The mystery behind the motives of Matthew Shepard's murdering will always remain unsolved. The debate is whether Shepard was killed because of a hate crime or because of a meth induced rage. Evidence leads to reason for both sides of the argument. This weeks discussions elaborated on the case.
Some say Aaron McKinney killed Matthew Shepard simply because of a meth rage. McKinney was a well known meth addict and had been a tweaker. Some evidence suggests that Shepard owed McKinney a large amount of money for meth and that's why he tried to rob him. McKinney's actions also show that he was in a rage. When his partner in crime, Russel Henderson, suggested that Shepard had enough beating, McKinney struck Henderson with the butt of his gun and then proceeded to wail on Shepard. Later that night, McKinney had tried to rob others too and this shows that he was specifically going after homosexuals. In fact, a limo driver explains that McKinney was a bisexual so it wouldn't make sense if his crime was driven by hate.
Although there is much support behind the possibility of the crime being motivated by meth, there are many facts proposing a hate crime against homosexuals. In the interrogation of McKinney, he is asked to describe Matthew Shepard. He uses derogatory terms describe Shepard like fag and homo. His reasons for beating Shepard seemed to be homophobic because he said he'd beat him if he touched him in the truck and the way he describes Shepard trying to fight back almost makes it seem like he's trying to make him seem woman like. He said that he tried to fight back with little swings of his arms. McKinney was tested for meth traces after the crime and none were found (even though the official documents couldn't be produced) so this indicates that it might have been a hate crime.
No comments:
Post a Comment