Petition Rejected After 25 Years of Serving Life Sentences for 1998 Hate Crime
Russell Henderson, one of the two men convicted in the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a crime that shocked the nation and led to the expansion of federal hate crime laws, has been denied a commutation of his sentence as reported by Metro Daily. The Wyoming Board of Parole confirmed Thursday that Russell Henderson’s petition for sentence reduction was rejected. He will remain in prison for at least another five years according to In Magazine.
Henderson, now 46, has been serving two life sentences since 1999 after pleading guilty to the kidnapping and murder of Shepard, a 21-year-old University of Wyoming student. His plea deal, which allowed him to avoid the death penalty, came after he and co-defendant Aaron McKinney lured Shepard from a bar, drove him to a remote area, and brutally assaulted him. Shepard was beaten, tortured, and tied to a fence, where he was discovered by passersby. He died six days later in a hospital.
Shepard’s murder became a catalyst for the national movement against hate crimes, culminating in the 2009 passage of the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The law, signed by President Barack Obama, expanded federal hate crime protections to include offenses motivated by a victim’s sexual orientation and gender identity.
McKinney, who was also convicted of Shepard’s murder, is serving a life sentence as well.
The Wyoming Board of Parole stated that it reviewed Henderson’s commutation request per its policies. “The Board held a hearing on Russell’s petition and declined to forward the petition to the Governor,” said Margaret White, Executive Director of the Wyoming Board of Parole. “This matter is now decided.”
Henderson has spent 25 years in prison for his role in the killing, which remains one of the most infamous hate crimes in U.S. history.
