Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, beaten and murdered by Russell Henderson and accomplice Aaron McKinney in October 1998 in Laramie, Wyoming…
A Wyoming parole board has denied an application for a commuted sentence that was filed by Russell Henderson, one of the two men convicted for the murder of Matthew Shepard. Henderson and his accomplice Aaron McKinney were convicted for the October 1998 kidnapping and murder of Shepard in Laramie, a town of 25,000 near the Wyoming-Colorado border.
Henderson will stay in prison for at least five more years now that the Wyoming Board of Parole has denied the petition to shorten his two consecutive lifetime prison sentences. Henderson has already served 25 years in prison for the heinous murder.
Confirming the decision to The Advocate, Wyoming Board of Parole Executive Director Margaret White said: “Mr. Henderson filed a commutation petition which the Board considered in accordance with its policies. The Board held a hearing on Russell’s petition and declined to forward the petition to the Governor. This matter is now decided.”
Inmates in Wyoming who have served 10 years of their lifetime sentences may submit a commutation petition (a request to have their sentence shortened) every five years. It’s unclear if Henderson has previously filed commutation petitions. However, this is not the first time that Henderson has sought leniency for his crimes. In 2004, Henderson had his attorney file a petition for post-conviction relief. At the time he claimed that he had not been adequately informed of his appeal options after he made his guilty plea. That petition was also unsuccessful.
On the night of October 6, 1998, two men (Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney) lured Matthew Shepard from the Fireside Lounge in Laramie, a town of 25,000 near the Wyoming-Colorado border, and drove him to a remote rural area on the eastern side of Laramie. McKinney apparently told Shepard, “We’re not gay and you’re going to get jacked,” before they proceeded to rob, pistol-whip, torture and bludgeon him, tying him to a rough-hewn wooden buck fence and leaving him to die. Shepard was discovered at 6pm the next day by Aaron Kreifels, a passing cyclist, who initially mistook him for a scarecrow. Shepard was taken to hospital and never regained consciousness. He was pronounced dead six days after the attack at 12:53 am on October 12, 1998. He was 21 years old.
Shepard’s murder captured national headlines due to the gruesome nature of the crime, throwing a spotlight on the hatred, violence and discrimination endured by LGBTQ+ individuals and communities in towns and cities across America. In the wake of his death, politicians and activists fought to extend the definition of federal hate crime legislation to include gay victims, women and people with disabilities.
Henderson pleaded guilty to the first-degree murder and kidnapping of Shepard to avoid the death penalty. He was sentenced in April 1999. His accomplice, McKinney, was convicted of kidnapping, aggravated robbery, and second-degree murder later that year. To avoid the death penalty, he also accepted a sentence of life in prison without chance of parole or appeal.
READ:
– Remembering Matthew Shepard
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