Posted on 11/26/2004 4:36:18 AM PST by foolscap
CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) -- In their first public interview since attacking gay college student Matthew Shepard, his killers said they were motivated not by homophobia, but the prospect of robbery to fuel a methamphetamine binge.
"He was pretty well-dressed, had a wallet full of money," Aaron McKinney said of meeting Shepard at a Laramie bar in October 1998. "All I wanted to do was beat him up and rob him. ... Seemed like a good idea at the time."
The interviews air Friday on ABC's "20/20."
The robbery got out of hand, said McKinney and his buddy, Russell Henderson, and Shepard was beaten into a coma while tied to a fence outside the small college town. The 21-year-old died five days later.
The crime drew condemnation from President Clinton, Congress and the international community, and spurred debate on the effectiveness of hate crime laws. McKinney and Henderson, both 27, are serving life sentences for murder.
McKinney said he killed Shepard because he was strung out on drugs, not because Shepard was gay. Henderson agreed, saying "it's not because me and Aaron had anything against gays or any of that."
Henderson said that McKinney, who had been bingeing on meth for days, set out that night to rob a dealer of $10,000 worth of the drug. Henderson thought if he could keep McKinney drinking, his friend would forget the plan.
McKinney said Shepard was sitting at the bar when he and Henderson arrived, and at one point McKinney asked Shepard for a cigarette. "He said he was too drunk to go home and then he asked me if I'd give him a ride," McKinney said.
In the truck, McKinney claimed, the two learned Shepard wanted sex in return for giving them drugs, but McKinney decided to rob Shepard instead.
According to McKinney, Shepard grabbed his leg and he struck Shepard with his gun and demanded money. Although Shepard handed over his wallet, the beating continued.
"Sometimes when you have that rage going through you, there's no stopping it," McKinney said. "I've attacked my best friends coming off of meth binges."
They decided to dump Shepard in a secluded spot, and when they came upon a rustic fence blocking the road, McKinney decided to tie him to it.
"Then when I'm leaving, he says he's going to tell on me," McKinney said. "I went back and hit him one more time. I hit him real hard that time."
One of McKinney's attorneys, Dion Custis, said Wednesday that drugs and robbery, not sexuality, have long been considered the main motives for the crime.
"If anyone saw the trial and the evidence that was presented at trial, that was exactly what we presented at the time," he said.
Prosecutor Cal Rerucha also said the case was too complex to simply be labeled a hate crime. He said many people overlooked the drug and robbery aspects of the case at the time of the attack.
"People want an easy answer to this case and I don't think we would be here five years later if there was an easy answer," Rerucha said.
The WOD made safer alternatives unavailable.
Pure drivel.
That's what passes for a reasoned rebuttal among WODdies.
Okay --- I get you now. I don't have much sympathy though for him either way and try as they may, they can't make leaving bars with total strangers for the purpose of sex completely safe for anyone.
O please what "safer alternatives" are you talking about pot? coke?...tweeker could care less other stuff that want there crank
Oh, I agree with you on that point. "Cruising" is about as risky as
hooking.
Very true---and they are still at it.
Isn't it ironic that the liberals embraced this whole "he was crucified" charade with open abandon, yet they scorned and mocked Mel Gibson's movie The Passion of the Christ?
His name was Jesse Dirkhising and he was brutally raped, tortured and murdered by a 'monogamous gay' couple in Arkansas
Never let them forget
Google search: Matthew Shepard (yields 132,000 results)
Google search: Jesse Dirkhising (yields 4,430 results)
Mind boggling...
Because they were druggies, unable to deal with reality, looking for a way to hide from life.
"Sounds to me like Shepard was “crucified” at the alter of the WOD."
That statement is as idiotic as statements made by those who wanted to turn Shepard into a martyr for the homosexual agenda.
What evidence do you have that meth would not exist if currently illegal drugs were made legal?
Let me answer you by pointing you towards what happened in the past.
When Prohibition was in effect people rushed in to fill the market demand by selling poison concoctions as drinkable alcohol. The same thing is happening today with Meth, it is nothing new.
People get high, (from beer to meth with everything in between ) because it makes them feel good, they usually grow up and find it was mostly a waste of effort. You can call them druggies if you want to; it’s really no big deal.
How much money is spent on LEO from salaries to benefits to retirements? I would venture a very huge amount. If you want to know why drugs are illeagle, it is simple, follow the money.
If you believe it is simply to help druggies to the straight and narrow, then you are not following the money involved.
When college campuses in the Spring have "Job Fairs"--many publications such as Newsweek and the LA Times have booths that will only allow homosexuals to apply.
What a Bizzaro world we live in.
And if you believe making drugs legal would stop people from stealing/killing to get money for drugs, you are only fooling yourself. The only way around that would be to take the money spent on the WOD and give it to the druggies to support their habits. (And I'm doubting that would be enough.)
Personally, I'd rather keep the WOD.
Druggies tend to search for the ever higher high. That is nothing new either. Your claim that meth would not exist if the WOD were never to have occurred has no basis.
People might avoid rat poison if given a chance.
I would reason to think the market for meth would be diminished if market place restrictions were withdrawn.
A 13 year old girl in Detroit, was just killed by a druggie who was out on parole for barely a week. He needed money for heroin according to news reports. If the WOD had not driven up the price of drugs, just maybe she would still be alive. More people are hurt by people trying to get the funds to get high, than by people who are hurt by people who are high. I am not talking about auto related incidents here.
But what is the life of a 13 year old Detroit girl compared to all the money spent pursuing the WOD? Obviously it aint jack squat.
The state of Michigan needs a death penalty to remove society of such vermin, I hold the killer fully responsible. If drugs were legal, who know maybe he would of done himself in earlier, witch would of be no big loss.
For the record I really dont care about "poor" college kids who drink them selves to death either.
Rid society of the WOD, and those dumb enough to be druggies. There will be less burden on everyone, and less murder in Detroit.
Are you presuming that the price of drugs will be fixed if they were legalized, or are you anticipating that government will subsidize the cost of manufacture or use?
"He needed money for heroin according to news reports."
Do you presume if drugs were legalized, only people who could afford them would take them, or are you presuming those who can't afford them will receive government subsidy to finance their habits?
"Rid society of the WOD, and those dumb enough to be druggies."
Are you suggesting that we do away with the WOD and make it 'open season' on drug addicts, so that we can shoot to kill before they kill us?
Just doing away with the WOD isn't going to solve the problems of drug addiction. In fact, I believe it will cause the problem to increase. What is legal is generally considered moral.
Nothing but a free market.
Do you presume if drugs were legalized, only people who could afford them would take them, or are you presuming those who can't afford them will receive government subsidy to finance their habits?
People would have to set their own priorities.
Are you suggesting that we do away with the WOD and make it 'open season' on drug addicts, so that we can shoot to kill before they kill us?
You should always be able to defend yourself.
Just doing away with the WOD isn't going to solve the problems of drug addiction. In fact, I believe it will cause the problem to increase. What is legal is generally considered moral.
The problem of drug addiction is not societies, it is the expected result of recreational drug use, and is a problem for those who choose to have it. If someone wants to rid them selves of the problem, they have to want to.
Morality is the province of the individual, his home and his religion, while the laws may reflect commonly accepted morals, we should not look to the law for the definitions of what is moral or even wise.
Sure, a 'free market' for extremely addictive products. Get 'em hooked, raise the prices - then the government steps in and adds taxes. You still end up with people who steal/kill in order to finance their habits. As prices go up, the 'black market' would also grow, thus bringing the concerns you have about rat poison, et al, back into focus.
"People would have to set their own priorities."
They do that now. Don't need to legalize drugs for that to happen.
"we should not look to the law for the definitions of what is moral or even wise."
All laws are about legislating someone's morals. Anything that is legalized automatically becomes more accepted by society (abortion is a good example of that). I don't happen to believe this society needs anything else to bring it closer to falling apart, and legalizing drugs would do just that, in my view.
Actually, it's worse. There's an email movement afoot to pressure 20/20 into NOT airing this episode. I have lots of good hearted but stupid art-school lib pals who've forwarded me this urgent email regarding the interview. The basic gyst is: Matt Shepard's parents are suffering ENOUGH--why add to their pain by allowing these animals to discuss THEIR side of it.
I think the originators of this email KNOW what this interview could do to their martyr. If anyone wants to see a copy of the email, I'll gladly dig it up (if I still have it) and post it somewhere.
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