Shepard.
It’s hard to believe it has been ten years since the brutal,
hate-motivated murder. It’s even harder to believe that Wyoming still hasn’t passed a hate crime
bill. In fact, Wyoming is one of 19 states that does not
address hate crimes based on sexual orientation.
In recognition of the anniversary, The Dallas Voice is
doing a five part series on Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr., who
was murdered murdered in June of the same year. Below is an
excerpt:
man attending college at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. The
other was a 49-year-old black man, a father and grandfather, living
in his hometown in Southeast Texas.
One was a political science student preparing to step
out into the promise of the future. The other was unemployed,
living on disability payments and trying to step away from a
sometimes-troubled past.What they had in common, though, was what has forever linked James
Byrd Jr. and Matthew Shepard together in the collective conscience
of the country: the way they died. Both were the victims of
horrifically brutal murders committed out of hate.
Click here
to read the full series.