Staggering snowfall in California mountains leaves residents trapped for days ", Judge may bar 'gay panic' defense in Wyoming beating trial, 1 year after Shepard killing, tougher hate crimes laws still sought, First defendant gets life in gay student killing, Woman changes plea, admits helping gay student's accused killers, Fighting Hate Across the Nation -- Leadership Conference Education Fund. The next day, a mountain biker found him, at first mistaking him for a scarecrow. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File). Were nowhere near done, said Sara Burlingame, executive director of the Cheyenne-based LGBTQ advocacy group Wyoming Equality. So, it was amusing that he tried to tell me that he knew better than I did the facts of the case.. In this Oct. 9, 1998 file photo, from left are Russell Henderson, Aaron McKinney, and Chasity Pasley, three suspects in the beating death of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard. Chasity was a resident of Utah at the time of passing. Still, he insisted, neither he nor Aaron McKinney was motivated by anti-gay hatred when they offered Shepard a ride home from a bar. I dont agree with the gay lifestyle, he said. He died five days later. Brandon Foster is the Star-Tribune's managing editor. When police responded to the fight, Russell and Henderson fled, but police found Shepard's credit card and shoes in McKinney's truck along with the bloody .357 Smith & Wesson pistol used to bludgeon Shepard (via Biography). Russell Henderson, Aaron McKinney and Chastity Pasleywait to be arraigned Oct. 9, 1998. She was charged with being an accessory after Heres what I can tell you as somebody who was here at the time and had direct knowledge of the case versus what somebody at a bar may have told you, what the person living on your res hall floor might have told you, that they know what really happened., I even had a really good friend of mine once tell me that he knew: Oh, I know what really happened there, and I was kind of amused by that, because at the time he was 5 and living in another town. While Shepard became a symbol of the movement toward equality and laws, the state of Wyoming, where the murder took place, remains one of a handful to have not passed laws pertaining to crimes in which a victim's identity, including their sexual identity, served as a motivating factor. McKinneys lawyers also wanted to argue that Shepard caused McKinney to explode in a rage by putting his hand on McKinneys leg. And so, for the conspiracy theorists out there, I suppose its good reading. Wyoming remains deeply defensive about the idea that Shepard was targeted because he was gay, said Sara Burlingame, executive director of the Cheyenne-based LGBTQ advocacy group Wyoming Equality. StephenBelber, one of the playwrights of The Laramie Project, interviewed Henderson for the same production in 2009, andtold the Denver Post the experience was different than Pierotti's with the apparently remorseless McKinney. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File), Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. Matthew Shepard's death was a catalyst for a push toward adopting laws that protect members of the LGBTQ community. He also admitted that when he and Henderson zeroed in on that night at the Fireside Lounge, they did so because he was obviously gay.. girlfriend, Kristen Price, drove to Cheyenne to dump Your email address will not be published. Prosecutors accused both Price and Chasity Pasley, who was Henderson's girlfiend, of helping dispose of Henderson's bloody clothes. Shane Sanderson joined the Star-Tribune in 2017. 525 Grand Ave #101, Laramie, WY 82070, lived here in 2002 : F. 3834 S 7120 W, West Valley City, UT 84128, lived here in 2001 $1,770: G. 3375 W 7800 S #134, West Jordan, UT 84088 Mr. Henderson never met his biological father and was adopted as an infant by a stepfather, said. after pleading guilty to being an accessory after the fact in Kristen LeAnn Price, 19, was McKinneys girlfriend. The groups work today is the same thing that was there 20 years ago., As recently as Tuesday, days before the anniversary of Shepards death, about 200 people attended a forum in Laramie questioning the prevailing view that he was murdered because of his sexual orientation. Im so, so ashamed I was ever part of this, Henderson said. Im so, so ashamed I was ever part of this, Henderson said. In a letter written from jail, McKinney admitted to being homophobic. Web posted at: 6:23 p.m. EDT (2223 GMT). Hate Crimes Prevention Act,according to a 2018 Associated Press interview. Russell Henderson looks on during a prison interview at Wyoming Medium Correctional Institution. Henderson and the other convicted murderer, Aaron McKinney, are currently serving life sentences for their crimes. Twenty years on, its a heck of a lot closer to being a place where people can enjoy their lives more or less equally, said Marsden, who was a newspaper reporter and friend of Shepards at the time of his killing. ___. comment, May her family find comfort and peace, She made a choice that she ultimately paid the price for and I find it sad anyone would come to this forum and post such things, these are the same people that want to preach love, The reality is the truth can be found in the Bible such as John 13:34, Your email address will not be published. I was one lucky sister-in-law to have gained such a beautiful friend, sister. She attended Laramie High School in Laramie, Wyoming and later obtained a degree from Stevens Henager College.?. Pasley said she saw blood and a "fleshy" substance on one You have permission to edit this article. The University of Wyoming created its diversity office only last year. Dec. 24 - Chasity Pasley, who last month pleaded not guilty to an accessory charge related to the slaying of University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, changed her plea to guilty in. Twenty years ago, a gay University of Wyoming student was brutally attacked and left to die on a lonely plot of land near Laramie. Pence won't commit to supporting Trump if he's the nominee I think about him and every single one of those days that Ive had that he hasnt had, his family hasnt had, his friends havent had. May 21, 1999. But were also trying to get to the next Aarons and the next Russells. She was someone Jim Osborn knew well and liked. Marsden pointed out that only Wyomings governor could commute Hendersons sentence, a prospect that he called super unlikely. Burlingame of the Wyoming Equality group said she believes in redemption but doubts Henderson has really atoned for the crime. Merry . McKinney and Henderson trying "to get their stories straight" (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File). The convicted killers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, are each serving two consecutive life sentences. The foundation also pushed for the passage of the United States' first piece of federal hate crime legislation the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were around 21-year-old Shepards age when they chatted him up the evening of Oct. 6 at the Fireside Lounge in Laramie. Pasley is serving 15 to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty to an accessory charge. She said she had misgivings about getting involved and was concussion he suffered during a fight he and Henderson had Please try again. The acrimony over Shepards legacy runs high here, just as it did when anti-gay and gay-rights protesters squared off at his funeral in Casper. Shepard, 21, a student at the University of Wyoming, was What Matthew Shepards killer has to say, 20, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window), Click to share on Reddit (Opens in new window), Alameda County DAs new policy will reduce prison sentences through widespread elimination of sentencing enhancements, 20 years after killing Matthew Shepard, what Russell Henderson has to say, Matthew Shepards parents prepare to lay their son to rest at National Cathedral. The convicted killers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, are each serving two consecutive life sentences. She attended Laramie High School in Laramie, Wyoming and later obtained a degree from Stevens Henager College. That played a part. where a year earlier, University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was tied and pistol whipped into a coma. Her personality and smile would light up a room. He covers courts and law enforcement agencies in Natrona County and across the state. }, First published on November 4, 1999 / 9:24 AM. I think about him and every single one of those days that Ive had that he hasnt had, his family hasnt had, his friends havent had. According to the BBC, McKinney himself said that he became angry when Shepard placed his hand on his leg, even saying that he told Shepard, "Guess what? She said they hid expensive new Associated Press writers Brady McCombs in Laramie and David Crary in New York contributed to this report. The 1998 torture and murder of gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie, Wyoming, was a turning point for gay rights in the United States, prompting outrage, sorrow and activism. Once people find out Im from Laramie, Wyoming, they still zero in on this hate crime, said Trudy McCraken, who spoke at the forum and was Laramies mayor at the time of the slaying. Chasity Pasley, 21, is serving an 18-month prison sentence Russell Henderson says he thinks about Matthew Shepard every single day of his life. The killers' girlfriends Chasity Vera Pasley, 20, and Kristen Leann Price, 18 were charged with being accessories after the fact. Wyoming remains deeply defensive about the idea that Shepard was targeted because he was gay, Burlingame said. Adamson student died of severe blunt force trauma, 17 face raps in Adamson students hazing death, Week-long transport strike on March 6 will continue, says Manibela, As strike looms, govt moves jeepney franchise deadline, Kickstart summer with vivos hot smartphone deals this 3.3, Bring on the sunshine: vivo makes summer vacays brighter for its fans, House energy committee chair Arroyo bats for cheap electricity, DA memo is cartel smoking gun Hontiveros, Kylie Padilla urges bashers to stop calling AJ Raval a mistress: Its not fair to her, Boybits Victoria, former PBA top rookie, passes away at 50. Shepard was beaten into a coma and left tied to a rural fence for 18 hours. When two roofing workers beat a young gay man and left him to die in Wyoming, the gruesome crime quickly reverberated around the U.S. and turned the college student into a powerful symbol of the quest for acceptance and equal rights. The prosecution says it will seek the death penalty for I dont like to spend a lot of time on them. McKinney was last serving his time in a Mississippi prison,as oflate last year, and refusing interview requests,the Associated Pressreported. He died five days later. Henderson tied Shepard to the fence after McKinney told him to do it, he said. Henderson, who pleaded guilty to avoid a possible death sentence, is serving his time at a medium-security prison in Torrington, a quiet farming-and-ranching town a few miles from the Nebraska line. And, in 2018, Albany County Sheriff David OMalley, who investigated Shepards murder 20 yearsbefore, shared a letter written to Henderson by McKinney while the two were both awaiting trial. Russell Henderson, Aaron McKinney and Chastity Pasley wait to be arraigned Oct. 9, 1998. To me, it was ridiculous.. Im so, so ashamed I was ever part of this, Henderson said. I think he has a contribution to make to society, said Malcolm Lazin, executive director of the Philadelphia-based LGBT group Equality Forum and a former federal prosecutor. But there are also people who think Shepard deserved to die because of his sexual orientation and use Jimenezs theory as an excuse for their views, Osborn said. He also makes clear the homophobic element of the brutal murder although he claims not to have known Shepard was gaywhen he and Henderson first approached him. Then they left Shepard in the frigid darkness. (Dennis Shepard/The Matthew Shepard Foundation via AP), Matthew Shepard with his parents, Judy and Dennis Shepard in an undated photo. Hendersons remarks dont change the facts of the case, which include McKinneys confession to police, Marsden said. And so people were kind of desperate to latch onto any theory that was something other than hate.. 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