Second Trial to Begin in Gay Attack
By Robert W. Black
The Associated Press
LARAMIE, Wyo. (Oct. 11) A year after the beating death of Matthew Shepard, the man accused of instigating the attack went on trial today as small groups of anti-gay protesters and people dressed as angels demonstrated outside.
Wearing golden halos and costumes made of white bedsheets, the 17 angels stood silently in a street near the courthouse. Representing Angel Action, Romaine Patterson, 21, of State College, Pa., said her colleagues wanted to send a message of love.
They faced a half dozen protesters from Kansas who waved signs with anti-gay slogans. The Rev. Fred Phelps, 69, of Topeka, Kan., said his followers wanted ''to insert a little sanity and truth into this mad orgy.''
About 66 potential jurors were subpoenaed for the start of jury selection in the trial of Aaron McKinney, who is charged with first-degree murder, kidnapping and aggravated robbery. If convicted, McKinney, 22, could be sentenced to death.
His alleged co-conspirator, Russell Henderson, 22, received two life sentences after pleading guilty in April to felony murder and kidnapping.
Shepard, 21, was lured from a bar on Oct. 7, 1998, driven to a remote prairie, tied to a fence, pistol-whipped into unconsciousness and left to die on the freezing plains. He died five days later in a hospital.
McKinney, who has said he had no idea Shepard was gay and does not hate homosexuals, has pleaded innocent. His trial date coincided with several memorials commemorating the first anniversary of the slaying.
A candlelight vigil Sunday night at the University of Wyoming attracted 600 people, including Shepard's parents, Judy and Dennis Shepard.
''We on this campus, in Laramie and in Wyoming, are people of peace, of inclusiveness,'' the Rev. Roger Schmit, of St. Paul's Newman Center, told the crowd.
University President Philip L. Dubois asked each person to light a candle that will generate ''a tiny bit of energy along the road to a world that rejects prejudice, stereotypes, hatred and violence, but their combined force will light a highway of hope.''
Many signed a ''pledge of nonviolence'' written on 8-foot-tall placards, then carried candles into an auditorium where folksingers Peter, Paul and Mary dedicated a concert to Shepard.
The sold-out crowd of 2,000 gave Peter Yarrow a standing ovation after a song he performed solo with the lyrics: ''Show me the gay man, hated and scorned, who was killed just for being the way he was born.''
Yarrow wrote the lyrics after visiting the site where Shepard was tied up and beaten. ''My heart broke,'' he said of seeing the fence.
Henderson has been subpoenaed by McKinney's lawyers to testify. The defense witness list also includes Henderson's girlfriend, Chasity Pasley, 21, and McKinney's girlfriend, Kristen Price, 19.
Ms. Pasley received up to two years in prison after pleading guilty to being an accessory to first-degree murder for helping to hide Henderson's bloody clothes. Ms. Price's trial on accessory charges was to begin Jan. 3.
Because prosecutors believe McKinney was the main instigator, he likely won't be offered a plea agreement, said Denver-based legal analyst Andrew Cohen, who has followed the case.
Prosecutor Cal Rerucha has subpoenaed Judy Shepard in an attempt ''to humanize the victim, to put a face on the name Matthew Shepard,'' said Cheyenne prosecutor Jon Forwood, who is not involved in the case.
''It's quite common to use a parent to say, 'This is the life we're talking about,''' Forwood said.
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