It was thirteen years ago yesterday.....
MATTHEW SHEPARD
AS SEEN IN:
"The Matthew Shepard Story"
AS PLAYED BY:
Shane Maier
TV DIMENSION:
Earth Prime-Time*
From Wikipedia:
Matthew Wayne Shepard (December 1, 1976 – October 12, 1998) was a student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming, in October 1998. He was attacked on the night of October 6–7, and died at Poudre Valley Hospital in Fort Collins, Colorado, on October 12 from severe head injuries.
During the trial, witnesses stated that Shepard was targeted because of his sexual orientation. Shepard's murder brought national and international attention to the contention of hate crime legislation at the state and federal levels.
In 2009, his mother Judy Shepard authored a book The Meaning of Matthew: My Son's Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed. On October 22, 2009, the United States Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (Matthew Shepard Act for short), and on October 28, 2009, President Obama signed the legislation into law.
* "Anatomy Of A Hate Crime" did come first by almost a year, but this was the better production. In the end it doesn't really matter so long as Matthew's story is remembered and hopefully prevented from ever happening to somebody else....
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