Dennis Shepard Statement (cont.)
wind—the ever-present Wyoming wind—for
the last time. He had one more friend with
him. One he grew to know through his time in
Sunday school and as an acolyte at St. Mark’s
in Casper as well as through his visits to St.
Matthew’s in Laramie. He had God. I feel better
knowing he wasn’t alone.
Matt became a symbol—some say a martyr,
putting a boy-next-door face on hate crimes.
That’s fine with me. Matt would be thrilled if his
death would help others. On the other hand,
your agreement to life without parole has
taken yourself out of the spotlight and out of
the public eye. It means no drawn-out appeals
process, [no] chance of walking away free
due to a technicality, and no chance of lighter
sentence due to a “merciful” jury. Best of all, you
won’t be a symbol. No years of publicity, no
chance of communication, no nothing—just a
miserable future and a more miserable end. It
works for me.
Photo of Matthew Shepard. Courtesy of the
Shepard family.
Laramie tied to a fence that Wednesday before,
when you beat him. You, Mr. McKinney, with
your friend Mr. Henderson, killed my son.
By the end of the beating, his body was just
trying to survive. You left him out there by
himself, but he wasn’t alone. There were his
lifelong friends with him—friends that he had
grown up with. You’re probably wondering who
these friends were. First, he had the beautiful
night sky with the same stars and moon that
we used to look at through a telescope. Then,
he had the daylight and the sun to shine on
him one more time—one more cool, wonderful
autumn day in Wyoming. His last day alive in
Wyoming. His last day alive in the state that
he always proudly called home. And through
it all he was breathing in for the last time the
smell of Wyoming sagebrush and the scent of
pine trees from the snowy range. He heard the
8 | Ford’s Theatre
My son was taught to look at all sides of an
issue before making a decision or taking a
stand. He learned this early when he helped
campaign for various political candidates
while in grade school and junior high. When
he did take a stand, it was based on his best
judgment. Such a stand cost him his life when
he quietly let it be known that he was gay. He
didn’t advertise it, but he didn’t back away
from the issue either. For that I’ll always be
proud of him. He showed me that he was a lot
more courageous than most people, including
myself. Matt knew that there were dangers to
being gay, but he accepted that and wanted
to just get on with his life and his ambition of
helping others.
Matt’s beating, hospitalization and funeral
focused worldwide attention on hate. Good is
coming out of evil. People have said “Enough
is enough.” You screwed up, Mr. McKinney.
You made the world realize that a person’s
lifestyle is not a reason for discrimination,
intolerance, persecution and violence. This is