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Matthew shepard case
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In October of 1998, Aaron Kreifels, a young man, resident of Laramie, Wyoming discovered Matthew Shepard's limp body bound to a fence. From a distance Kreifels mistook Shepard's slender frame for a “scarecrow”, and was horrified to find otherwise (Kaufman). Matthew Shepard, a twenty-one year old University of Wyoming student, had been beaten until he was no longer recognizable, and while still technically alive he was rushed into urgent care. He died, after slipping into a coma, six days later (Kaufman).
Shepard was a homosexual man, and his murder was labeled as a hate crime, a murder which, in the late 90's, dominated the airwaves: “Matthew Shepard” was the name at the tip of everyone's tongue, but what made his murder special? JoAnn Wypilewski points out in her essay “A Boy's Life” that, “Gay men are killed horribly everywhere in this country, more than thirty just since Shepard – one of them in Richmond, Virginia, beheaded” (609). When so many men are killed in a similar context why do we specifically care about Matthew Shepard – or why don't we? Searching simply the name “Matthew Shepard” in the Google database yields thousands of results in the form of articles, news periodicals, and videos. The media exposure of the Matthew Shepard case is overwhelming. The overload of information can leave us clueless. As college students of the twenty-teens who are fifteen years removed from the incident how do we care about Matthew Shepard?
There is no denying that the murder of Matthew Shepard was brutal and unnecessary. His murderer, Aaron McKinney, committed a heinous act and were punished to the full extent of the law. However, do we simply whisk away the murderers demonizing them as monsters while Shepard is left as an angel sh...
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...ommunity is still prevalent today, and the impact of Shepard’s death, will allow twenty-first century college students to care about Matthew Shepard. Shepard became a symbol for sexual equality and tolerance. Whether or not his tragic death was motivated by homophobic hate no longer matters.
Works Cited
Gumbel, Andrew. “Matthew Shepard's murder: 'What it came down to was drugs and money'.” The Guardian. N,p., 14 Oct. 2013. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
Kaufman, Moises, dir. “The Laramie Project”. 2002. http://www.grpl.org/. DVD-ROM. Apr. 2014.
“New Details Emerge in Matthew Shepard Murder.” ABC News. N.p., 6 Jan. 2006. Web. 10 Apr, 2014.
Olsen, Eric. “Why Does Sensationalism Sell?”. Live Science, 25 Oct. 2012. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
Wypijewski, JoAnn. “A Boy's Life”. The Composition of Everyday Life. Eds. Mauk and Metz. 4th ed. Boston: Wadsworth. 2013. Print.
Sam Sheppard was attacked by the media's unethical practices so much during his trial that journalism had set new boundaries to limit the power of the press following the final verdict. Because of the way that the media went about getting stories for their papers and the way stories were written, Sheppard was released from prison. Journalism then set up new boundaries to assure that every person accused of a crime got a fair and just trial. Even though he set precedent for new practices that the media still follows, it is a shame that it took something as horrific as his wife's murder to allow the media to see just how much power they had over justice.
Facts: Twenty one year old, University of Wyoming college student, Matthew Shepard, died October 12, 1998 at 12:53 a.m. after spending five days in a comma due to massive injuries and head trauma in a robbery and hate crime assault (Matthew Shepard, 2000 [on-line]). Matthew Shepard met Aaron McKinney (22) and Russell Henderson (21) of Laramie in a local bar called Fireside Lounge. McKinney and Henderson had been drinking. The two led Shepard to believe they were gay and lured Shepard to their truck. McKinney pulled out a gun and said, Guess what- we’re not gay and you’re gonna get jacked. McKinney then told Shepard to give him his wallet. When Shepard refused, McKinney hit him with the gun. With Henderson behind the wheel, McKinney continued to strike Shepard. McKinney then told Henderson to get a rope out of the truck. McKinney allegedly tied Shepard’s beaten body to a wooden split-rail post fence, robbed him of his wallet and patent leather shoes, continued to beat him and left him to die for over 18 hours. Chasity Vera Pasley (20) and Krista Lean Price (18), the suspect’s girlfriends, hid the bloody shoes of Henderson and provided the suspects with alibis. Shepard’s shoes, coat and credit card were found in McKinney’s pick-up truck; his wallet was found in McKinney’s home. A .357 Magnum was also found in McKinney’s home (Matthew Shepard, 2000 [on-line]).
However, it was disappointing to see that the government couldn’t do the same. In a similar matter to how Shepard’s death influenced several gay right’s movements, Romaine Patterson was “ gonna be honored in Washington, D.C., from the Anti-Defamation League… Matthew [is guiding] this little path with his light for me to walk down” (Kaufman 96). In The Laramie Project, Matthew Shepard appears to be guiding her to combat anti-gay antics. His death really impacted her life as she commenced activism almost immediately after his death. Although not mentioned in the book, Patterson later founded Angel Action, which worked with the Matthew Shepard Foundation to fight for gay rights. After ten years, Beth Loffreda states, “My gut reaction is that Laramie is a somewhat better place to be than it was ten years ago, but I don’t know how to tell the story of the past ten years without having to think about, both what we’ve done, but also what we haven’t done” (Kaufman 114). Shepard’s death has changed Laramie and its community’s perspective about hate crimes as well as reconsider what actions they should have partaken
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In the past decades, the struggle for gay rights in the Unites States has taken many forms. Previously, homosexuality was viewed as immoral. Many people also viewed it as pathologic because the American Psychiatric Association classified it as a psychiatric disorder. As a result, many people remained in ‘the closet’ because they were afraid of losing their jobs or being discriminated against in the society. According to David Allyn, though most gays could pass in the heterosexual world, they tended to live in fear and lies because they could not look towards their families for support. At the same time, openly gay establishments were often shut down to keep openly gay people under close scrutiny (Allyn 146). But since the 1960s, people have dedicated themselves in fighting for
Whether or not Aaron McKinney should receive the death penalty for the murder of Matthew Shepard diverges in the Laramie Project. Marge Murray and Zubaida Ula display the dispute over McKinney’s fate.
On October 12, 1998 Matthew Shepard, an openly gay student at the University of Wyoming was beaten, tormented, tied to a fence, and left to die in freezing temperatures. The two men were sentenced to life in jail, only after the media had covered the trial and the whole world knew of the attack (HRC 2).... ... middle of paper ... ...
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals people make up more than ten percent of the population; that means if you are sitting in a classroom of thirty, then more than three of those people are LGBT individuals. However, this overwhelmingly large minority group continues to be one of the least protected by the government as well as most heavily targeted by discrimination and hate crimes. Regardless of the powerful shift in public opinion concerning LGBT individuals during the last twenty years, the laws concerning hate crimes have remained invariable.
Discrimination has always been prominent in mainstream society. Judgments are quickly formed based on one’s race, class, or gender. The idea that an individual’s self-worth is measured by their ethnicity or sexual preference has impacted the lives of many Americans. During the early colonial period, a social hierarchy was established with white landowners at the top and African-American slaves at the bottom. As equality movements have transpired, victims of discrimination have varied. In the late 1980’s when Paris is Burning was filmed, gay rights were still controversial in society. The lack of acceptance in conventional society created hardships in the lives of transgender women and gay men.
Life for most homosexuals during the first half of the Twentieth century was one of hiding, being ever so careful to not give away their true feelings and predilections. Although the 1920s saw a brief moment of openness in American society, that was quickly destroyed with the progress of the Cold War, and by default, that of McCarthyism. The homosexuals of the 50s “felt the heavy weight of medical prejudice, police harassment and church condemnation … [and] were not able to challenge these authorities.” They were constantly battered, both physically and emotionally, by the society that surrounded them. The very mention or rumor of one’s homosexuality could lead to the loss of their family, their livelihood and, in some cases, their lives. Geanne Harwood, interviewed on an National Public Radio Broadcast commemorating the twentieth anniversary of the Stonewall Riots, said that “being gay before Stonewall was a very difficult proposition … we felt that in order to survive we had to try to look and act as rugged and as manly as possibly to get by in a society that was really very much against us.” The age of communist threats, and of Joseph McCarthy’s insistence that homosexuals were treacherous, gave credence to the feeling of most society members that homosexuality was a perversion, and that one inflicted was one to not be trusted.
Is murder ever truly justified? Many people might proclaim the adage, "Two wrongs don't make a right,” while others would argue that the Old Testament Bible states, "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth" (Deuteronomy 19:21). Andre Dubus explores this moral dilemma in his short story, Killings. The protagonist, Matt Fowler, a good father and husband, decides to take revenge for his son's murder. Richard Strout is a bad man who murders his soon-to-be ex-wife's lover. These facts are complicated by the complexity of interpersonal relationships when seen through the lens of Matt’s conviction, Strout’s humanity, and ultimately Matt’s personal sacrifice on behalf of his loved ones. Though on the surface this tale might lead someone to think that Dubus is advocating for revenge, a closer look reveals that this a cautionary tale about the true cost of killing another human as readers are shown how completely Matt is altered by taking a life.
“The unprecedented growth of the gay community in recent history has transformed our culture and consciousness, creating radically new possibilities for people to ‘come out’ and live more openly as homosexuals”(Herdt 2). Before the 1969 Stonewall riot in New York, homosexuality was a taboo subject. Research concerning homosexuality emphasized the etiology, treatment, and psychological adjustment of homosexuals. Times have changed since 1969. Homosexuals have gained great attention in arts, entertainment, media, and politics. Yesterday’s research on homosexuality has expanded to include trying to understand the different experiences and situations of homosexuals (Ben-Ari 89-90).
Daily throughout the world people like Matthew Shepard are tortured, brutalized and murdered simply because of their beliefs, their race, their physical state or their sexuality. Equally guilty as the people who commit these crimes are those who remain silent. It is up to each of us to take a stand before you or someone you know falls victim to one of these crimes.
We are all affected by crime, whether we are a direct victim, a family member or a friend of a victim. It can interfere with your daily life, your personal sense of safety and your ability to trust others.
When one hears the words “LGBT” and “Homosexuality” it often conjures up a mental picture of people fighting for their rights, which were unjustly taken away or even the social emergence of gay culture in the world in the1980s and the discovery of AIDS. However, many people do not know that the history of LGBT people stretches as far back in humanity’s history, and continues in this day and age. Nevertheless, the LGBT community today faces much discrimination and adversity. Many think the problem lies within society itself, and often enough that may be the case. Society holds preconceptions and prejudice of the LGBT community, though not always due to actual hatred of the LGBT community, but rather through lack of knowledge and poor media portrayal.