Pictured #1 Judy Shepard in October at Sirrius Radio in NY, on the anniversary of her son's murder. Photo by Tracy Baim. # 2 Matthew Shepard
In 1998, the murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard shocked and galvanized a nation that was moved by the brutality of the act and the hatred of gays that people assumed was the motivating factor. On Nov. 26, the ABC newsmagazine 20/20 examined the possibility that homophobia was not the reason for the killing in a program entitled 'The Matthew Shepard Story: Secrets of a Murder.'
Even before the controversial piece aired, groups weighed in with their criticisms. For instance, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation ( GLAAD ) and the family of Matthew Shepard called on the media and the viewing public to scrutinize the sensationalistic claims and distortions offered by 20/20 in its attempt to rewrite the history of Shepard's murder case. 'This piece says much, much more about 20/20 than it does about the murder of Matthew Shepard,' said GLAAD executive director Joan M. Garry. GLAAD also issued several flaws it found with the piece, including that its assertions are based on conjecture.
Journalist Elizabeth Vargas relied primarily on separate interviews with the victim's killers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, who are each serving two life sentences in an undisclosed prison. 20/20 set up the murderers' backgrounds, portraying them as individuals who battled constant setbacks growing up. McKinney was shown as a boy whose mother passed away because of surgical complications; he then blew the settlement from the hospital on items, including drugsthrusting him into acquiring a nasty crystal meth addiction and becoming a dealer. Henderson was abused by his mother's boyfriends; however, he later made progressbecoming an Eagle Scout after being placed in his grandparents' custody.
Shepard was also portrayed as a troubled individualwith a lot of the trouble stemming from being raped in Morocco years before that fateful night six years ago. Doc O'Connor, a limousine driver who got to know Shepard, claimed that in a long conversation, Shepard revealed he was HIV-positive and suicidal. O'Connor also claimed Shepard talked about being 'sucked into the drug scene.'
McKinney said he originally planned on simply robbing Shepard after he asked McKinney for a ride from the Fireside Lounge in Laramie, Wy. McKinney claimed Shepard touched his leg; in response, he started beating Shepard with a gun he got from a client in exchange for drugs. However, McKinney asserted he didn't beat Shepard because he was gaybut because he was in the midst of a rage fueled by drugs and frustration ( possibly because there was only $30 in the wallet Shepard willingly handed over when he was being hit ) . Henderson ( and who also denied being homophobic ) said he was 'only' responsible for tying Shepard to the fence. McKinney said he hit Shepard one last time after the victim said that he was going to tell people what McKinney did.
As support for the 'meth rage' theory, 20/20 talked to a doctor at UCLA who stated that touching ( as Shepard did ) or even using the wrong inflection of a word can set off someone who is hooked on the drug. Also, McKinney's then-girlfriend, Kristen Price, told Vargas she made up the gay-bashing theory in 1998 in an effort to help him. Echoing her statement, McKinney said he came up with the 'gay panic' defense because he thought the jury would be sympathetic. Lastly, there was speculation that Shepard's friends spread the word to other friends and the media that his murder was spurred by homophobia.
However, 20/20 also showed inconsistencies regarding McKinney's statements and the accounts of others. For example, friends and acquaintances said McKinney and Shepard knew each other before the murdersomething McKinney denied to Vargas. However, the most jaw-dropping revelation of the night was when O'Connor told Vargas that McKinney is bisexualand that he should know because he, his girlfriend, and McKinney once engaged in a menage a trois. McKinney also denied being bisexual, although Price also told Vargas that she believes he is. Vargas did not explore this furthermaking it seem this means the crime couldn't have been anti-gay, if McKinney is bisexual. But many studies have shown that the rage of internalized homophobia can trigger gay bashings.
The last part of the program focused on Shepard's legacy, including productions such as The Laramie Project. Judy Shepard, Matthew's mother ( who does not believe the drug theory ) , runs the Matthew Shepard Foundation. Perhaps the most touching story is that of journalist Jason Marsden. A friend of Shepard, Marsden was closeted until the murderand then came out in print.