A hate crime is a violent act of crime motivated by racial, sexual, or other prejudice. The death of 21 year old Matthew Shepard in 1998 caused an outrage in both gay and straight communities all across the world, and whether his death was the result of a hate crime or not, that is debatable. Many factors uncounted for and undetected by the public media at the time of the incident play a major part in his passing that would categorize Shepard's death as a drug related murder rather than a hate crime, but having his death viewed as a hate crime has positively influenced many people globally and he became a voice for the gay community and speak out to take a stand for all the hate that does does exist based on sexuality.
The role of public media in the case of Matthew Shepard outweighs any other factors in that the case blew up overnight grabbing the attentions of people globally. Before any real investigation efforts were put into Shepard's case, the media jumped in and labeled the case as a hate crime, reporting on live TV on the hatred that exists within the Town of Laramie based on the mere fact that Shepard was gay. "Within 36 hours there were satellite trucks in Laramie." (20/20 ABC). Media responded to Shepard's case immediately, every news station and reporter wanted to be the first to report any updates and have the "first hand" and "exclusive" information on the case. Soon enough the whole world was watching Laramie, following up on anything that happened, their interference and the attention it brought upon Shepard's family and friends was tremendous. "Shepard's father had to wear a bullet proof vest to speak at his own son's funeral" (20/20 ABC). Because of the media attention, Shepard's funeral became a live stream on TV, the case had not only captured the eyes of those who are mournful, but also those who believed Shepard deserved to die because of his sexuality and couldn't let Shepard's loved ones mourn in peace and the family felt threatened enough to take precautions to protect their own lives. They are a group from the Westboro Baptist Church, claiming under God's name to justify their acts of hate and extremely offensive actions against the gay community. "They are a group of hateful people with signs and a lot time on their hands, they stood outside chanting and holding up "God hates f**s"" (Huffingtonpost). It was horrifying enough
that Shepard's death might have been because of his sexuality, however the Westboro Baptist Church still felt the need to cause public disturbances and hold signs that say Shepard deserved was he got. It's unacceptable, hate crime or not, Shepard deserved to be buried at peace and mourned by his loved ones without the entire world watching and people cursing at his name.
Long after Shepard's death and the outrage of the hate behind the incident did people finally stop to ask, was it really a hate crime? At the time of the incident, McKinny openly admitted and confessed he killed Shepard because he was gay and made a pass at McKinny. "I was like, "Look I'm not a fu**ing fa**ot. If you touch me again you're gonna get it." I don't know what the hell he was trying to do but I beat him up pretty good, I think I killed him." (Kaufman 25). Instead of confessing to robbery or drug related issues, McKinny admitted to the case standing behind the "Gay Panic" defense in hopes of a valid excuse to get a lighter sentence. However he did not expect for the case to create an outrage and uproar landing him in two life sentences. In 2004, McKinny and Henderson, spoke to press for the first time since the incident and it brought a whole new perspective into the case and overturns the crime all together. "Arron used drugs everyday..did not sleep for a week....Matt wanted a ride/sex and Arron wanted to rob him.." (Price 20/20 ABC). The role of meth in this case was brought to attention for the first time, revealing McKinny had been a awake for a whole week prior to the night of the incident and he meant to rob a drug dealer of 10,000 dollars but failed so he turned his eyes on Shepard when Shepard asked for a ride.Shepard's involvement with meth went unmentioned as he was the poster boy for the gay community, as did the fact that he was HIV positive due to a trip to Morocco where he was raped by two men when he was younger, which is a factor that drove him to meth to self medicate. Another important factor that was over looked at the time of trial was that McKinny, Henderson, and Shepard were friends; they hung out together, partied together, it was not as simple as gay panic against a stranger who asked for a ride. "well..it was me, Arron, and Matt." (O'Connor 20/20 Special). Doc O'Connor, a limo driver that often drove Shepard to gay bars in Denver mentioned McKinny and Shepard were definitely friends, and that McKinny was bisexual; he also openly admitted to having threesomes with them, which completely contradicts the whole gay panic defense. The media at the time went out of their way to try and prove the Shepard case was hate crime, even paying friends of McKinny to say things that play in favor of the labeling of a hate crime, knowing that will bring more attention to the case that just a simple meth related murder and the victim just happened to be gay.
Hate crime or not, the positive influence Shepard's case had brought to help the gay community speak out and laws to protect crimes that are truly targeted toward people based on their sexuality. One of the major laws is the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd. Jr Hate Crime Prevention Act signed by President Obama on October 22, 2009. "After more than a decade of opposition and delay, we've passed inclusive hate crimes legislation to help protect our citizens from violence based on what they look like, who they love, how they pray, or who they are." (Obama). Even though it took 12 years for the law to be passed, it wouldn't have happened if it weren't for wrongful attention upon Shepard's case that led to the attention to the oppressed population of the gay community. Many people argue that the case is only a big deal because Shepard was gay, and that it wouldn't have been such a sensation if he was straight in defense that one's life, or rather death, should not be valued more than another based on sexuality. "We wouldn't be here if this was just another murder the state was going to deal with. The state deals with hundreds of murders every single day. But this murder is different, because the f**s are bringing us out here trying to make Matthew Shepard into a poster boy for the gay lifestyle. And we're going to answer it, its just that simple." (Kaufman 76). Reverend Fred Phelps says this in defense for the push back on the Shepard case and the gay life style, however, in his defense he reveals an underlying issue that because the gay community is so oppressed that the death of a member is such a big deal; the the gay community had equal rights in the first place, it would have just been another murder. After Shepard's death, Shepard's mother and father, Judy and Dennis Shepard, founded the Matthew Shepard Foundation in his name to "Created to honor Matthew in a manner that was appropriate to his dreams, beliefs, and aspirations, the Foundation seeks to “Replace Hate with Understanding, Compassion, & Acceptance” through its varied educational, outreach and, advocacy programs and by continuing to tell Matthew’s story." (matthewshepard.org). The Matthew Shepard Foundation works with the Department of Justice and FBI on educational programs to spread awareness, replacing hate with understanding, compassion, and support; to reach out globally encouraging respect for human dignity and differences. His death, no matter the motivation, has changed the way in which the world talks and deals about hate.
In away, any crime could be classified as a hate crime, it is hatred towards something or someone that drives one to take another's life. However, although in no way Shepard's death can be distinctively justified as a hate crime or drug related, his death can be viewed as a sacrifice that changed the society for the better, bringing attention to issues that went unspoken and oppressed, freeing people from prejudice with open minds and open hearts, all across the globe.
