State of Wyoming v. Aaron McKinney

E641696

State of Wyoming v. Aaron McKinney is the criminal case in which Aaron McKinney was prosecuted and convicted for the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a killing that drew national attention to anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes in the United States.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
State of Wyoming v. Russell Henderson 1

Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf criminal case
associatedFederalLaw Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act NERFINISHED
associatedFederalLawEnactmentYear 2009
associatedWith Matthew Shepard hate crime narrative
charge aggravated robbery
first-degree murder
kidnapping
conviction aggravated robbery
felony murder
kidnapping
country United States of America
surface form: United States
court Albany County District Court NERFINISHED
crimeAdditionalAct leaving victim tied to a fence
crimeMethod beating
crimeType hate-motivated violence
dateOfCrime October 6, 1998
dateOfVictimDeath October 12, 1998
deathPenaltyAvoidedBy plea agreement
deathPenaltyImposed false
deathPenaltySought true
defendant Aaron McKinney NERFINISHED
defendantBirthName Aaron James McKinney NERFINISHED
defenseArgument claimed drug use and robbery motive
impact increased public awareness of anti-gay violence
inspiredDiscussionOf hate crime legislation in the United States
involvedVictimSexualOrientation gay
jurisdiction State of Wyoming NERFINISHED
legalOutcome guilty plea
legalSignificance frequently cited in debates over hate crime laws
locationOfTrial Laramie, Wyoming NERFINISHED
mediaCoverage extensive national media coverage
notableFor national attention to anti-LGBTQ+ hate crimes
placeOfCrime near Laramie, Wyoming
pleaAgreementDate November 1999
pleaType guilty to felony murder and kidnapping
presidingJudge Barton R. Voigt NERFINISHED
prosecutionAllegation murder motivated by anti-gay bias
prosecutorSought death penalty before plea
publicPerception widely regarded as anti-gay hate crime
relatedCase State of Wyoming v. Russell Henderson NERFINISHED
sentence two consecutive life sentences
timePeriodOfTrial 1999
victim Matthew Shepard NERFINISHED
victimAgeAtDeath 21
victimCauseOfDeath severe head injuries
victimFullName Matthew Wayne Shepard NERFINISHED
yearOfCrime 1998

Referenced by (2)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Matthew Shepard legalCase State of Wyoming v. Aaron McKinney
Matthew Shepard legalCase State of Wyoming v. Aaron McKinney
this entity surface form: State of Wyoming v. Russell Henderson