The Matthew Shepard Story: An American Hate Crime

25 years ago, University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard was tied to a fence, brutally beaten and left to die because he was gay. A thorough investigation uncovered a hate no one thought existed in the small town of Laramie, Wyoming. Five days later, Matthew died from his injuries, meticulous police work pieced together this baffling crime. In the aftermath of his death, a national outcry for hate crimes protections took root throughout the country. It took years for those protections to materialize but today, his death is a dark reminder that hate still exists and the fight tirelessly continues.