December 1: Matthew Shepard, Murdered

b.  December 1, 1976
d.  October 12, 1998

"Every American child deserves the strongest protections from some of the country’s most horrifying crimes." – Judy Shepard

As a gay college student, Matthew Shepard was the victim of a deadly hate crime. His murder brought national and international attention to the need for GLBT-inclusive hate crimes legislation.

Shepard was born in Casper, Wyoming, to Judy and Dennis Shepard. He was the older of two sons. Matthew completed high school at The American School in Switzerland. In 1998, he enrolled at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Soon afterward, he joined the campus gay alliance.

On October 6, 1998, two men—Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson—lured Shepard from a downtown Laramie bar. After Shepard acknowledged that he was gay, McKinney and Henderson beat and tortured him, then tied him to a tree in a remote, rural area and left him for dead. Eighteen hours later, a biker, who thought he saw a scarecrow, found Shepard barely breathing.

Shepard was rushed to the hospital, but never regained consciousness. He died on October 12. Both of Shepard’s killers were convicted of felony murder and are serving two consecutive life sentences.

Despite the outcome of the trial, the men who took Shepard’s life were not charged with a hate crime. Wyoming has no hate crimes law, which protects victims of crimes motivated by bias against a protected class. Shepard’s high-profile murder case sparked protests, vigils and calls for federal hate crimes legislation for GLBT victims of violence.

Shortly after their son's death, Judy and Dennis Shepard founded The Matthew Shepard Foundation to honor his memory and to "replace hate with understanding, compassion, and acceptance." Judy Shepard became a GLBT activist and the most recognized voice in the fight for a federal hate crimes bill.

In 2009, more than a decade after Shepard’s murder, The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) was signed into law. HCPA added sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes, giving the United States Department of Justice the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violent crimes against GLBT victims.

Dozens of songs have been written and recorded to honor Matthew Shepard's legacy. Several films, television movies and plays about him have been produced, including "The Laramie Project" (2002) and "The Matthew Shepard Story" (2002).

Bibliography

"Cultural Depictions of Matthew Shepard.” Answers.com. 14 June 2010.

Hackett, Richard M. "11 Years after Shepard's Death, Mom Pushes for Hate-Crime Law.” USA TODAY. 10 June 2010.

"Matthew Shepard.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 10 June 2010.

"Matthew's Life." Matthew Shepard Foundation. 10 June 2010.

“Shepard, Matthew." glbtq.com. 14 June 2010.

Books about Matthew Shepard

Blood & Tears: Poems for Matthew Shepard by Scott Gibson (1999)

Losing Matt Shepard by Beth Loffreda (2000)

From Hate Crimes to Human Rights: A Tribute to Matthew Shepard by Mary E Swigonski, Robin Mama, and Kelly Ward (2001)

The Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed by Judy Shepard (2009)

Articles about Matthew Shepard

New Details Emerge in Matthew Shepard Murder

The New York Times Topics: Matthew Shepard

Videos and Films Related to Matthew Shepard

Matthew Shepard

The Laramie Project (2002)

The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later (2008)

Websites

Matthew Shepard Foundation

Notable Names Database (NNDB): Matthew Shepard

Matthew Shepard Memorial

The Laramie Project

Fritz Haarmann (1879 – 1925), German Serial Killer

b.  October 25, 1879
d.  April 15, 1925

Friedrich Heinrich Karl "Fritz" Haarmann, also known as the Butcher of Hanover and the Vampire of Hanover, was a German serial killer who is believed to have been responsible for the murder of 27 boys and young men between 1918 and 1924. He was convicted, found guilty of 24 murders and executed.

Haarmann victims largely consisted of young male commuters, runaways and, occasionally, male prostitutes who hung around Hanover's central station, whom Haarmann would lure back to his apartment and then kill by biting through their throats, sometimes while sodomizing them. All of Haarmann's victims were dismembered before they were discarded, usually in the Leine River. The possessions of several victims were either sold on the black market or retained by either Haarmann or his younger lover, Hans Grans. Rumor also had it that Haarmann would peddle meat from the bodies of his victims as canned black market pork. Although no physical evidence was ever produced to confirm this, Haarmann was known to be an active trader in contraband meat.[5]

Haarmann's accomplice and live-in partner, Hans Grans, sold the possessions of several of the victims cheaply on the black market, and kept other possessions for himself, and Haarmann initially claimed that although Grans knew of many of his murders, and personally urged him to kill two of the victims so he could obtain their clothing and personal possessions, was otherwise not involved in the murders.

Haarmann was eventually apprehended when numerous skeletal remains, which he had dumped into the Leine River, washed up downstream in May and June 1924. The police decided to drag the river and discovered more than 500 human bones which were later confirmed as having come from at least 22 separate human individuals. Suspicion quickly fell upon Haarmann, who had convictions for molesting children and had been connected to the disappearance of Friedel Rothe in 1918. Haarmann was placed under surveillance and on the night of June 22, was observed prowling Hanover's central station. He was quickly arrested after trying to lure a boy to his apartment. His apartment was searched and the walls were found to be heavily bloodstained. Haarmann tried to explain this as a by-product of his illegal trade as a butcher. However, clothing and personal items known to be possessions of several missing youths were also found in his home. Under interrogation, Haarmann quickly confessed to raping, killing and butchering young men since 1918. When asked how many he had killed, Haarmann claimed "somewhere between 50 and 70". The police, however, could only connect Haarmann with the disappearance of 27 youths, and he was charged with 27 murders. It is interesting to note that only a quarter of the personal items found in his apartment were identified as having belonged to any of the victims.

Matthew Shepard, Murdered

 b.  December 1, 1976

d.  October 12, 1998

"Every American child deserves the strongest protections from some of the country’s most horrifying crimes." – Judy Shepard

As a gay college student, Matthew Shepard was the victim of a deadly hate crime. His murder brought national and international attention to the need for GLBT-inclusive hate crimes legislation.

Shepard was born in Casper, Wyoming, to Judy and Dennis Shepard. He was the older of two sons. Matthew completed high school at The American School in Switzerland. In 1998, he enrolled at the University of Wyoming in Laramie. Soon afterward, he joined the campus gay alliance.

On October 6, 1998, two men—Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson—lured Shepard from a downtown Laramie bar. After Shepard acknowledged that he was gay, McKinney and Henderson beat and tortured him, then tied him to a tree in a remote, rural area and left him for dead. Eighteen hours later, a biker, who thought he saw a scarecrow, found Shepard barely breathing.

Shepard was rushed to the hospital, but never regained consciousness. He died on October 12. Both of Shepard’s killers were convicted of felony murder and are serving two consecutive life sentences.

Despite the outcome of the trial, the men who took Shepard’s life were not charged with a hate crime. Wyoming has no hate crimes law, which protects victims of crimes motivated by bias against a protected class. Shepard’s high-profile murder case sparked protests, vigils and calls for federal hate crimes legislation for GLBT victims of violence.

Shortly after their son's death, Judy and Dennis Shepard founded The Matthew Shepard Foundation to honor his memory and to "replace hate with understanding, compassion, and acceptance." Judy Shepard became a GLBT activist and the most recognized voice in the fight for a federal hate crimes bill.

In 2009, more than a decade after Shepard’s murder, The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) was signed into law. HCPA added sexual orientation and gender identity to the list of protected classes, giving the United States Department of Justice the power to investigate and prosecute bias-motivated violent crimes against GLBT victims.

Dozens of songs have been written and recorded to honor Matthew Shepard's legacy.  Several films, television movies and plays about him have been produced, including "The Laramie Project" (2002) and "The Matthew Shepard Story" (2002).

Bibliography

• "Cultural Depictions of Matthew Shepard.” Answers.com. 14 June 2010.
• Hackett, Richard M. "11 Years after Shepard's Death, Mom Pushes for Hate-Crime Law.” USA TODAY. 10 June 2010.
• "Matthew Shepard.” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. 10 June 2010.
• "Matthew's Life." Matthew Shepard Foundation. 10 June 2010.
• “Shepard, Matthew." glbtq.com. 14 June 2010.

Books about Matthew Shepard

• Blood & Tears: Poems for Matthew Shepard by Scott Gibson (1999)
• Losing Matt Shepard by Beth Loffreda (2000)
• From Hate Crimes to Human Rights: A Tribute to Matthew Shepard by Mary E Swigonski, Robin Mama, and Kelly Ward (2001)
• The Meaning of Matthew: My Son’s Murder in Laramie, and a World Transformed by Judy Shepard (2009)

Articles about Matthew Shepard

• New Details Emerge in Matthew Shepard Murder
• The New York Times Topics: Matthew Shepard

Videos and Films Related to Matthew Shepard

• Matthew Shepard
• The Laramie Project (2002)
• The Laramie Project: Ten Years Later (2008)

Websites

• Matthew Shepard Foundation
• Notable Names Database (NNDB): Matthew Shepard
• Matthew Shepard Memorial
• The Laramie Project