The Laramie Project Page #4

...is now at the eye of the storm.

People would like to think

what happened is the exception...

There were reporters everywhere,

news trucKs in town, on campus...

...and we are not used to

that type of attention.

Aaron McKinney and Russell Henderson

came from the poor side of town.

This small city that bills itself as...

..."Wyoming's hometown" is wrestling

with its attitudes towards gay men.

It's tough business,

as Matt Shepard Knew...

...and as all his friends Know,

to be gay in cowboy country.

And to get that kind of exposure under

such tragic circumstances...

...under circumstances that we hadn't even

wrapped our heads and hearts around...

The majority of people here

are good people.

You get bad apples once in a while.

Our citizens are not like that at all.

You people are making my son guilty

before he's even had a trial.

How can this happen?

I can't understand how someone

can even do something like that.

You have your own lifestyle,

you should have it.

- It's pretty much live-and-let-live.

- It's live-and-let-live.

I am outraged and sickened by the heinous

crime committed on Matthew Shepard.

A young gay man is in a deep coma.

It's a crime that goes beyond despicable.

Let it be known in the nation

this is not the University of Wyoming.

This is not what we're about.

Had this been a heterosexual,

this wouldn't have made the news.

I don't think there's any problem

gay people deal with here.

We had these guys in jail in less than

a day. I think that's pretty damn good.

Hundreds of people are urging Congress

to pass a federal law banning hate crimes.

I would like to urge the people

of Wyoming against overreacting...

...in a way that gives one group

special rights over others.

We will wait and see

if the vicious beating and torture...

...of Matthew Shepard

was motivated by hate.

Oh, my God.

Anybody else wanna do this?

Matthew Shepard was admitted

in critical condition...

...at approximately (:15 on October 7.

When he arrived, he was unresponsive

and breathing support was being provided.

Matthew's major injuries upon arrival

consisted of hypothermia...

...and of a fracture from behind his head...

...to just in front of the right ear.

This has caused bleeding in the brain,

as well as pressure on the brain.

Friday night the parents arrived...

...and I went and introduced myself

to Dennis and Judy.

It was awful. Those poor people.

Matthew's temperature has fluctuated

over the last 24 hours...

...between (8 and 106 degrees.

We arranged a police escort

to bring them up.

We set them up

in one of our conference rooms...

...gave them food around the clock,

gave them a place to stay.

The following is a statement from them.

"First of all,

we want to thank the American public...

"...for their kind thoughts about Matthew...

"...and their fond wishes

for his speedy recovery.

"We appreciate your prayers

and good will...

"...and we know that...

"...they are something that Matthew

would appreciate, too."

I went up and said:

"You all tell me what you want me to do

or what you want me to say...

"...or anything you need,

and we'll provide it for you."

"We also have a special request

for members of the media.

"We ask that you respect our privacy,

as well as Matthew's...

"...so we can concentrate

all of our efforts, thoughts...

"...and love on our son.

"Thank you very much."

Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney

have pled not guilty...

...to the charges of Kidnapping,

aggravated robbery...

...and attempted murder in the first degree.

Russell was just so sweet.

He's the one that was the Eagle Scout.

His whole presence was just quiet

and sweet. He was raised a Mormon.

He was active in that when he was

younger, as an elder in the Church.

Of course it doesn't make sense to me.

I know people snap and whatever...

...and like I said, it wasn't a real intimate

relationship. I was just his landlord.

I remember at the Christmas party...

...he was totally drunK out of his mind,

you Know, liKe we all were.

He wasn't belligerent. He didn't change.

His personality didn't change.

He was still the same little meek Russell.

Aaron was a good kid.

That's why I was shocked

when I heard this.

He had been living out with his girl.

They just started dating last summer.

They must have gotten pregnant as soon

as they started dating. They had a kid.

21 years old,

but he's running around with a kid.

When I first heard,

I thought it was really awful.

I don't know whether Aaron was f***ed up

or coming down or what...

...but Matthew had money.

Sh*t, he had better clothes than I did.

Matthew was a little rich b*tch.

You shouldn't call him that. It's not right.

I'm not saying he's a bad guy,

I'm just saying...

...he's in the wrong place at the

wrong time, he said the wrong thing.

Aaron was always dressing up big,

you know, big clothes...

...Tommy Hilfiger, you know.

Polo, Gucci, I don't know.

It probably pissed him off that Matthew

was gay, because he didn't like...

The gay people I've seen him interact with

or that I've heard him talk about...

...he was fine with

as long as they didn't hit on him...

...or as long as, you Know,

it didn't come up.

When I knew Aaron,

he was just a young kid.

He was trying to fit in, acting tough,

acting cool. But you know what?

You could get in his face about it...

...and he would back down

like he was some kind of scared kid.

If I saw Aaron right now, I'd just be like,

"Why did you f*** up like that?"

I wanna shake him, you know?

"What were you thinking?

What in the hell were you thinking?"

Hello?

This is her.

Hi, Doctor.

How is he?

Yes.

I see.

Can you hang on for a moment?

Mom, can you hang this up?

I'm gonna take it in there.

I'm here.

Yes.

The part I wasn't telling you about before...

...is that Reggie Fluty is my daughter.

When she told me she wanted

to be a police officer...

...I thought there was not

a better choice for her.

She could handle whatever came her way.

And then this happens.

That was the hospital.

Matthew Shepard is HIV positive, and...

...they said I've been exposed.

What?

They said I've been exposed

to the AIDS virus.

Because I've been building

the lean-tos for the Ilamas...

...and I have a bunch of open cuts

on my hands, and...

...I got his blood on my hands.

How did you get it on your hands?

We have sh*t gloves, you know,

and I kept putting them on and...

...you keep putting them on,

and they keep breaking, so...

...finally, I ran out.

You touched him without gloves?

You cannot let

a human being just sit there.

Reggie!

Don't hesitate,

that's what goes through your mind.

Don't hesitate, all the time.

So you just keep on moving,

and you take care of Matthew...

...and you try to find an open airway,

and that's what you do.

Quite frankly,

I wanted to lash out at somebody.

Not Matthew, please understand that.

Not one of us was mad at Matthew.

We maybe wanted to squeeze

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