. Shepard was discovered still tied to the fence 18 hours later by a cyclist, who at first thought that Shepard was a scarecrow. At the time of discovery, Shepard was still alive, but in a coma.
He died five days later from severe head injuries in Fort Collins, Colo.
Henderson pleaded guilty to felony murder and kidnapping, allowing him to avoid the death penalty. McKinney was convicted of felony murder and kidnapping. Henderson is serving two consecutive life sentences and McKinney is serving the same but without the possibility of parole.
