Murderer of gay student Matthew Shepard denied early release

One of the men who murdered of 21-year-old gay student Matthew Shepard in 1998 has been denied early release after applying to have one of his two consecutive life sentences commuted.

Russell Henderson, now 47, failed in his appeal to the Wyoming Board of Parole after applying for a commutation petition – a request Wyoming inmates who have served 10 or more years in jail can make to have their sentences cut. He was convicted of first-degree murder in 1999 after he and accomplice Aaron McKinney attacked Shepard because he was gay.

The pair claimed to originally have planned only to rob Shepherd after he approached them at the Fireside Lounge in Laramie, but eventually tortured and killed him after learning of his sexuality.

After repeatedly beating him with the butt of a handgun, Henderson and McKinney tied Shepard to a fence, set fire to him and left him in the cold to die.

The court case involved one of the most infamous uses of the controversial “gay panic” defence and later set the foundation for its repeal across a number of US states.

During the trial, investigating officers testified that McKinney felt threatened by Shepard’s homosexuality. To avoid the death penalty, he accepted a life sentence without the chance of parole.

Now, the Wyoming Board of Parole has told The Advocate that it “held a hearing on Russell’s petition and declined to forward [it] to the governor”.

Henderson will be eligible for another commutation petition in five years, according to parole board director Margaret White, who declined to comment on whether he had filed a petition previously.

The Advocate also reported that Henderson sought a post-conviction relief petition in 2004, with his lawyer saying his client had not been properly informed of his appellate options following the guilty plea.

Henderson also pleaded guilty to his role in the murder to avoid the possibility of being executed, receiving two consecutive life sentences without the chance of parole.

The crime and its legacy prompted a conversation around protections for LGBTQ+ victims, eventually leading to the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr Hate Crimes Prevention Act, signed into law by then president Barack Obama in 2009.

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