Matthew Shepard

Matthew Shepard was an American student enrolled at the University of Wyoming who was destined to a terrible fate. He was brutally tortured by his fellow students at the university, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson. It was reportedly a hate crime related to Shepard’s sexuality and the deadly injuries he suffered became the cause of his untimely death. As a consequence, the incident attracted national and international attention to the ‘hate crime’ legislations at both the State and Federal levels. The ‘Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act’, which is more commonly referred to as the ‘Shepard/Byrd Act’ or the ‘Matthew Shepard Act’ was passed in October 2009. On 28 October 2009, the legislation was permanently signed into law by President Barrack Obama. After the tragic incident, Judy Shepard (Matthew’s mother) actively took part in political movements and contributed as an important LGBT rights activist. She also took the initiative to establish the Matthew Shepard Foundation in December 1998 along with her husband, Dennis Shepard.