On Mon, 09 May 2005 18:40:20 GMT, Roedy Green
<look-on@mindprod.com.invalid> wrote:

But the hoaxes were the result of one person. That is why this is a
news item. It is rare. Gay bashings are so common they most often
won't even make the local papers.

With your headline you tried to deceive your readers into thinking
that hoaxes were common.

Here's the biggest HOMO-HOAX of all times:


New Details Emerge in Matthew Shepard Murder

Killers Talk About Crime That Shocked the Nation
Henderson &McKinney

In an exclusive interview with 20/20's Elizabeth Vargas, Russell
Henderson, left, and Aaron McKinney talk about the 1998 slaying of
Matthew Shepard. (ABC News)

Nov. 26, 2004 - Six years ago, on a cold October night on the
outskirts of Laramie, Wyo., 21-year-old gay college student Matthew
Shepard was brutally beaten, tied to a fence and left for dead. He was
found 18 hours later and rushed to the hospital, where he lingered on
the edge of death for nearly five days before succumbing to his
injuries.

The story garnered national attention when the attack was
characterized as a hate crime. But Shepard's killers, in their first
interview since their convictions, tell "20/20's" Elizabeth Vargas
that money and drugs motivated their actions that night, not hatred of
gays.

While Shepard lay unconscious in a hospital, the national press
quickly arrived in Laramie. Cal Rerucha, who prosecuted the case, told
Vargas the media descended on Laramie "like locusts."

"We knew in the newsroom the day it happened, this is going to be a
huge story, this is going to attract international interest," said
Jason Marsden of "The Casper Star-Tribune."

"I remember one of my fellow reporters saying, 'this kid is going to
be the new poster child for gay rights," he added. News of Shepard's
death sparked reaction overseas and demonstrations across America.

"I think a lot of gay people, when they first heard of that horrifying
event, felt sort of punched in the stomach. I mean it kind of
encapsulated all our fears of being victimized," said writer Andrew
Sullivan, a prominent gay rights advocate.

But as the push for gay rights found new force, so did a corresponding
backlash from anti-gay opponents who came from out of state to grab a
piece of the media spotlight.

Tensions were so high that Shepard's father wore a bulletproof vest
under his suit when he spoke at his son's funeral service.

"The saddest part of this whole case was at Matthew's funeral, when
they, these people, refused to let Matthew be buried with dignity,"
said Rerucha. "I never saw people that could hate so much."

Killers Both Receive Two Consecutive Life Sentences

Local residents Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, both 21 at the
time, were charged with Shepard's murder. Henderson's case came before
the court first. To avoid the possibility of receiving the death
penalty, he pleaded guilty to murder and kidnapping and received two
consecutive life terms in prison.

McKinney's case went to trial a year after Shepard's death. He was
convicted of felony murder, aggravated robbery and kidnapping. Before
the jury was about to decide his sentence, he, too, reached a deal
that allowed him to avoid a possible death penalty. Both men are
serving double life sentences in prison.

Authorities asked "20/20" not to disclose the prison location.

While McKinney and Henderson admit to killing Shepard, both men - and
the man who prosecuted the case - now say the real story is not what
it seemed.

Many area residents were shocked that the crime was committed by two
young men from their community. But both McKinney and Henderson came
from classically troubled backgrounds.

Henderson was born to a teenage alcoholic and raised without a father.
He says he saw his mother being beaten up by a series of boyfriends,
some of whom also assaulted Henderson.

McKinney's childhood, too, was less than picture-perfect. His father,
a long-haul trucker, was rarely home and eventually divorced
McKinney's mother, a nurse who later died as a result of a botched
surgery. McKinney received a malpractice settlement of nearly $100,000
after his mother's death. He says he spent most of that money on
things like cars and drugs.

McKinney admits to Vargas that by the time he was 18 he had a serious
methamphetamine habit.

Shepard Haunted by Own Difficulties

Despite his strong family life, Shepard had troubles of his own. His
mother, Judy Shepard, says her son's problems had started three years
earlier during a high school trip to Morocco, where he was beaten and
raped.

"It made him pull within himself. He became withdrawn, depression,
panic attacks," she said.

Some of Shepard's friends say he was still a troubled young man when
he enrolled at the University of Wyoming in the fall of 1998.

Tom O'Connor, known as "Doc," who ran a limousine service and
sometimes drove Shepard, said just days before Shepard's death, Matt
told him he was HIV-positive and was considering suicide.

One of Shepard's college friends, Tina LaBrie, was concerned that
Shepard's depression might be somehow connected to involvement with
drugs. "He said 'Everywhere I move, it seems like I get sucked into
the drug scene,'" LaBrie told Vargas.