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gay bashers in the news again (long -- 163 lines)
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Oct 12 22:55 UTC 1998 |
Gay Wyo. Student Dies From Beating
By E.N. Smith
Associated Press Writer
Monday, October 12,
1998; 3:37 p.m. EDT
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP) -- A gay
University of Wyoming student died today,
five days after he was found
pistol-whipped and lashed to a fence post
in an attack denounced nationwide as a
hate crime.
Matthew Shepard, 21, died while on life
support, said the head of Poudre Valley
Hospital, Rulon Stacey. Shepard had been
in a coma since bicyclists found him
tethered to the post in near-freezing
temperatures outside Laramie, Wyo., on
Wednesday.
"The family was grateful they did not
have to make a decision regarding whether
or not to continue life support for their
son," Stacey said. "He came into the
world premature and left the world
premature and they are most grateful for
the time they had to spend with
Matthew.
Police have said robbery was the primary
motive for the attack. But gay rights
groups and others assailed the beating
and called on Wyoming legislators to
adopt laws to deter crimes against
homosexuals.
"We are calling on all the people to
have a renewed discussion to find out
what we might do to strengthen our
laws," Gov. Jim Geringer said today. The
first-term Republican, up for re-election
next month, hasn't pushed hate crime
legislation in the past, but he said
today, "I'm open to any suggestion that
we might bring to our Legislature."
In Washington, White House press
secretary Joe Lockhart said today that
President Clinton was horrified by the
attack and spoke with Shepard's family
Saturday. He renewed the president's call
for "some kind of a national standard,
law, on hate crimes."
Before Shepard's death, Russell Arthur
Henderson, 21, and Aaron James McKinney,
22, had been charged with attempted
murder, kidnapping and aggravated
robbery. Their girlfriends -- Chasity
Vera Pasley, 20, and Kristen Leann Price,
18 -- were charged with being accessories
after the fact.
Sgt. Rob DeBree of the Albany County
sheriff's office, a lead investigator in
the case, confirmed today the charges
would be upgraded to first-degree murder.
He gave no details.
McKinney's girlfriend, Ms. Price, and his
father, Bill McKinney, told The Denver
Post that the two men never set out to
kill the 5-foot-2, 105-pound Shepard.
Instead, they said the two wanted to get
back at Shepard for making passes at
McKinney in front of his friends Tuesday
night in a campus bar.
"I guess they (the people in the bar)
knew that Matt Shepard was gay and maybe
it got around that Aaron was gay or
something," Ms. Price said in a story
published Sunday. "Later on, Aaron did
say he told him he was gay just to rob
him, because he wanted to take his money
for embarrassing him."
The elder McKinney said there was no
excuse for the crime but the story had
been blown out of proportion.
"Had this been a heterosexual these two
boys decided to take out and rob, this
never would have made the national
news," he told the Post. "Now my son is
guilty before he's even had a trial."
Friends of Henderson and McKinney said
they were surprised by the allegations.
"They were quiet," said Heather
Dunmire, 20, of nearby Rock River. "I
wouldn't have expected them to do that. I
never would expect another human to do
that."
Henderson and Ms. Pasley live in a rural,
windswept trailer park amid weeds, engine
parts, fishing tackle and barking dogs. A
neighbor, John Gillham, 21, said the
couple generally kept to themselves.
About a thousand people attended a
candlelight vigil Sunday night near the
University of Wyoming campus to show
their support for Shepard, who was a
political science major.
"We are saddened, heartsick," said the
university's president, Philip Dubois.
"All of us I would imagine are haunted
by the thought of a terribly battered
young man with his future erased.
"It is almost as sad to see individuals
and groups around this country react to
this event by stereotyping an entire
community, if not an entire state."
Shepard's parents said in a statement
released before his death that he would
"emphasize he does not want the horrible
actions of a few very disturbed
individuals to mar the fine reputations
of Laramie or the university."
Shepard left Wyoming as a teen to finish
high school in Switzerland. A friend said
he had to overcome concerns about how his
sexual orientation would be accepted
before he returned to Wyoming -- which is
nicknamed the Equality State because it
was the first state to let women vote,
serve on juries and hold public office --
for college.
"He had a lot of the same fears other
people have coming into a small
community," said Walt Boulden, a
graduate student. "When he left Wyoming
he had just started dealing with being
gay. So he was very concerned about the
attitudes when he first came back.
"But he really felt at home and
comfortable here. He felt this was the
place to be right now."
Copyright 1998 The Associated Press
[used without permission]
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