In the documentary "The Laramie Project,"the Tectonic Theater Project investigates and reports the aftermath of Matthew Shephard’s brutal attack, robbery, and attempted murder. The night of October 7, 1998, two men attacked and beat Matthew, a 21-year-old gay student at the University of Wyoming. The two men, Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson, tied him to a fence in a field and left him there to die. A man who was biking past the scene noticed something laying by the fence and initially believed it to be a scarecrow. As he approached Matthew, he noticed that the object had human hair and rushed to the nearest house to call the police. The first officer on the scene described Matthew’s condition: he was not only unresponsive, but his entire face and head were covered in blood, except for where his tears washed the blood away. The first hospital that Matthew was brought to explained that his injuries were too extensive for them to handle, and thus, he was transported to another hospital in Colorado. After six days of laying lifelessly in a hospital bed, Matthew passed away.

My initial question after watching the beginning of the film was “why Matthew”? Why did McKinney and Henderson target him when there are other gay people living in Laramie? I would, of course, never wish this on anyone, but I continuously found myself wondering what if it had been someone else? It is clear that the primary reasons Matthew was targeted was because of his known financial wealth and sexual orientation; but additionally, the defendants claimed that Matthew made physical and sexual advancements toward them. The audience will never know what actually happened that night, but, based on the descriptions of Matthew’s personality, it seems unlikely that Matthew would have made advancements toward other males without knowledge of their sexual orientation. Specifically, Matthew’s father describes him as having “… a great passion for equality and always stood up for the acceptance of people’s differences” (www.matthewShephard.org). As a young gay man, it is safe to say that Matthew truly cared about equality and thus accepted individuals no matter their differences. Assuming this is true, it is illogical that Matthew would sexually touch other males without knowledge of their sexuality, and that, even if he was attracted to a heterosexual male, he would respect his sexuality. Furthermore, the police found Matthew’s shoes and wallet in the back of the defendants’ truck. This evidence supports not that Matthew made sexual advancements toward McKinney and Henderson, but rather that they targeted him with intentions of robbing him. In sum, Matthew’s target attractiveness still remains an area of question to me, as it is unclear why he was so brutally beaten by two heterosexual males if they were after his wealth.

In addition to Matthew’s tragic attack and death, his parents, Dennis and Judy Shephard, were secondary victims of the senseless act. On top of their sudden loss, Matthew’s parents were obligated to participate in the criminal process following the crime. They sat through months of court hearings, which, fortunately for them, resulted in two consecutive life sentences for both McKinney and Henderson, without the possibility of parole. Matthew's parents, though satisfied by the convictions, found the sentencing phase of the trial more difficult. Matthew’s parents initially wanted to request the death penalty for his murderers, but his mother reconsidered and, in a victim impact statement read by her husband, the audience learns of their struggle to decide what kind of sentence they desired for both McKinney and Henderson. Matthew’s parents reexamined the life of their son, his struggle to accept his homosexuality as natural and, above all, his generous humanity to others. Their ability to reconsider their wishes along with Matthew’s exemplifies their strength and ability to level-headedly analyze the situation in its entirety. I was genuinely struck by their sense of neutrality, though it was slight, especially after having lost their son so tragically. After learning about the symptoms of trauma that victims endure, which include lack of focus, forgetfulness, numbness, flashbacks, and grief, I expected Matthew’s parents to be much less considerate and much more one-sided in their wishes for McKinney and Henderson. That is not to say that they did not experience these and other similar symptoms, however.

Beyond the trauma Matthew’s parents endured with his death and the criminal trial, they re-experienced feelings of trauma because of the media. Matthew’s murder brought national and international attention to hate crime legislation at the state and federal levels.In October 2009, the United States Congress passed the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, and on October 28, 2009, President Barack Obama signed the legislation into law. Matthew’s death also inspired notable films, novels, plays, songs, and other works, and it is assumable that the media played a large part in publicizing the case enough for it to gain such attention. In addition, Matthew’s parents became prominent LGBT activists and established the Matthew Shephard Foundation in his memory. I think that part of his parents’ motivation and strength to speak up is due to the media’s unrelenting coverage of the case. In any case, the media largely impacted Matthew’s family and friends.

The part of the film that has had the most lasting effect on me is Mr. Shephard’s victim impact statement. It is difficult to explain the emotions I felt while listening to his words and watching him slowly reach the end of the statement. It was extremely saddening, and, more than anything else, overwhelming. Despite these feelings of grief; however, I now, more than ever, want to work with victims of crime. Whether primary or secondary victims, I find a great amount of peace and satisfaction in getting to know victims and their stories, and thus hope to provide the same feelings for them.