In the early morning hours of October 7th, 1998, Matthew Shepard was offered a ride home from the Fireside Lounge from two local men in Laramie Wyoming. Instead of taking Matthew home these men robbed him, violently attacked him, then left him tied him to a fence in a remote rural area outside of Laramie. Mathew Shepard passed away in a hospital days later due to his injuries. The men who violently attacked him later attempted to use a legal defense tactic known as the "Gay Panic Defense" claiming that Matthew had made a pass at them. With a large media coverage, Matthew's death brought the abhorrent violence that people in the LGBTQ+ community deal with o a daily basis right to the living room of every American family. However, while some grieved with the Shepard family and fought to stop this from happening, others celebrated the death of an innocent and wonderful young man. Join Amada & Jen on this tremendously upsetting episode of Fathomless where we discuss the life and death of Mathew Shepard.
*Since Mathew’s death his family has been
erasing hate in his honor through an organization called The Mathew Shepard
Foundation: www.matthewshepard.org
HELP BAN THE "Gay Panic Defense" NATIONWIDE:
LGBTQ+ "Panic" Defense - The National LGBTQ+ Bar Association
