Matthew Shepard Case Study
Hate Crimes: Matthew Sheppard On 6 October 1998, Matthew Shepard, a student at the University of Wyoming, met Aaron James McKinney and Russel Arthur Henderson in a bar. The two men, claiming to also be gay, offered to drive Matthew home, but instead brought him to an isolated area, where they took his wallet (containing $20 and a credit card) and his leather shoes. But that was not the end. McKinney and Henderson tied Shepard to a fence, and proceeded to beat him to the point of unconsciousness. He was found 18 hours later, his unconscious body initially mistaken for a fallen scarecrow. The police officer who responded to the 911 call testified, “Though his face was caked in blood, his face was clean where streaks of tears had washed the
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blood away.” This essay will discuss the nature of this crime, relating it to; hate crime characteristics; why there was controversy about whether or not the Matthew Shepard case was really a hate crime; and how Beverly Tatum 's theory of racial identity development can also be applied to the development of one 's sexuality. If our generation can learn about hate crimes, their causes and preventative measures, hate crimes will decrease to non-existence. Social scientists have identified five main characteristics of hate crimes.
The Matthew Shepard case displays all five of the characteristics :
1. “Victims of hate crimes tend to be attacked by people they do not know (unlike other violent crimes where victims are often attacked by people they know - spouses, parents, friends, neighbours).”
Matthew Shepard did not know his attackers personally, they were just two men he met in a bar.
2. “Hate crimes are more likely than other crimes to be intensely personal and excessively …show more content…
brutal.”
The attack was excessively brutal, ultimately leading to death.
3. “In most property crimes, something of value is taken. In hate crimes involving property, t he property is more frequently damaged or destroyed.”
Nothing of significant monetary value was taken, but Matthew Shepard 's pride was destroyed.
4. “Perpetrators of hate crimes do not usually have criminal histories ”
Neither McKinney or Henderson had previous criminal histories.
5. “Unlike many other criminals, perpetrators of hate crimes will expend great expense and time to search out their victims in unfamiliar areas.”
It was not by chance that Shepard was singled out by McKinney or Henderson to be robbed and attacked. He was chosen based on his sexuality. Although these characteristics do not solely apply to hate crimes, when put together with the fact that it was known that the two offenders were homophobic, and therefore displayed character-conditioned hatred, makes it clear that it was not a robbery gone terribly wrong. There was great debate as to whether or not this case could even be considered murder.
At first the defendants pleaded guilty to robbery, because they said that they had not intended to kill Shepard, they had only beat him to ensure that he wouldn 't go to the police. They claimed the aggravated assault was also the result of abuse of alcohol. McKinney also claimed that Shepard had made unwanted sexual advances which had sent him into a rage, that was caused by negative childhood experiences with homosexuality. All of these claims make sense, however, it was well-known that McKinney did not like homosexuals. Given that Shepard had virtually no money with him, plus the fact that he was gay, made it hard to argue that Matthew Shepard 's attack was accidental. At the time of the trial, the criminal statute of the state of Wyoming provided no charge for hate crimes. However, soon after, a bill was introduced defining charges for hate crimes. Now, the Matthew Shepard case is considered a hate crime against
homosexuals. Beverly Tatum 's theory of racial identity development has three stages. The first, the black child absorbs the culture of the dominating whites, believing that they (“the whites”) are better. The second stage, is when the black youth encounters a series of events that lead to a realization of racism in their lives. The last stage is when in order to cope, black people turn to each other for support, as that is the only support they can get. These stages could also be applied to the development and acceptance of one 's sexuality. A homosexual child is brought up with the idea that boy 's like girls, and that it cannot be any other way. As they grow older they realize that they do not conform to their cultures sexual expectations. They may be bullied, embarrassed and even unable to accept their own sexuality. Eventually, they “come out of the closet” and discover gay communities that they fit into. Then they can seek the support and comfort of others that have had to go through the same ideals for being homosexual. It seems that in the case of both racism and homophobia the problem lies in how youth are raised. If youth (Caucasian, Black, Asian, straight, gay, transgender, etc) are raised with values that teach that there is only one superior way to be (white, straight, etc), they will grow up believing so, and will teach the same values to their children, thus continuing the cycle. When you have youth who are raised to be homophobic and then throw them into this new world of emerging acceptance, hate crimes are just a given. If this generation can teach their children to be accepting of everyone, and then that generation teaches their children, and so on and so forth, eventually homophobia (and other forms of discrimination) will cease to exist. In conclusion, our society is changing, learning to accept instead of discriminate. It may take many cases like Matthew Shepard 's before discrimination has been completely eliminated . It will take a great deal of maturity and courage to confront those who hate, and speak up against hate crimes. But this is a changing world, so the attitudes towards ethnicity, sexual orientation, intelligence, age and mentality will change.
References:
Tham, D. (December 28th, 2011).
Visiting the Matthew Shepard Murder Site.
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from http://travelingwithtwain.org/2011/12/28/general/visiting-the-matthew-shepard-murder-site-13-years-later/ Wikipedia . (n.d.).
Matthew Shepard.
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard#Hate_crime_legislation Matthew Shepard Foundation. (n.d.).
Matthew Shepard Foundation Website.
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from http://www.matthewshepard.org Matt-yahoo answers user (2010).
Yahoo answers: Matthew Shepard 's murder?.
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110116083216AAYLwPi Soylent Communications . (2013).
NNDB: Matthew Shepard.
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from http://www.nndb.com/people/705/000052549/ Press, A. (October 11th, 1998).
Gay Man Clings to life after Attack.
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from http://ww.davidology.com/mattewshepard/matt-news05.htm Murderpedia . (n.d.).
Aaron James McKinney
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from http://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/mckinney-aaron.htm
Fagen, F. (July 2013).
A4: Hate Crimes (Content).
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from
https://tdsb.elearningontario.ca/d2l/le/content/1547500/viewContent/27652527/View
blood away.” This essay will discuss the nature of this crime, relating it to; hate crime characteristics; why there was controversy about whether or not the Matthew Shepard case was really a hate crime; and how Beverly Tatum 's theory of racial identity development can also be applied to the development of one 's sexuality. If our generation can learn about hate crimes, their causes and preventative measures, hate crimes will decrease to non-existence. Social scientists have identified five main characteristics of hate crimes.
The Matthew Shepard case displays all five of the characteristics :
1. “Victims of hate crimes tend to be attacked by people they do not know (unlike other violent crimes where victims are often attacked by people they know - spouses, parents, friends, neighbours).”
Matthew Shepard did not know his attackers personally, they were just two men he met in a bar.
2. “Hate crimes are more likely than other crimes to be intensely personal and excessively …show more content…
brutal.”
The attack was excessively brutal, ultimately leading to death.
3. “In most property crimes, something of value is taken. In hate crimes involving property, t he property is more frequently damaged or destroyed.”
Nothing of significant monetary value was taken, but Matthew Shepard 's pride was destroyed.
4. “Perpetrators of hate crimes do not usually have criminal histories ”
Neither McKinney or Henderson had previous criminal histories.
5. “Unlike many other criminals, perpetrators of hate crimes will expend great expense and time to search out their victims in unfamiliar areas.”
It was not by chance that Shepard was singled out by McKinney or Henderson to be robbed and attacked. He was chosen based on his sexuality. Although these characteristics do not solely apply to hate crimes, when put together with the fact that it was known that the two offenders were homophobic, and therefore displayed character-conditioned hatred, makes it clear that it was not a robbery gone terribly wrong. There was great debate as to whether or not this case could even be considered murder.
At first the defendants pleaded guilty to robbery, because they said that they had not intended to kill Shepard, they had only beat him to ensure that he wouldn 't go to the police. They claimed the aggravated assault was also the result of abuse of alcohol. McKinney also claimed that Shepard had made unwanted sexual advances which had sent him into a rage, that was caused by negative childhood experiences with homosexuality. All of these claims make sense, however, it was well-known that McKinney did not like homosexuals. Given that Shepard had virtually no money with him, plus the fact that he was gay, made it hard to argue that Matthew Shepard 's attack was accidental. At the time of the trial, the criminal statute of the state of Wyoming provided no charge for hate crimes. However, soon after, a bill was introduced defining charges for hate crimes. Now, the Matthew Shepard case is considered a hate crime against
homosexuals. Beverly Tatum 's theory of racial identity development has three stages. The first, the black child absorbs the culture of the dominating whites, believing that they (“the whites”) are better. The second stage, is when the black youth encounters a series of events that lead to a realization of racism in their lives. The last stage is when in order to cope, black people turn to each other for support, as that is the only support they can get. These stages could also be applied to the development and acceptance of one 's sexuality. A homosexual child is brought up with the idea that boy 's like girls, and that it cannot be any other way. As they grow older they realize that they do not conform to their cultures sexual expectations. They may be bullied, embarrassed and even unable to accept their own sexuality. Eventually, they “come out of the closet” and discover gay communities that they fit into. Then they can seek the support and comfort of others that have had to go through the same ideals for being homosexual. It seems that in the case of both racism and homophobia the problem lies in how youth are raised. If youth (Caucasian, Black, Asian, straight, gay, transgender, etc) are raised with values that teach that there is only one superior way to be (white, straight, etc), they will grow up believing so, and will teach the same values to their children, thus continuing the cycle. When you have youth who are raised to be homophobic and then throw them into this new world of emerging acceptance, hate crimes are just a given. If this generation can teach their children to be accepting of everyone, and then that generation teaches their children, and so on and so forth, eventually homophobia (and other forms of discrimination) will cease to exist. In conclusion, our society is changing, learning to accept instead of discriminate. It may take many cases like Matthew Shepard 's before discrimination has been completely eliminated . It will take a great deal of maturity and courage to confront those who hate, and speak up against hate crimes. But this is a changing world, so the attitudes towards ethnicity, sexual orientation, intelligence, age and mentality will change.
References:
Tham, D. (December 28th, 2011).
Visiting the Matthew Shepard Murder Site.
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from http://travelingwithtwain.org/2011/12/28/general/visiting-the-matthew-shepard-murder-site-13-years-later/ Wikipedia . (n.d.).
Matthew Shepard.
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Matthew_Shepard#Hate_crime_legislation Matthew Shepard Foundation. (n.d.).
Matthew Shepard Foundation Website.
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from http://www.matthewshepard.org Matt-yahoo answers user (2010).
Yahoo answers: Matthew Shepard 's murder?.
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20110116083216AAYLwPi Soylent Communications . (2013).
NNDB: Matthew Shepard.
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from http://www.nndb.com/people/705/000052549/ Press, A. (October 11th, 1998).
Gay Man Clings to life after Attack.
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from http://ww.davidology.com/mattewshepard/matt-news05.htm Murderpedia . (n.d.).
Aaron James McKinney
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from http://murderpedia.org/male.M/m/mckinney-aaron.htm
Fagen, F. (July 2013).
A4: Hate Crimes (Content).
Retrieved July 21st, 2013, from
https://tdsb.elearningontario.ca/d2l/le/content/1547500/viewContent/27652527/View