The Mysterious Case of Matthew Shepard

 Madison Payne

Ms. Menough- SLCC

Per. 2

November 17, 2014

The Mysterious Case of Matthew Shepard

The small town of Laramie, Wyoming was known for having a Wal-Mart, and for some folk’s non-existent. Today it has a reputation for being the previous home of Matthew Shepard, a college student who was tragically murdered. Matthew’s homosexuality was not a surprise to the residents of Laramie. He was indeed gay, but seen as a normal person to not just his friends and family but to strangers as well. Based on the media stated about the murder of Matthew Shepard, people came to the conclusion that it was in fact a hate crime. But the evidence from other sources including ABC News 20/20 Report: The Matthew Shepard Case, The Book of Matt, and the HBO film of The Laramie Project were shown to be caused by Meth induced rage.

At the ages of 21 years, the names of Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson murdered Matthew Shepard in the early morning of October 12, 1998, a day that is unforgettable. Their lives were changed forever after a night of a disastrous affair. After the hate crime of Matthew Shepard homosexual, men around the world have increased having thirty men murdered since Matthew’s case. But the real question is do people actually know what a hate crime is? When the murder had gone public worldwide people started getting very upset starting protests about how hate crimes are wrong. Moisés Kaufman, the author who wrote the play The Laramie Project interviewed other’s opinions and perspectives on whether or not this was a hate crime or not. After writing the play Kaufman noticed that it didn’t just affect individuals but the culture surroundings as well. Laramie being such a small town didn’t know such a thing could happen, impacting and devastating the residents living in Laramie. “You and the straight people of Laramie and Wyoming are guilty of the beating of Matthew Shepard just as Germans who looked the other way are guilty of the deaths… you have taught your straight children to hate their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters…”(Kaufman 53) According to the interviews people were more caught up in the fact that Matthew was gay and murdered because of his homosexuality and thought nothing more of it. People of Laramie starting accusing innocent people for the killing of Matthew stating that it was their fault because they didn’t approve of homosexuals in Laramie. Rebecca Hilliker, the head of the theater department at the University of Wyoming indicated to Kaufman, “Because I was really scared that in the trial they were going to try and say that it was a robbery, or it was about drugs. So when they used “gay panic” as their defense, I felt this is good, if nothing else the truth is going to be told…”(Kaufman 89) As shown in this quote, the people who were interviewed including Rebecca had a strong feeling that this case was a hate crime and never considered it to be a drug incident. The outcome of it all is The Laramie Project has a powerful opinion on the case of Matthew Shepard and how it was all taken place because Matthew intended to be gay.

            Drugs used in the world today such as methamphetamine are very threatening leading up to violence, sleepless nights, as well as hallucinations. The sources that were developed in the ABC News 20/20 Report: The Matthew Shepard Case was stated both Aaron and Russell were under the influence of meth when the murder had taken place. Also stated in the 20/20 clip Aaron and Russell were incapable to sleep for two straight weeks from the side effect of the use of meth. Media was going back and forth whether Aaron, Russell, and Matthew were in the drug scene together, selling drugs to one another and came out to be the truth. Aaron declared to sources saying “Matthew always owed money to Aaron” when he got meth and caused another reason why Aaron had attacked and robbed him that night. Interviewing each individual about the murder, Aaron McKinney had no intentions for what he did was wrong because he was so emotionally drained he didn’t care as much as Russell did regretting the night he could have stopped Aaron. Eventually interviewing Aaron’s girlfriend at the time was told by Aaron himself to say it happened he murdered Matthew because he was gay and when the police arrived at their house she did as she was told. Aaron didn’t want to get caught for the meth he contained and blamed himself for something people still believe is the real truth today. Aaron having a mother who died when he was 16 years of age and Russell being raised by an alcoholic mother didn’t know any better. They grew up making their own decisions, watching their parents drink taught them to do the same because that’s all they knew and was in their everyday life growing up. Both growing up in poor neighborhoods they needed a way to make money. Then they got into the selling of drugs and took the path that led up to this devastating action happening. The night Aaron and Russell went to the bar was suddenly the night that changed not just their lives but also the lives around them. Since Aaron was so intoxicated on meth, Russell decided to take Aaron to the Fireside bar to get Aaron drunk so he wouldn’t hurt anyone but that didn’t last long. Sources say if Aaron wasn’t under the influence of the use of meth Matthew would still be alive today and this wouldn’t even exist. It comes to the conclusion that drugs are very dangerous and can lead to violent things. People always look back on the Matthew Shepard’s murder learning that drugs can have a big impact on changing one selves personality and taking it to the next level of insecurity.

            Stephen Jimenez the author of The Book of Matt took the case into a new perspective as well as the ABC News 20/20 Report: The Matthew Shepard Case on why it was not a hate crime but instead a drug induced rage. He decided to take the case into more depth interviews revealing new facts that weren’t said or ever heard before. Russell Henderson was unfortunately in the wrong place at the wrong time putting himself in prison for life. He was sent to jail for life for the murder that wasn’t even his fault but Aaron’s fault. Stated in the Book of Matt, Jimenez said “Aaron made money to pay for his drugs from having sexual interactions with other men” (Jimenez). The same went with Matthew as well. Aaron admitting that he was bisexual in the book made it easier for Matthew to get drugs from Aaron by doing sexual interactions with each other. Also stated in The Book of Matt, “[w]hat I know for certain is that Aaron McKinney was well acquainted with the businessman Matthew had conferred with at the Fireside”(Jimenez 162). Sources expressed the relationship between Matthew and Aaron and how they had a past before the murder had taken place being involved in the drug scene. Surrounding oneself with a human being that is in use of drugs is never a good place to put oneself in.

            After The Laramie Project came out HBO thought it would be a good idea to create a movie to give viewers more of the image of how the act all happened from the beginning. When watching the movie and comparing it to the book itself it was very successful in hitting the major events that happened as well as organizing the bar, church, and everything else as descriptive to the play as possible which was fascinating. The lack of culture that was acted throughout the movie was very similar to what Kaufman obtained in his interviews with residents in Laramie. Interviewed by Kaufman as well as put in the movie was Jedidiah Schultz, a student who attended University of Wyoming with Matthew at the time said, “ Now, after Matthew, I would say that Laramie is a town defined by an accident, a crime. We’ve become Waco, we’ve become Jasper. We’re a noun, a definition, a sign!” (Kaufman 7) Jedidiah explains to Kaufman that Laramie was this beautiful town and now know to be a crime scene turning into Waco and Jasper were hate crimes had happened developing hatred towards those cities. On June 7, 1998 James Byrd Jr., an African American was a victim of a hate crime in Jasper, Texas. The killers, Shawn Berry, Lawrence Russell Brewer, and John King dragged James on the back of their pick up truck for 3 miles leaving James’s body parts throughout those miles. After his head was decapitated the murders through the remaining’s of his body in front of an African American cemetery. The James Byrd Jr. was nothing in comparison to how upset people were when hearing about the Matthew Shepard case. The reason why Matthew’s case was so much more memorable than James’s was because people thought and still think that it was Matthew’s intentions of being gay. Without a doubt the James Byrd Jr. case was a hate crime due to the fact that he was African American and not appreciating them as do more so today. After both murders of James Byrd Jr. and Matthew Shepard an act was eventually passed called the Hate Crimes Prevention Act, which was based off of these two men that got their lives taken away from them.    

The impact that Matthew Shepard had on the world spread in the matter of days. It has said that hate itself is not a crime, which is carefully illustrated in all hate crime legislation. The difference between James Byrd Jr. and Matthew Shepard’s hate crimes are crucial to one another.  Since James was African American he was murdered and thrown in front of a African American cemetery which was specifically stated by his murders Shawn Berry, Lawrence Russell Brewer, and John King. With the Matthew Shepard case being so skeptical on whether or not it was actually a hate crime it was suspicious. But when interviewing Aaron and Russell in prison years later when they were sober from drugs they admitted to 20/20 they were in fact there attacking Matthew for robbery for what he owed to Aaron. Since both were intoxicated on meth the meth itself gave them a bigger ego to go what they did to Matthew that night. To conclude Aaron should be the only one in guilt. With the presence of Russell being there and tying Matthew up to the fence he was to blame for as well. A cold night in early October was the last night Aaron and Russell got to see the world. Whether Aaron murdered Matthew because he was gay or because he was in the use of meth, either way Aaron and Russell deserve life in prison for what they did that night. No one will ever forget the tragic murder of Matthew Shepard changing how some look at homosexuals as well as hate crimes.    

 Work Cited

Kaufman, Moisés. The Laramie Project. New York: Vintage, 2001. Print.

Jimenez, Stephen. The Book of Matt: Hidden Truths About the Murder of Matthew Shepard. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

"The Role Of Meth In Matthew Shepard's Murder." The Dish. N.p., 12 Sept. 2013. Web. 19 Nov. 2014.

"Murder of James Byrd, Jr." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 18 Nov. 2014. Web. 18 Nov. 2014.

"New Details Emerge in Matthew Shepard Murder." ABC News. ABC News Network, 26 Nov. 2004. Web. 20 Nov. 2014.

View on The Laramie Project

         
The brutal murder of 21 year old Matthew Shepard was an astonishing event that spread throughout the world in the matter of hours. After finishing Act III of The Laramie Project  the main theme of the play was prejudice. Throughout the book the interviews Kaufman had where very judgmental in terms of whether or not Aaron and Russell were on Meth when the murder took place, whether it was a hate crime because Matthew was gay, or was it because they wanted to rob him because they knew he had money. Residents in Laramie would make up these rumors judging Aaron and Russell and accusing them for what didn't even occur. Without hearing the real stories of the action taken place people worldwide believed in lies from other people and not hearing the real facts of it all. "You don't forget that. Five fifty in dimes and quarters. That's a freakin' nightmare. Now Henderson and McKinney, they didn't seem intoxicated at all. They came in-- they just ordered a beer, took the pitcher with them back there into the pool room, and kept to themselves"(Kaufman 27-28). This quote is very important because Kaufman had interviewed the bartender, Matt Galloway that served Matthew, Aaron, and Russell when they were at the bar the night of the murder and was the person who thought it was suspicious from the beginning that Aaron and Russell paid for the pitcher of beer in dimes and quarters just for themselves. Matt being a believable suspect wouldn't be stupid enough to lie about a thing that was so skeptical. "Blacked out. My fist. My pistol. The butt of the gun. Wondering what happened to me. I had a few beers and I don't know. It's like I could see what was going on but I don't know but I don't know, it was like somebody else was doing it"(Kaufman 88-89). When Aaron had said this he seemed very uncertain about that night like he was intoxicated or on some drug. It's like Aaron was trying to cover something up and didn't want to seem like he was himself that night. All through the book there was rumors going around and being judgmental towards not just Aaron and Russell but towards people that disliked gays. "You and the straight people of Laramie and Wyoming are guilty of the beating of Matthew Shepard just as the Germans who looked the other way are guilty of the deaths of the Jews, the Gypsies, and the homosexuals. you have taught your straight children to hate their gay and lesbian brothers and sisters..."(Kaufman 53) An email was sent to Philip Dubois after he wrote the Denver Post Story on the Matthew Shepard story criticizing innocent people that hadn't be involved in the Matthew Shepard murder at all. People started accusing straight people for the murder of Matt because they were straight and told their kids that they should hate the gays as well. The prejudice in The Laramie Project was a constant struggle for people in Laramie and everywhere else because people didn't know what to think. They didn't know what actually happened causing a more dramatic issue to the bigger problem.

          When people first heard about the murder of Matthew Shepard and the fact that he was gay everyone thought it was a hate crime. From the interviews from The Laramie Project written by Moisés Kaufman, he interviewed not just the main people that were part of Matthew's life and the people involved in it but got other people's perspectives and opinions on whether it actually was a hate crime or something else. Based off of the reading of The Laramie Project it sounded like it was a hate crime because it targeted to that specific fact and how Aaron and Matthew had sexual interactions with each other. When the ABC 20/20 special on the murder of Matthew Shepard was released it took the problem into more depth revealing that it wasn't a hate crime at all. Interviewing Aaron and Russell about the murder was very fascinating seeing why they did it in the first place. Mentioned in the clip Aaron said that he had been doing drugs everyday and hadn't had slept for two weeks. The main reason why Aaron struck Matthew was because Aaron had no control over himself because of the use of Meth that he took earlier that day. He stated in the The Laramie Project he wasn't himself when he murdered Matthew and something or someone was controlling him making him more violent than he actually was. All three of them had been in the drug scene, selling Meth to each other and Aaron said that Matthew had owed a lot of money to Aaron. Most people would say that the murder of Matthew Shepard was a hate crime but others would say that it was because of the use of drugs but the real question that puts everything into perspective is the fact that Aaron stated that he would of done it to anyone. The fact that Matthew intended to be gay was a coincidence and people were mistaken for it being a hate crime.


         

Quotes from The Laramie Project

Act I

“So I—I went up to the top of Cactus Canyon, and I’m not super familiar with that area, so on my way back down, I didn’t know where I was going, I was just sort of picking the way to go, which now… it just makes me think that God wanted me to find him because there’s no way that I was going to go that way”(Kaufman 33).

Act II

“Now, as for the victim, I know that that lifestyle is legal, but I will tell you one thing: I hope that Matthew Shepard as he was tied to the fence that he had time to reflect on a moment when someone had spoken the word of the Lord to him—and that before he slipped into a coma he had a chance to reflect on his lifestyle”(Kaufman 66).

Act III

“And in the distance I could see the sparkling lights of Laramie, Wyoming”(Kaufman 98).

Media featuring Matthew Shepard

Aaron McKinney interviewing with Elizabeth Vargars on 20/20

The video clips and interviews that are shown on television about certain actions taken place throughout the world there will always be different stories that people say about it that ends up questioning the critics into whether a story is true or not. In this past week watching the 20/20 on the murder of Matthew Shepard was similar to what has been said about Matthew and The Laramie Project. When watching the video go back and forth through Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson asking questioning stating the murder of Matthew. As many media says that Aaron and Russell murdered Matthew because of him being gay was not the truth. When 20/20 aired with Elizabeth Vargas she interviewed them individually asking them the same question they've been answering since the day he was found. When it came time to interview Aaron it was a different story than people were expecting. He stated that he was a sociopath and was drained from emotion that he didn’t think anything of it anymore. Elizabeth stated in the 20/20 clip "Money and drugs motivated their actions that night, not hatred gays." As with any drug including meth in which Aaron and Russell were fused with can lead to things that typically don't occur on a regular bases in a day to day life. Before the murder had occurred, Aaron and Russell had been smoking meth and had been up for two weeks with not just three to four hours of sleep but no sleep at all. The side effect of taking the meth was not only getting no sleep but the loss of control over both of them when this took place. Aaron’s childhood was why he got into this stuff in the first place having a father who was never around and a mother who died when he was sixteen years old. He had no one to look up to and started getting into bad stuff. Russell on the other hand grew up with a mother who was an alcoholic and always had alcohol and drugs surrounding him. It’s not their faults that Aaron and Russell have these effects of addiction but they grew up around it, which meant that it was okay to do. During the end of the video Russell Henderson had apologized to all of the people of there and especially the Shepard family for what he did and said that he deserves his time in jail for what he did. 

Many other video clips had been being made from the tragic hate crime of Matthew Shepard including the HBO movie, which was a react of The Laramie Project. From the scenes that were shown from the viewing of the HBO movie itself, there were several things that were changed when comparing the original piece to the HBO movie. For example in the scene from when officer Reggie got the phone call saying she might have had HIV from Matthew was different from what the original play intended it to be. HBO decided that it would be a good idea to add to the fact that Officer Reggie had a life outside of her just being an officer. The movie made her look relatable to a typical independent mother who puts food on the table for her two kids and lived a normal life like everyone else in Laramie Wyoming. Also reading parts of The Book of Matt written by Stephen Jimenez there were many things that added on to the list of why this all occurred in the first place. While The Book of Matt is not all about why Matthew was murdered but the events leading up to the crime. Matthew was a methamphetamine dealer and eventually stealing meth which led up to his murder. He sold to people including Aaron and Russell making exchanges in drugs but when Aaron and Russell found out Matthew was stealing methamphetamine that's when everything went downhill.  Stephen quoted Cal Rerucha on his opinion on Aaron saying "[Aaron] was a different individual... From the time that he was in school... he was violent. Physically violent. Almost a person without a conscience"(Rerucha). Even when Aaron wasn't on drugs he still was a violent kid. Growing up in an environment like Aaron's he was used to violence. After looking into deeper detail about the murder of Matthew it concludes that Matthew was addicted to methamphetamine and had a relationship with Aaron and Russell from the exchanging of drugs with each other. Yes, the murder of Matthew was unnecessary and wrong on so many levels, but in the end Matthew shouldn't have been in the drug business because that eventually led up to this crime happening.  

Murderers of Matthew Shepard

          This past week reading The Laramie Project has been very depressing yet skeptical. As dearly as Matthew was he always found a way to put people before himself and to be happy with what he had unlike his murderers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. When growing up Aaron was the kid who just wanted to fit it and have people like him. "Aaron was a good kid, I liked Aaron a lot, that's why I was shocked when I heard this…he just wanted to fit in you know acting tough, acting cool, but you know, you could get in his face about it and he would back down…"(Kaufman 31) Aaron McKinney was a typical young man who cared a lot about money, how he looked, and acted around people. He wore designer clothes, lived with his girlfriend, having a kid as a young adult, and needed money to keep paying for his trailer house. Dr. Cantway, the doctor that helped Matthew when he came in several hours after the crime had occurred also helped and cared for Aaron the same time of day. "Now, the strange thing is, twenty minutes before Matthew came in, Aaron McKinney was brought by his girlfriend... Now at this point I don't know that there's a connection--at all. So I tell Aaron to wait  and I go and treat Matthew. So there's Aaron in one room of the ER and Matthew in another room two doors down"(Kaufman 36). This quote is very important because why would Aaron be in the ER knowing that Matthew would have been found and sent to the same hospital at the same time? After Dr. Cantway made the connection that Aaron had murdered Matthew he got very suspicious, questioning why Aaron would be in the same hospital at the same time as Matthew was. While the crime was taking place, Russell Henderson was the "helper" for Aaron, tying Matthew up but not the one that did the physical beating, he left Aaron to do the dirty work. "Russell was just so sweet. He was the one who was the Eagle Scout… now I just want to shake him, you know, what were you thinking? What the hell were you thinking?"(Kaufman 31, 32) Russell's coworker, family, and friends were used to having a sweet kid that they also knew but never knew Russell would ever do such a thing. They were shocked to see him become a murderer because yet once they believed he was just an innocent young kind man enjoying his life being an Eagle Scout. Although Russell Henderson wasn't the direct murderer in this hate crime, he is still has the reputation of being a murder because he didn't stop Aaron from beating up Matthew Shepard. Russell did confirm that he did drive Matthew to the remote area outside of Laramie and tied Matthew up to fence. He said he tried to stop Aaron from doing anymore damage to Matthew but Aaron hit Russell across the cheek so eventually Russell shut up and let Aaron finish his work.

          Matthew came from a wealthy family growing up in his short period of life, but didn't care much about it. "Money meant nothing to Matthew, because he came from a lot of it. And he would hand over his wallet in two seconds--because money meant nothing. His--shoes--might have meant something" (Kaufman 28). If Aaron and Russell wanted to rob Matthew so badly, why wouldn't they just do it an easier way than to beat him up? When thinking through this situation, it's confusing to think that to be able to rob someone, one needs to literally kill oneself. When Aaron and Russell came into the bar, the mysterious part of it all was that they sat down right next to Matthew and ordered pitcher of beer just for themselves. "And I remember thinking to myself that I'm not gonna ask them if they want another one, because obviously they just paid for a pitcher with dimes and quarters, I have a real good feel in they don't have any more money"(Kaufman 28). When the bartender quoted this statement from the book he knew something was going on after hearing about the crime later on that week. As one can tell from this quote, Aaron and Russell didn't have much money and needed more than what they already had. Kaufman interviewed Aaron's girlfriend after the crime had happened and told him a totally different story than what he had already heard from several others in Laramie. "… He said that is when he and Russell went to the bathroom and decided to pretend they were gay and get him in the truck and rob him. They wanted to teach him a lesson not to come on to straight people"(Kaufman 28). Evidence from the bartender and other people that were in the bar that night said Aaron and Russell came up to Matthew and started talking to him. On the other hand, Kristin Price (Aaron's girlfriend) said they pretended which was a lie and never happened. The fact that Aaron's girlfriend is trying to cover for Aaron and Russell but failing is very strange and leaves a mystery to whether or not she is lying which in this case she was. There are many stories out there today that gives the wrong evidence out to the world and certain people believing different stories based on what they had been hearing. She was trying to cover up the crime by saying something that was not as bad as the reasoning behind it all. To some people money means everything and brings happiness to oneself, but to others, money is just a thing and the money given to whether it's a gift, will make oneself happy for the giving of that gift.