Mathew Shepard Case Brief :: essays research papers

Matthew Shepard Case BriefFacts Twenty one socio-economic class old, University of Wyoming college student, Matthew Shepard, died October 12, 1998 at 1253 a.m. after spending five geezerhood in a comma due to massive injuries and head combat injury in a robbery and hate crime assault (Matthew Shepard, 2000 on-line). Matthew Shepard met Aaron McKinney (22) and Russell Henderson (21) of Laramie in a local bar called Fireside Lounge. McKinney and Henderson had been drinking. The two led Shepard to opine they were gay and lured Shepard to their truck. McKinney pulled come forward a gun and said, Guess what- were not gay and youre gonna get jacked. McKinney then told Shepard to give him his wallet. When Shepard refused, McKinney hit him with the gun. With Henderson tail assembly the wheel, McKinney continued to strike Shepard. McKinney then told Henderson to get a rope out of the truck. McKinney allegedly tied Shepards beaten body to a woody split-rail post fence, robbed him of hi s wallet and patent leather shoes, continued to beat him and left over(p) him to die for over 18 hours. Chasity Vera Pasley (20) and Krista Lean Price (18), the suspects girlfriends, hid the bloody shoes of Henderson and provided the suspects with alibis. Shepards shoes, coat and credit card were put up in McKinneys pick-up truck his wallet was found in McKinneys home. A .357 Magnum was also found in McKinneys home (Matthew Shepard, 2000 on-line). On April 5, 1999, 22 course old, Aaron McKinney was found guilty of felony murder, second-degree murder, kidnapping and robbery. 21 year old, Russell Henderson pled guilty to kidnapping and felony murder and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms. ii women described as the suspects girlfriends, Chasity Vera Pasley (20) and Krista Lean Price (18) were charged as accessories after the fact of first-degree murder (The Data Lounge, Issues 2000, on-line).Issues Aaron James McKinney seemed to believe that his allegation that Shepard had do a pass at him was sufficient grounds to justify join with friend Russell Henderson in savagely beating Shepard, clubbing him with a handgun, walloping him to a wooden fence and leaving him to die. McKinneys attorney treasured the jury to accept that because McKinney has a homosexual encounter when he was jr. and that he was under the influence of both drugs and alcohol when he alleges Shepard do a pass at him, that he was therefore not creditworthy for his actions.