The Laramie Project Page #7

I appreciate your speaking with me.

All right. We better go.

I let him say that to me.

I let him say that to me,

and I didn't say anything back.

At midnight, on Monday, October 12...

...Matthew Shepard's blood pressure

began to drop.

We immediately notified the family,

who were already at the hospital.

At 12:
53 a. M...

...Matthew Shepard died.

His family was at his bedside.

The family did release

the following statement.

They again asked me to express

their sincerest gratitude...

...to the entire world...

...for the overwhelming response

to their son.

The family was grateful

that they did not have to...

...make a decision regarding whether or

not to continue life support for their son.

"Like a good son,

he was caring to the end...

"...and removed guilt or stress

from the family.

"He came into the world premature...

"...and left the world premature.

"Matthew's mother said:

"'Go..."'

We'd been up for 72 hours straight...

...and had gone home

and gone to sleep for half an hour...

...and get up and come,

maybe I was just way...

I don't Know.

While I was reading that statement,

I thought about my own four daughters.

She doesn't have her Kid anymore.

"'Go home...

"'... give your kids a hug...

"'... and don't let a day go by

without telling them that you love them."'

And then we started getting people

sending us all these E-mails and letters.

"Do you cry like a baby on TV

for all your patients, or just the faggots?"

Jesus.

After being thrown into this...

...I guess I didn't understand the magnitude

with which some people hate.

And of all the letters we got,

there were two or three like that.

Most were:

"Thanks for your caring and compassion."

And Matthew...

Matthew got caring and compassion...

...from the moment he got here.

The charges against Russell Henderson

and Aaron McKinney...

...were upgraded to first-degree murder

after Matthew Shepard died on Monday.

If convicted,

the two men could face the death penalty.

I'll tell you what.

If they put those two boys to death...

...it would defeat everything

that Matt would be thinking about them.

Because he would not want

those two to die.

He'd wanna leave them with hope.

H-O-P-E.

Just like the whole world hoped...

...that Matt would survive, right?

This whole thing, you see what I'm saying,

this whole thing ropes around hope.

This whole thing, you see what I'm saying,

this whole thing ropes around hope.

H-O-P-E.

On the day of the funeral,

it was snowing and raining so bad.

By the time I got there,

there were already thousands of people.

Dressed in blacK. Umbrellas everywhere.

They had two churches set up and still

there were hundreds of people outside...

...who couldn't fit inside.

They had this parK set up,

and the parK was full.

"Thou shalt not lie down

with mankind as with womankind.

"It is abomination." Matthew Shepard

lived his life breaking that commandment!

If he repented in his dying hours,

we hope he did, if not...

...he is in Hell along with those killers.

Do you believe in the Bible?

You believe you're supposed to

separate the precious from the vile?

You don't believe that part of the Bible.

You stand there, ignorant of the fact...

After seeing Phelps

protesting at Matthew's funeral...

...and then hearing that he's coming back

to laramie for Russell Henderson's trial...

...I decided that someone needs to stand

toe-to-toe and show the difference.

Some people are gonna be sent to Hell!

And I think you know who you are!

Nobody wouldn't be here if this was just

a murder that the state was gonna handle.

The state handles hundreds of murders.

This murder is different

because the gays...

He's not even from Laramie.

He just travels around the country

doing these demonstrations.

So we're planning an event.

We're calling it "Angel Action."

This 21-year-old little lesbian

is gonna walk the line with him.

Fear not!

You lift up your voice like a trumpet...

...and you show my people

their transgressions!

We are sending the message of God!

God's anger is pure.

And God is gonna send someone to Hell!

That's God's anger!

Now, we wouldn't be here...

Do you want your sons and daughters

to be taught by faggots...

...in your schools?

We're not gonna let that happen!

As soon as they started jury selection...

...everyone was coming into my shop with:

"I don't wanna be on this trial.

I hope they don't call me," or:

"Oh, my God, I got called.

How do I get off?"

Just wanting to get as far away

from it as they could.

Very fearful that they were

gonna have to be part of that jury.

Then I heard

Henderson had to sit in the courtroom...

...while they questioned prospective jurors.

And one of the questions they asKed was:

"Would you be willing...

"...to put this person to death?"

And I understand a lot

of the comments were:

"Yes, I would."

"Absolutely."

"Yep, no problem."

Can you imagine hearing that?

Juror after juror...

...after juror.

These are people that he Knows.

No wonder he changed his plea.

You entered a not guilty plea earlier,

Mr. Henderson.

But I understand you wish to change

your plea today?

Yes, sir.

Do you understand that the recommended

sentence here is two life sentences?

Yes, sir.

And do you understand that those may

run concurrently or consecutively?

Yes, sir.

Before the court makes that decision...

...I understand that there are statements

to be made by at least one individual.

Let's proceed with that.

As the grandmother

and the person who raised Russell...

...along with my family...

...we have written the following statement.

"Our hearts ache for the pain and suffering

that the Shepards have went through.

"We have prayed for your family

since the very beginning.

"Many times throughout the day,

I have thought about Matt.

"You will continue to be in our thoughts

and prayers...

"...as we know that your pain

will never go away.

"You have showed such mercy

and we are so grateful...

"...that you are giving us

all the opportunity to live.

"Your Honor...

"...we, as a family...

"...hope that as you sentence Russell...

"...that you will do it concurrently...

"...for two life terms.

"For the Russell we know and love...

"...we humbly plead, Your Honor...

"...to not take Russell

completely out of our lives...

"...forever."

Mr. And Mrs. Shepard...

...there is not a moment

that goes by that I don't...

...see what happened that night.

I know what I did was very wrong...

...and I regret greatly what I did.

You have my greatest sympathies

for what happened.

I hope that...

...one day, you will be able to find it

in your hearts to forgive me.

Mr. Henderson...

...this court does not believe that you

really feel any true remorse...

...for your part in this matter.

And I wonder whether you fully realize

the gravity of what you have done.

You drove the vehicle that took

Matthew Shepard to his death.

You bound him to that fence...

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