6. Laramie’s Great Loss
On October 6, 1998, two men at a bar offered Matthew Sheppard, 21, a ride home, but drove him to a desolate area. He was tortured, robbed, and left tied to a fence. 18 hours later, a bicyclist, who had mistaken him for a scarecrow, found him, his face covered in blood, except where it had been washed away by flowing tears. He stayed in coma for several days, then died of severe brain-stem damage that shut down his organs. His body had terrible fractures and lacerations. His funeral was picketed by the Westboro Baptist Church. The killers weren’t charged due to lack of hate crimes laws. But, one of the killer’s girlfriend testified against them. Sheppard’s parents showed mercy, and made sure they received life imprisonment instead of death. In October 2009, Barack Obama signed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, followed by other social changes.
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