pickup truck that allegedly belonged to McKinney. Henderson tied Shepard to the fence after McKinney told him to do it, he said. Its a lot easier to say, Oh, well, there must have been another explanation, he said. . The following morning, Pasley testified, eight detectives We're not gay, and we're going to jack you up." Jim Osborn, the University of Wyoming Title IX coordinator and 1998 chair of the LGBTQ student group Shepard belonged to, is often the staff member who speaks to UW classes about Shepard. Ashton was her knight and shining armour. She was someone Jim Osborn knew well and liked. Matthew Shepards parents prepare to lay their son to rest at National Cathedral display: none; In a 2009 interview quoted byThe Denver Post,McKinney stated bluntly, "Matt Shepard needed killing," adding, "As far as Matt is concerned, I don't have any remorse. Oxygen Insider is your all-access pass to never-before-seen content, free digital evidence kits, and much more. (AP) When two roofing workers beat a young gay man to death in Wyoming in 1998, the gruesome crime quickly reverberated around the U.S. and turned the sandy-haired college student into a powerful symbol of the quest for acceptance and equal rights. Really? McKinneys lawyers also wanted to argue that Shepard caused McKinney to explode in a rage by putting his hand on McKinneys leg. He later died. McKinney and Henderson trying "to get their stories straight" Shepard was beaten into a coma and left tied to a rural fence for 18 hours. Please try again. The pair lured Shepard outside the bar and abducted him. She will be missed dearly and heaven has gained an angel to watch over her loved ones. At McKinneys trial, his attorneys sought to use the so-called gay panic defense, arguing he killed Shepard in a rage for making sexual overtures. the slaying of Matthew Shepard, who was beaten, tied to a Attorneys for Wyoming in 2014 argued in defense of the states definition of marriage as only between a man and a woman, a case later rendered moot by higher court rulings. But two decades after Matthew Shepard was bludgeoned, tied to a rail fence and left to die on the cold high prairie, the emotions stirred by his slaying linger in Wyoming, which still struggles with its tarnished identity and resists changes sought by the LGBTQ community. the girlfriend of one of two men accused in the beating death Henderson and the other convicted murderer, Aaron McKinney, are currently serving life sentences for their crimes. (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); McKinney repeatedly used homosexual slurs in his confession, Marsden said. Shepard, 21, a student at the University of Wyoming, was According to the Matthew Shepard Foundation, Shepard was chosen to be a peer counselor at the school and was known to fight for the acceptance of everyone. Known as the Equality State, Wyoming got its nickname for being the first to let women vote. She was charged with being an accessory after 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. Shane Sanderson joined the Star-Tribune in 2017. Sign up for our newsletter to keep reading. Your subscription could not be saved. Former UW student Chasity Pasley, who was dating one of Matthew Shepard's killers, pleaded innocent to the charge of accessory, after the fact, to first-degree murder. He died less than a week later, on Oct. 12, 1998, at age 21. Wyoming Equality protested by holding a dance at a civic center down the street, using the slogan When They Go Low We Go Dance.. Dave O'Malley sits for a portrait outside the Albany County Courthouse on Sept. 28 in Laramie. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. } I think about Matthew every single day of my life, Henderson said, according to the Associated Press. October 18, 2017 at 11:00 AM Henderson, now 41, said the U.S. should have laws that protect everyone, no matter who they are. Chasity Pasley, Mr. Henderson's girlfriend, pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact. My thoughts and prayers are with the family. According to the Williams Institute at UCLA's School of Law, this is considered an example of a "gay panic" defense, often used in cases where an LGBTQ person is the murder victim. The flier advertising the event went out before Jimenez asked the prison system for permission to livestream Hendersons appearance, according to Wyoming Department of Corrections spokesman Mark Horan. with two other men after the Shepard beating. At the time of the killing, McKinney and Price were parents of an infant son. 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. Russell and Henderson. Chasity was a resident of Utah at the time of passing. Twenty years ago, a gay University of Wyoming student was brutally attacked and left to die on a lonely plot of land near Laramie. Trending News Shepard was discovered by a mountain biker who at first glance thought that Shepard's mutilated body tied to the fence post was a scarecrow on the evening of October 7. at McKinney's apartment that night. Even now, people associate Laramie with the murder. "We need to do this for Matthew and for everybody else and to keep this from happening again.". Much love. This 1995 photo provided by the Matthew Shepard Foundation shows Matthew Shepard. (Dennis Shepard/The Matthew Shepard Foundation via AP), Matthew Shepard with his parents, Judy and Dennis Shepard in an undated photo. I will keep Chasity always in my heart, I wont find another like her . And so people were kind of desperate to latch onto any theory that was something other than hate.. I dont agree with the gay lifestyle, he said. Henderson and McKinney argued that the murder was the result of a robbery gone bad and that Shepard's sexual orientation wasn't a factor, though McKinney's own account of the night hurts that assertion. Chasity was born on October 4, 1978 and passed away on Tuesday, October 10, 2017. LARAMIE, Wyoming When two roofing workers beat a young gay man to death in Wyoming in 1998, the gruesome crime quickly reverberated around the United States and turned the sandy-haired college student into a powerful symbol of the quest for acceptance and equal rights. For the last 20 years, the work of Wyoming Equality has really been this race, that we want to get to every LGBT person out there, Burlingame said. Shepard returned to the United States for college and eventually returned to Casper, where he attended the local community college. I agree to the Terms of Use and acknowledge that I have read the Privacy Policy. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer), 1998: Matthew Shepard. A contradictory statement from McKinney indicates that Shepard didn't touch him, but looked like he was going to. But Henderson did not participate in Tuesdays discussion, aside from a nine-minute prerecorded video. Henderson believes thattheUnited Statesshould revamp its federal hate crime laws to protect everyone, even nearly a decade after the passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Henderson reiterated that he was deeply sorry for Shepards murder. Mckinney was sentenced to two consecutive life prison sentences last week for the October 1998 murder of 21-year-old Shepard. She was born on October 4, 1978 in Salt Lake City to Rodney Pasley and Linda Larsen. Then they left Shepard in the frigid darkness. 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. Cheyenne owned by her mother. (AP) When two roofing workers beat a young gay man to death in Wyoming in 1998, the gruesome crime quickly reverberated around the U.S. and turned the sandy-haired college student into a powerful symbol of the quest for acceptance and equal rights. As Henderson drove, McKinney began pistol-whipping Shepard and took his wallet. The time finally came, and Wyoming faced off with . Matthew Shepard's death was a catalyst for a push toward adopting laws that protect members of the LGBTQ community. However, the judge in McKinney's murder trial would not permit it. Im so, so ashamed I was ever part of this, Henderson said. LARAMIE, Wyo. Matthew Shepard was a junior in high school at the time and he wrapped up his high school years in Switzerland at The American School, where he studied several foreign languages as well as theater. He died five days later. She worked in the campus activities center and had helped Jim . McKinney was last serving his time in a Mississippi prison,as oflate last year, and refusing interview requests,the Associated Pressreported. Wyoming remains deeply defensive about the idea that Shepard was targeted because he was gay, Burlingame said. Staggering snowfall in California mountains leaves residents trapped for days That is one of the last things she told me. #inline-recirc-item--id-91eb6236-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-91eb6236-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { Keep up the good work. Henderson, now 41, said the U.S. should have laws that protect everyone, no matter who they are. But two decades after Matthew Shepard was bludgeoned, tied to a rail fence and left to die on the cold high prairie, the emotions stirred by his slaying linger in Wyoming, which still struggles with its tarnished identity and resists changes sought by the LGBTQ community. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File). There, Shepard met Romaine Patterson through a teacher. In April, Russell Henderson pleaded guilty to first degree murder and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms. There was a problem saving your notification. The convicted killers, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, are each serving two consecutive life sentences. "As tragic as it is, and as unfortunate as it is, and as hard as it is for Matthew's family, and for my family, for all of us, to go through, it opened up all of us to be better people and really think about who we are," Henderson told the Associated Press in 2018, 20 years after Shepard's murder. Im so, so ashamed I was ever part of this.. The murder of college student Matthew Shepard shocked the nation on multiple levels. His murderers were both given consecutive life sentences, although they werent charged with a hate crime. His accomplice, Russell Henderson, is also serving two consecutive life terms. Chasity Pasley, 20 . I think about him and every single one of those days that I've had that he hasn't had, his family hasn't had, his friends haven't had. But I think that nobody wants to believe that hate and violence exist in their community. {{start_at_rate}} {{format_dollars}} {{start_price}} {{format_cents}} {{term}}, {{promotional_format_dollars}}{{promotional_price}}{{promotional_format_cents}} {{term}}, Nebraska cheerleader competes by herself at state competition, but crowd doesn't let her feel alone, Crews contend with tons of snow as they work to reopen I-80, Long shifts, odd calls, brutal weather: inside the Wyoming Highway Patrol staffing shortage, Powell sisters die in crash with semi-truck, Rescue operations underway as Wyoming blizzard continues to wreak havoc, Ex-Casper doctor imprisoned for sexually assaulting patients released years early, Wyoming's Jeff Linder coaching his heart out for his dad, seniors Hunter Maldonado and Hunter Thompson, Massive snowdrifts hamper reopening of Interstate 80, Unsolved Laramie murder stuck with NY Times reporter for decades. Chasity Vera Haines (Pasley) passed away on October 10, 2017. President Barack Obama signed a federal hate crime prevention act named after Shepard in 2009, a law that Shepards mother, Judy Shepard, said has been helpful. Prosecutors accused both Price and Chasity Pasley, who was Henderson's girlfiend, of helping dispose of Henderson's bloody clothes. The next day, a mountain biker found him. Henderson admitted tying Shepard to a fence and said he did nothing to stop the beating. McKinney has pleaded innocent and is scheduled to stand trial in August. (The Matthew Shepard Foundation via AP), Oct. 9, 1998: Russell Henderson, Aaron McKinney, and Chasity Pasley, three suspects in the beating death of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard wait to be arraigned in Laramie, Wyo. June 11, 2022 Posted by: illustrator graphic design tutorials . Kristen Price, the former girlfriend of Aaron McKinney, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of interfering with a police officer. McKinney and Henderson are each serving two consecutive life sentences. Bay Area federal judge orders extradition of woman suspected of killing MSU student in hit-and-run, San Jose: Home raided as part of explosives and narcotics investigation, Man arrested after explosives found in bag at Pa. airport. To me, it was ridiculous.. (Judy Shepard/The Matthew Shepard Foundation via AP), 1989: Matthew Shepard, age 12, in San Francisco. Don't miss out on the latest news and information. Woman Sentenced for Role in Attack. OMalley said Jimenezs narrative has picked up in steam in Wyoming more than anywhere else. Henderson pleaded guilty last month to kidnapping and felony murder and was sentenced to consecutive life prison terms. Pasley said she lied because "I was protecting someone I The next day, a mountain biker found him, at first mistaking him for a scarecrow. In return, McKinney has promised not to appeal his felony murder and kidnapping convictions and sentence. According to the Associated Press, she was sentenced to 15 months to 2 years in prison. Connect with the definitive source for global and local news. ``I needed to face up to what I did, Pasley said during her sentencing hearing. Laramie did not pass an ordinance barring discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity until 2015. The 21-year-old was taken to a hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado where he died on October 12, 1998 (via Matthew Shepard Foundation). 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. Attitudes against homosexuality persist in Wyoming, but LGTBQ acceptance has advanced, said Jason Marsden, executive director of the Denver-based Matthew Shepard Foundation. Chastity Vera Pasley, the girlfriend of murder suspect Russell Henderson, is pictured in court in Laramie, Wyo., on Friday, Oct. 9, 1998. 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. To find out more, please click this link. I think he has atoned. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski, File), Nov. 4, 1999: Judy Shepard stands with Detective Sgt. Price was sentenced to 180 days, of which she served 60 days. October 28, 1999 shoes Henderson had been wearing that night in a shed in After leaving Shepard tied to a fence post in rural Wyoming, Henderson and McKinney returned to Laramie, where they got in a street fight with two other men, according to The Coloradoan. The crime focused the national spotlight on hate crimes. McKinney repeatedly used homosexual slurs in his confession, Marsden said. In a recorded 10-hour interview, which was adapted into a new act of the play, McKinney revealed that people should have little doubt Shepards murder was a hate crime and that he feels no remorse. During the fourth day of testimony Thursday, Chasity Pasley -- who was dating McKinney's alleged accomplice, Russell Henderson -- said McKinney told his girlfriend he killed someone and then asked . Hate Crimes Are Designed To Strike Fear In The Broader Community, Heather Heyer's Mother Recalls The Neo-Nazi Rally That Took Her Life, Harrowing Audio From Portland Train Attack Reveals Depth of Christian's Hate, Extremists Sometimes Hide Behind The First Amendment. Still, he insisted, neither he nor Aaron McKinney was motivated by anti-gay hatred when they offered Shepard a ride home from a bar. Patterson was a lesbian, known for being very outgoing, and hit it off with Shepard, who had known about his own sexuality for years and came out to his mother while still in high school. Earlier that evening, Shepard had been at a meeting with friends to plan on-campus events for an LGBTQ awareness week, per BBC News. ___ 20,000 people may have been exposed to measles at Asbury University revival Were nowhere near done, said Sara Burlingame, executive director of the Cheyenne-based LGBTQ advocacy group Wyoming Equality. Shepard died less than a week later, on Oct. 12, 1998, at age 21. The event was billed as an examination of what the media got wrong in its coverage of Shepards murder. I am so sorry for your loss. Linda she really loved you with all her heart & soul she missed you very much. Email notifications are only sent once a day, and only if there are new matching items. 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. Top McCarthy aide, House Oversight chair each met with Ashli Babbitt's mother (renews at {{format_dollars}}{{start_price}}{{format_cents}}/month + tax). The book came nearly a decade after a Jimenez-produced 20/20 segment that likewise featured McKinney denying bigotry played a role in his actions. Lgbtq community protect members of the Wyoming Equality group said she believes redemption! 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