Matthew Shepard - Death In The High Desert (2001)

Matthew Shepard - Death In The High Desert (2001)

Hear from the mother of the student whose death set off an international media furor and spurred new rounds of legislation.


On October 6 1998, Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old, homosexual student at the University of Wyoming, was lured from the Fireside Bar in Laramie by Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. Why Shepard went with them is unclear, but what happened afterwards is not: Shepard was robbed, beaten into a coma and lashed to a fencepost. He was not discovered for 18 hours.

The ""crucifixion"" of a young, gay man in ""cowboy country"" was tailor-made for the media, and the crime attracted international attention. Gay rights groups saw it as a symbol of society's often-brutal intolerance of alternate lifestyles, and Shepard's martyrdom spurred rounds of fresh anti hate crime legislation. It also led to life without parole prison sentences for McKinney and Henderson.


AMERICAN JUSTICE® examines every aspect of the Matthew Shepard story, from the fateful night at the bar to the controversy over some of the legislation that came out of the tragic incident. Among the many people sharing their insights are Shepard's mother, prosecuting and defending attorneys from the trials, and Wyoming Senator Michael Massie.