Today is the 14th anniversary of Mathew Shepard's death...
He would have been 36 this year, if he had lived.
Mathew Shepard was a student at the University of Wyoming who was tortured and murdered near Laramie, Wyoming, U.S.A., in October 1998 because he was gay. This hate crime rocked the nation at the time. 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.
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 Barack Obama signed the legislation into law.
The Laramie Project is a stage play made into a full length feature film based on direct interviews of the residents of Laramie during the media frenzy and the trial of Mathew's murderers.
This the entire film posted here - if you find time, today is a good day to watch it...and think...and remember.
Hard to believe it's been 14 years already -- such a shocking event. I remember all the vigils and memorials that were held here in Canada; his death touched people all over the world.
ReplyDelete