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.
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