Matthew Shepard happened to be gay. In an attempt at healing, his parents, Judy and Dennis Shepard, brokered a deal with the second of their son s murderer, and Aaron McKinney was sentenced to life imprisonment. Meanwhile, the Legislators Dennis Shepard also urged Congress to pass the federal hate crimes legislation proposed by President Clinton. President Clinton wants to add crimes motivated by sexual orientation, gender and disability to those hate crimes already covered by federal law, those motivated by race, religion, color or national origin. This inclusion in the law would mean harsher penalties for violators, and allow for federal prosecutors to step in if local authorities decline to press charges.
Republicans contend such legislation is repetitive and refuse to include it in spending bills.
And the Perpetrators McKinney was the second person to go on trial for the murder of Matthew Shepard. McKinney was charged with felony murder, second-degree murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping. The jury acquitted him of first-degree murder. They argued that McKinney had flown into a drug-influenced rage when Shepard propositioned him during a pickup truck ride, thus triggering painful memories of a childhood homosexual encounter.