Matthew Shepard

In 1998, Matthew Shepard spent five days in a coma while the world held vigil. And on this day, at 12:53 a.m., 14 years ago, Matthew died. For many, Matthew’s death revealed the dangers of being gay in America, and for many LGBTQ people, it reaffirmed the risk they live with every day.

On October 7, 1998, Aaron Kreifels was riding his bike through a field in Wyoming. He wasn’t expecting that day to be different from any other beautiful sunny afternoon in the vast plains surrounding Laramie, but that day would change many lives. Aaron spotted what he initially thought was a scarecrow next to a fence. Then he noticed a glisten of blood. The sun sparkled on what he barely recognized as a face. Aaron had discovered 22 year-old Matthew Shepard, clinging to life.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in 2010 on the twelfth anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death. Matthew was brutally attacked on the night of October 6, 1998, then tied to a fence and left to die. Matthew was targeted because he was gay. Matthew spent five days in a coma while the world held […]

On October 7, 1998, Aaron Kreifels was riding his bike through a field in Wyoming. He wasn’t expecting that day to be different from any other beautiful sunny afternoon in the vast plains surrounding Laramie, but that day would change many lives. Aaron spotted what he initially thought was a scarecrow next to a fence. […]

Matthew Shepard was brutally assaulted on a lonely ridge overlooking Laramie, Wyoming twelve years ago this month. And on this day in 1998, he died while in a coma in a Fort Collins, CO, hospital with his family by his side. Much has changed. Much has not.

It’s been more than 10 years since the murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student who was kidnapped, brutally beaten and left to die tied to a fence on a freezing night in the Wyoming wilderness.

The U.S. Senate cleared a historic hate crimes bill Thursday for President Obama’s signature, approving new federal penalties for attacks on gay men and lesbians.

On Friday, Judy Shepard appeared on “Ellen” to talk about her new book recounting the murder of her son Matthew, a young gay man and victim of a brutal hate crime.

The U.S. House of Representatives voted Thursday to expand the definition of violent federal hate crimes to include those committed because of a victim’s sexual orientation, a step that would extend new protections to gay, lesbian,and transgender people, reports the New York Times. Democrats hailed the vote of 281 to 146, which brought the measure […]

The 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard shocked the nation. The 21 year-old college student was viciously murdered in Laramie, WY, bludgeoned to death while tied to a fence. Matthew was targeted because he was gay. Matthew’s death and the subsequent trial and convictions of his attackers incited demonstrations and debates over gay rights. For many, […]