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unit at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, where he was placed on full life support. The medical staff determined that his injuries were too severe for treatment. Matthew never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead at 12:53 a.m. on October 12, 1998. He was twenty-one years old.

A Tragic Symbol of Homophobia

Matthew Shepard was the son of Dennis and Judy Shepard; he had a younger brother named Logan. Matthew was a bright young man studying political science and was chosen as the student representative for the Wyoming Environmental Council. He had many friends and a close extended family. His father described him as “an optimistic and accepting young man who had a special gift of relating to almost every- one. He was the type of person who was very approachable and always looked to new challenges.” Matthew was also a gay man, well known in his college community for his openness and, as his father said, for his “great passion for equality and . . . for the acceptance of people’s differences.” Matthew’s murder was quickly identified by the media and mem- bers of the Laramie LGBT community and their allies as a hate crime . Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson were arrested and tried for the crime. At the trial, Chasity Pasley and Kristen Price, girlfriends of McKinney and Henderson, proved key witnesses. In a statement, Price told authorities that McKinney had revealed to her that he and