On Oct. 7, 1998, a young man with dreams of helping others became a symbol of hate and bigotry in America. At 21, Matthew Shepard was lured from a local college bar by two men, taken by car into a remote area of Laramie, Wyo., strung up on a ranch fence, beaten beyond recognition and left to die in subzero temperatures.
His attackers, 22-year-old Aaron McKinney and 21-year-old Russell Henderson—later convicted of felony murder and given double life sentences—killed him because he was gay.
His bloody body, nearly mistaken for a scarecrow, was not discovered for 18 hours. When the gruesome details of his death hit the headlines, it sparked demonstrations across America and calls for anti-hate-crime legislation.
Did you know that WYOMING IS STILL ONE OF FOUR STATES WITH NO HATE LAW ON THE BOOKS?
No comments:
Post a Comment