October 6, 1998. Laramie, Wyoming. University of Wyoming student, Matthew Shepard, was lured out of a bar in Laramie by two men. He was then beaten, robbed, and left to die while tied to a rural fence. He died just days later in a Fort Collins, Colorado hospital. His murder started a national discussion on LGBT equality and crimes against people based upon their sexuality, race and religion. A federal hate crimes law was eventually passed in 2009 named the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. We discuss who Matthew Shepard was, what happened to him, and about the trial that decided the fates of his two attackers.
