Town reflects 10 years after murder
Deadly beating of gay man prompted new look at attitudes toward homosexuals

By The Associated Press

Published: October 12, 2008

LARAMIE, Wyo. — A decade after a gay college student was beaten, tied to a fence and left for dead, many in this small college town are still struggling with the aftermath of a crime that triggered nationwide sympathy and brought a re-examination of attitudes toward gays.

Ten years ago, 21-year-old Matthew Shepard died after being beaten and left in the cold by two men he met in a bar. Residents were shaken by the brutality of the crime, and the media descended on the town trying to explain why it happened.

Prosecutors’ cases included evidence with elements of robbery, drugs and hate against gays, but the court only determined that the men were guilty of murder and not why they killed Shepard.

Laramie was thrust into the national spotlight by media attracted by the murder of a young gay college student in a small Western town. It also produced an outpouring of films, books and plays.

Some of the coverage attempted to blame Laramie for somehow creating the murderers.

"The crime of two people was presented as a crime of the city,” Mayor Klaus Hanson said.

Residents say prejudice against gays in Laramie is no different from anywhere else.

"I think people are pretty laissez-faire out here, pretty independent, a pretty accepting state,” said retired businessman Jeff Figg. "This is a much more enlightened area, the exact opposite of what the press portrayed it.”

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