They were not charged with a hate crime, as that wasn’t possible under Wyoming’s criminal law. The men responsible for his death were convicted of first-degree murder and given two life sentences. There have been numerous documentaries, dramas, books and events based on the story. Judy and Dennis Shepard run the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which funds educational programmes and an online community for teens to discuss sexual orientation and gender issues. The Shepard family have become campaigners for gay rights. Politicians and celebrities pledged support and funding to combat anti-gay hate crime. The play The Laramie Project has toured the US and many other countries, telling Matthew’s story and encouraging campaigns against bigotry. As a result of Matthew’s death, many good things have happened for the gay community. The attack became a cause célèbre: it precipitated a national backlash against hyper-macho culture and tacit tolerance of homophobia. They pistol whipped him with a gun then tied him to a fence in freezing conditions and set fire to him before leaving him to die.
Matthew was beaten by two assailants, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. T he horrific killing of Matthew Shepard in 1998 is widely seen as one of the worst anti-gay hate crimes in American history.
