MSNBC

March 16, 1999

Gay activists speak out in advance of Shepard trial

Wes Sturr

LARAMIE - Gay and lesbian activists say they expect attorneys for the two men charged with killing University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard will attempt to place some blame on the 21-year-old Shepard being gay.

Denise DePercin of Equality Colorado says the strategy is known as the "Homosexual panic defense." She says it's similar to blaming the victim in rape trials.

She says results have been mixed when the strategy has been used in other trials. Some juries dismiss it quickly, while in other cases it has seemed to lessen the punishment and outrage that surrounded a crime.

Even though Wyoming does not have a law that stiffens the penalty in crimes involving hate and bias, DePercin says she hopes public outrage against the Shepard killing will not be diminished if the panic defense is used. While there is no penalty enhancement law for hate crimes in Wyoming the men charged with the murder are already facing the death penalty if convicted.

Russell Henderson and Aaron James McKinney, both 21, are charged with Shepard's brutal death last October.

The UW student died several days after he was brutally pistol whipped and tied to a buck and rail fence near Laramie last October.