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Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was an American student at the University of Wyoming, who was attacked by Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney near Laramie, Wyoming on the night of 6 – October 7, 1998. He died from his injuries at Poudre Valley Hospital on October 12. The convicted murderers are currently serving life sentences in prison.[1]

Even though Henderson and McKinney were convicted of murder, they were not charged with a hate crime because the laws at the time did not support such a charge. Many people think the case should have been dealt with as a hate crime, particularly those who believe that Matthew Shepard was targeted on the basis of his sexual orientation.[2][3] Under current federal United States law [4] and Wyoming state law,[5] crimes committed on the basis of sexual orientation are not prosecutable as hate crimes.

In another thread someone brought this story up was searching it and found this information.
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