NewsPlanet Tuesday, April 6, 1999Shepard Trial I: The Final Act
The last dramatic hour of the 1st trial in the Shepard gay-bash murder included the guilty man’s side of the story, a mother and father’s grief and a judge’s wrath; only the underlying issues remain.
The sudden end on April 5 of the trial of Russell Henderson for the murder of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was a dramatic, emotion-packed hour. Henderson pleaded guilty to felony murder—an unpremeditated act in the course of committing another felony—and kidnapping, and was immediately sentenced to two consecutive life terms without parole.
Under questioning by his public defender Wyatt Skaggs, Henderson gave his version of the events of October 6-7, 1998. At 10 pm, he and Aaron McKinney, who will be tried for the murder in August, went to a bar and had "a few pitchers of beer." They moved on to the Fireside Lounge and ordered another pitcher. McKinney spotted Shepard, and Henderson said, "Aaron had mentioned to me that he wanted to take him out and rob him. I disagreed with this." But Henderson nonetheless followed McKinney’s instructions, driving McKinney’s father’s pickup.
Henderson said, "Aaron McKinney, he pulled out a gun and told Matthew Shepard to give him his wallet." McKinney began to pistol-whip Shepard with a .357 Magnum while Henderson continued to drive, and when they reached the isolated spot McKinney had chosen, McKinney "pulled Matthew out of the truck and continued to hit him." He continued, "Aaron told me to go get a rope out of the truck. Aaron told me to tie his hands" to the split-rail fence where Shepard was later discovered. "Matthew looked really bad, I told [McKinney] to stop hitting him, I think he’s had enough. Mr. McKinney hit me above the mouth [with the gun]. I returned to the pickup truck." Henderson and McKinney then drove off.
Shepard, his skull crushed, hung on the fence for some 16 hours on a near-freezing night before a passer-by discovered him; too severely injured for an operation, he died five days later without regaining consciousness. The next day, Henderson drove with his and McKinney’s girlfriends (both facing accessory charges, one having pleaded guilty, the other not guilty) 50 miles to Cheyenne with his bloodied clothes "and put it in a dumpster to cover up that I was out there when Matthew was beaten."
Henderson also offered an apology to Shepard’s parents. "I know what I did was wrong. I’m very sorry for what I did. You have my greatest sympathy for what happened." He said, "Mr. and Mrs. Shepard, there is not a moment that goes by that I don’t see what happened that night. I’m very sorry for what I did and I’m ready to pay my debt for what I did." He said, "I regret deeply what I did. I hope one day you can find it in your hearts to forgive me."
But the Shepards were not ready to forgive. Matthew’s mother Judy called him "my friend, my confidant, my constant reminder of how good life can be." She told Henderson, "At times I don’t know how you’d be worthy of any acknowledgment of your existence. You murdered my son.... It takes someone quite unique to sit and watch someone else be beaten to death and do nothing about it." She said, "I hope you never experience a day or night without experiencing the terror, humiliation, hopelessness and helplessness my son felt that night." Saying that, "You have forever changed my family. There’s a hole in my existence," she still vowed, "We won’t allow you to kill our family."
Matthew’s father Dennis, having thrown out remarks he’d prepared in advance, recalled teaching Matthew as a child "Row, Row, Row Your Boat," "Frere Jacques" and "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star." He said, "You, Mr. Henderson, sank the boat, ruined Jacques and shot down the star."
Judy Thompson, the grandmother who largely raised Henderson, told the court, "Russell is not and never has been a hateful person. I know there is great sorrow and grief there." She noted that, "Sometimes friends would take advantage of [Henderson’s] loyalties." She told the Shepards, "Our hearts ache for the pain and suffering the Shepards have gone through.... We are so sorry for the tragic loss of your son Matthew." She said, "We have prayed for you many, many times. You have showed us such mercy."
Judge Jeffrey Donnell called the crime "savage and brutal" and "vile and senseless." He told Henderson, "Quite frankly, this court does not believe you feel a true remorse for your role in this matter. The pain you have caused here, Mr. Henderson, will never go away. Never." He said, "You are deserving the fullest punishment this court can mete out." His final words to Henderson were, "You are not a victim here, Mr. Henderson, you are a perpetrator."
Prosecutor Cal Rerucha said, "Mr. Henderson, you have created hell on earth—for a family, for our community, for the state." He said, "It is my hope that Mr. Henderson will die in the Wyoming state penitentiary and the only time he leaves the Wyoming state penitentiary is when they bury him." Rerucha later told reporters, "You see it on the entrance to every law school, but it’s very difficult to talk about justice. Mr. & Mrs. Shepard will go home without their son. You tell me what justice is in this case."
Later, Human Rights Campaign Political Director Winnie Stachelberg issued a statement saying, "In this case, justice was served and we applaud the authorities in Wyoming for bringing closure to this phase of the murder trials. However, this brutal murder underscores the dire need to send a strong message that these hateful acts are not tolerated anywhere in America by passing strong state and national hate crimes laws. Until this happens, justice will remain inconsistent and elusive for many hate crimes victims."
Detroit’s Triangle Foundation welcomed the news saying, "Today’s plea spares us all the grief of enduring two trials and repeated recounting of the terrible events associated with the murder. We hope this will be some relief to Matthew’s family; it is one step closer to justice in the case."
The New York City Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project’s (AVP) statement concurred that, "Circumventing Henderson’s trial will undoubtedly spare the Shepard family the anguish of having to live through two painful trials in this case," and added that it "gives the lesbian and gay community only one trial to focus its attention on and organize its resources around." AVP also predicted a stronger case against McKinney as a result, saying, "One of our biggest concerns all along had been that the defense would offer a ‘homosexual panic defense.’ It is now clear that this will not be the case with Henderson and therefore may not be possible with McKinney’s defense either."
The "New York Times" editorialized that, "Russell Henderson’s decision to plead guilty to the kidnapping and murder of Matthew Shepard is little consolation to the Shepard family, but it provides an appropriately severe sentence for one whose apparent anti-gay hatred led him to destroy a young life." The "Times" went on to note the failure of hate crimes bills in Wyoming and surrounding states in the wake of the murder, and concluded that, "The conviction of one man and the trial of another for [Shepard’s] murder are appropriate responses to the criminal act committed against him. But state and national officials must still show leadership in creating laws that send an unmistakable message that such hatred will not be tolerated in society."
William Dobbs of Queer Watch, which organized at least a dozen gay and lesbian groups to speak out against applying the death penalty for Shepard’s murder, said, "I’m glad there is some resolution and there won’t be an execution. But the underlying issues of gay life in Wyoming and the United States have not been discussed. That remains."