Russell Henderson Present at Shephard's Savage Beating
By Jim Hughes
Denver Post Staff Writer
March 25 - LARAMIE, Wyo. - Matthew Shepard murder suspect Russell
Henderson was present for the University of Wyoming student's
savage beating Oct. 6, his attorney admitted before a pool of
prospective jurors Wednesday.
But Henderson took no part in the beating and did not profit from
the robbery of which he also is accused, public defender Wyatt
Skaggs said Wednesday morning in the first day of jury selection
for Henderson's capital murder case. It was Henderson's friend
and co-worker, Aaron McKinney, 21, who beat Shepard with the butt
of his pistol and who robbed him, Skaggs said.
Henderson watched as McKinney beat and kicked Shepard, Skaggs
said. When contacted by police later that night, Henderson, 22,
tried to run but was caught. The next day, Henderson, accompanied
by his and McKinney's girlfriends, drove to Cheyenne to hide some
of his blood-covered clothing, which was never found. But blood
discovered on Henderson's jacket has been found to be Shepard's.
"Those are our admissions,'' Skaggs said. "They're
proven. I give them to you right from the beginning.''
Skaggs' statement, made so early in the process - attorneys
aren't expected to finish selecting jurors for Henderson's April
6 trial until next week - was Henderson's first official, public
admission of any involvement in the events that led to Shepard's
eventual death in the intensive-care unit of a Fort Collins
hospital.
Shepard ultimately was transferred to that hospital after being
discovered barely alive and tied to a rustic fence in the Sherman
Hills subdivision outside of Laramie some 18 hours after he was
beaten.
Judy Shepard, Matthew Shepard's mother, was in court Wednesday.
She sat quietly in the back of the courtroom, her hands folded in
her lap.
Skaggs said he made the admission so he could lay a foundation of
honesty and trust between himself and prospective jurors. He said
he hoped jurors would be similarly honest with him in answering
questions determining their suitability as jurors in a case that
might demand that they consider handing down a sentence of death.
With the national media back in town, and nearly six months of
coverage undoubtedly swirling around in the heads of potential
jurors, Skaggs emphasized that he needed to clear out any
would-be jurors who might have already made up their minds about
his client.
"This case is extremely difficult for us to try, because
outside on the lawn'' was a mob of reporters, he told the
72-person pool of prospective jurors. "This press has
literally injected into our community ... a feeling of guilt. The
press wants us to think that we were somehow responsible for what
happened on October the sixth.
"Are any of you going to decide this case because you feel
guilty and want to make a statement to the nation?'' he said.
Though no potential jurors admitted to such an impulse, legal
observers have said that this very sentiment could prove to be
Skaggs' greatest obstacle in keeping Henderson off death row.
Furthermore, news reports have repeatedly given inaccurate
information, Skaggs said.
Perhaps in an attempt to humanize his client, who has been
portrayed in the media as a thug from a broken home at best and
as a hate-filled gay basher at worst, Skaggs put his left arm
around his client's shoulders near the end of his general
interview and presentation.
"This is Russell Henderson,'' he said. "Not
"defendant,' not "a person,' but a real, live human
being. He just asks you one thing: Can you give him a fair
shot?''
For the most part, prospective jurors sat quietly throughout the
morning, nodding or quietly voicing answers to questions. But at
one point, as Skaggs made the point that the trial had nothing to
do with "lifestyles,'' one possible juror abruptly spoke.
"No, no, I disagree,'' he said. "I think Matthew
Shepard's lifestyle was part of this.''
Skaggs told him he could discuss that feeling at greater length
later on in the voir dire process - the first stage of jury
selection.
In his discussion with candidate jurors, prosecutor Cal Rerucha
said it was not a job for everyone, particularly not for those
who have become emotionally involved in this highly publicized
and politically charged case.
"It is not a duty that can be performed through the tears of
pity, and it is not a duty that can be performed when the fire of
rage burns in your belly and you judge through those eyes,'' he
said.
And if Henderson is found guilty of first-degree capital murder
or felony murder, jurors will have to grapple with the idea of
sentencing him to die. That, too, is a job some just can't do,
Rerucha said.
"There is no sin in saying, "I cannot do it,' '' he
said. "The sin is in keeping quiet.''
Of the 72 people considered for inclusion on the Henderson jury
Wednesday, nine were dismissed by District Court Judge Jeffrey
Donnell for various reasons. Forty of the prospects have claimed
sequestration will be a problem for them, but their cases will be
discussed in personal interviews to be conducted behind closed
doors during the remainder of this week.
If necessary, three more panels will be called next week to fill
spots on the jury.
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