UnsilentMajorty

ABC is going to air an investigative piece tonight on 20/20 that claims the 1998, death of Gay teenager Matthew Shepard may have not been a hate crime after all.

http://abcnews.go.com/2020/story?id=277685&page=1

The main things of interest to look out for are:

-How modern day news can be shaped more by sensationalism than fact.

-The report states that one of the two men responsible for the beating, Aaron McKinney, may in fact have been Gay or Bisexual himself, thus this could have never been a hate crime in the traditional sense...

Also that Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were also coming down of a methamphetamine binge the night they killed Shepard and that was probably the real motivating factor more than Matthew's sexual orientation.

-It doesn't matter what the actual motivation for the killing/beating was in that Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney would have still most likely killed Shepard due to their paranoid state and are indicitive of a larger problem in Laramie, WY, that being drug use by teens/young adults.

In addition, it should't take away from the many good things like the anti-hate crime legislation that have passed in Shepard's name since, or the struggle for Gay Rights and Equality in general.

Lovesbitch

I'm torn on what to believe about this.

I mean, if this was the complete truth why did they wait 5 years to come out and say this? How many interviews have they been offered since them, how many opportunitys have they had to speak on their behalf.

Part of me thinks this may be the truth but the other half thinks that maybe they just want to get some sympathy.

Milt Palacio

Of course it wasn't a hate crime!

His killers were actually loving, caring people who didn't care that he was gay.

(I am being sarcastic, people.)

Of course this is BS. For them to change their story about 5 years is ridiculous. I am pretty appalled that ABC would even air this.

Lovesbitch

See, if they had come out and said this at the time (or even within a few months) it would have been more creditable.

Plus, the more I think about this the more bull this seems. Look at the crime scene, the way he died. That wasn't just some random attack, it was vicious and filled with hate.

SuperDeluxe

Just because the guy that killed him was also gay or bi, doesnt make this NOT a hate crime. He might have killed him because he hates what he is..hates gays and bi folk.

UnsilentMajorty

Well, it is definitely up for interpretation.

(That's why I thought you guys would want to know about this).

I agree that even if Aaron McKinney is Bisexual, or self-hating Gay (closet) himself... That still doesn't excuse what he did (obviously).

But the thing is... The basis for the prosecution's case was in fact a Hate Crime and that DOES change the possible punishments as well as the media it recieved at the time.

The supposed (then) motivation for it bieng classified as a Hate Crime was that Shepard made a pass at McKinney in a bar and that so offended, or enraged McKinney -- implying Shepard was Gay -- That this was the sole motivation as to why he and Henderson lured Shepard out into that field and killed him, not because they were coming down off a drug high and were ready to snap anyway.

This is the reason I think ABC is airing this story now: They are presenting a "What if?" after the fact in an effort to get to what they believe is the truth.

Lovesbitch

But it's been five years, the what if factor has gone and passed.

If this really was the truth why wouldn't they have come out and said this during the trial. Or even a year or so after.

If there really was any basis to this then they wouldn't have waited five years to come out with it.

They're looking for sympathy, I doubt there is any real fact in anything that they have said.

UnsilentMajorty

Well, the interesting thing is that McKinney and Henderson were never put on the witness stand...

And the fact that it was mainly two Gay friends of Shepard's who immediately -- without having known the facts of what happened prior to when Shepard was found at the fence -- Said that they were going to make sure it was a "Gay Bashing" case for the media instead of what it probably really was (a money for drugs manslaughter because McKinney claims he never intended to kill Shepard, but in his drug induced state, he couldn't control himself).

This is what we should concentrate on above all else:

The fate of the two men (McKinney and Henderson) was already decided by the public before their trial had begun.

Now, obviously, they aren't innocent by any means. In fact, they are both serving two life sentences...

But again, it is the fact that in this country, that you can be found guilty by the media frenzy before you trial even happens and that goes against the supposed principle our legal system was founded on:

Innocent until proven guilty.

Also, Matthew Shepard himself wasn't the saint the media made him out to be.

According to the report, he had HIV (probably due to being gang raped in Moraco while on a college trip) and was probably suicidial as well which made him more susceptible to McKinney's advances than he normally would be.

In addition, the report also claims that Shepard was heavily into the methamphetamine scene going as far as dealing and buying himself right along side McKinney and that the two actually knew each other before the night McKinney killed him because it was always said... By the media... That Shepard and McKinney had never known each other and that it was the pass at McKinney that enraged him and movitated his "Hate Crime".

The point isn't whether they are looking for sympathy or not. They aren't going to be released and they aren't on Death Row.

The point, to me, is that the truth in high profile murder cases like these is never the black and white picture that the media loves to portray and again, media hype and sensationalism can heavily influence a persons chances of whether they will be found guilty or innocent before they even have their araignment.

Lovesbitch

I understand he was into drugs but I don't think that makes him a bad person.

Also that paragraph I quoted kinda confused me. Are you saying that he's not a saint because of the fact he HIV and was suicidal. Cause last time I checked getting raped doesn't make you a bad person. He was in a emotionally troubling time, that doesn't justify at all what they did to him (in fact, i think that it made it worse).

If they wanted to take the stand during the trial they could have. If they wanted to come out and say this five years ago they could have. They wre offered numerous interviews, they could have been on any station that they wanted to. But they chose not to.

It's the fact that they stayed silence for 5 years that makes me not believe this. If they had said this sooner I would have.

And yes, the media does affect how the public views a case but it doesn't affect what their lawyer says in the court room. If this was true you don't think the lawyer would have made this all known at the time.

But did he?

No.

Therefore I think that this is complete and utter crap.

Milt Palacio

I saw the report on 20/20 last night and I found it pretty disgusting.

First off, it was bad journalism. They didn't present any significant new information. Most people already knew that Matthew was HIV positive and that he was an occasional drug user. This information came out back in 1999.

Secondly, the people they had interviewed had no credibility. THat limo driver lacked so much credibility the defense wouldn't even put him on the stand in the murder trial. There was zero credible new information!

There were are also a ton of people, including the police, whose evidence pointed to a hate crime. But none of that was shown.

To me, it was just gross anti-gay hatred in a more mainstream venue and ABC should be ashamed.

Did anyone see how Elizabeth Vargas smiled so proudly when she sat down with the killers? Or her incredibly leading questions? Made me sick to see.

Milt Palacio

Also , during the interview with Aaron McKinney, what did he say?

He said he started beating him when Matthew reached over and touched his leg in the truck. And the beating didn't stop after that.

They also left out the details of Aaron's original confession to the police.

This was just a piece of journalistic trash designed to get ratings to and to advance the anti-gay agenda in this country.

Ashleigh

What bull****. That's all I have to say.

dyxlecis gril

agreed. i guess brandon teena wasn't shot either.

pixiedude

So what?

"Suicide by gaybashers". No doubt, that was his plan when he got himself gang-raped in Morraco, but the rapists obliged with a slow-acting method, and he got impatient.

I've not watched the show, but I stopped here to leave a couple of links about it:

Judy and Dennis Shepard on the 20/20 Broadcast

GLAAD Viewer's Guide to 20/20's "A Murder in Laramie: The Mystery and the Myth

Lovesbitch

i really pray that no one actually starts believing what they are saying.