October 11, 1999
Web posted at: 10:07 p.m. EDT (0207 GMT)

In this story: Jurors are cautioned Prosecutors say McKinney the 'instigator' Angels and protesters Co-defendant to testify Shy mother turns activist 'Was killed just for being the way he was born' RELATED STORIES, SITES

LARAMIE, Wyoming (CNN) -- Aaron McKinney did participate in the fatal beating of a gay University of Wyoming student, McKinney's lawyer told prospective jurors Monday. But the attorney said McKinney's judgment was clouded by drugs and alcohol.

Almost one year to the day after Matthew Shepard, 21, died from a cracked skull, jury selection began for the trial of the second man accused of his murder.

"We're not going to contest the cause of death or that he died as a result of a beating from Aaron McKinney along with Russell Henderson," attorney Dion Custis said.

He said he would not contend that McKinney was insane, but said "his mental state will certainly be a crucial question for you to answer."

VIDEO CNN's Don Knapp reports on how the publicity has affected Laramie, Wyoming. (October 11) Windows Media 28K 80K    VIDEO Matthew Shepard's mother has gone from a private person to a vocal supporter of human rights. CNN's Maria Hinojosa shows Judy Shepard's transformation. (October 11) Real 28K 80K Windows Media 28K 80K     MESSAGE BOARD Hate crimes Gay rights

Jurors are cautioned

Prosecutor Cal Rerucha had two warnings for the jury pool. First he cautioned them about the autopsy photographs.

"Murder is never pretty," Rerucha said. "In order to be a good juror, you have to be able to examine those photographs."

The prosecution contends Shepard may have been targeted because he was gay.

"Whether you're Catholic or Muslim, if you are straight or gay, everyone is treated equal," said Rerucha, warning jury candidates to set aside any prejudice they might have.

Custis also voiced concern about the gay-rights issues brought up by the publicity surrounding the case.

"I don't think anyone here is going to suggest this is a hate crime," he said.

Prosecutors say McKinney the 'instigator'

McKinney, 22, is charged with murder, robbery and kidnapping. If convicted, he could face the death penalty.

The defendant, who has said he had no idea Shepard was gay and that he does not hate gay people, has pleaded innocent. But prosecutors believe he was the instigator of the crime.

Shepard was lured out of a Laramie bar on October 7, 1998 -- allegedly because he was gay -- driven to a remote prairie, pistol whipped into unconsciousness, tied to a fence in freezing temperatures and left for dead.

A bicyclist who found him nearly hidden in the sagebrush 18 hours later at first thought the slight, 5-foot-2 Shepard was a scarecrow.

Taken to a hospital, Shepard never regained consciousness and died of massive head wounds on October 12.

Angels and protesters

Twenty-one prospective jurors were dismissed Monday, one for passing a condolence note to the victim's mother. Jury selection is expected to take two weeks.

At the same time, small groups of anti-gay protesters and people dressed as angels with golden halos demonstrated outside the Albany County Courthouse.

The 17 angels stood silently, wearing costumes made of white bedsheets, in the street just west of the courthouse.

Representing Angel Action, Romaine Patterson, 21, of State College, Pennsylvania, said her colleagues wanted to send a message of love.

They faced about six protesters from Kansas who waved signs with anti-gay slogans. The Rev. Fred Phelps, 69, of Topeka, Kansas, said his followers wanted "to insert a little sanity and truth into this mad orgy."

Co-defendant to testify

McKinney's friend Russell Henderson, 22, pleaded guilty to similar charges in April and received two life sentences.

Henderson has been subpoenaed by McKinney's public defenders to testify. The defense witness list also includes Henderson's girlfriend, Chasity Pasley, 21, and McKinney's girlfriend, Kristen Price, 19.

Pasley received up to two years in prison after pleading guilty to being an accessory to first-degree murder for helping to hide Henderson's bloody clothes. Price's trial on accessory charges is scheduled to begin January 3.

Prosecutor Cal Rerucha also plans to call as a witness Shepard's mother, Judy, who with her husband, Dennis, lived in Saudi Arabia at the time of the slaying.

A cross marks the spot where Shepard was tied to a fence and left for dead in 1998

Shy mother turns activist

The Shepards were in court on April 5 when Henderson pleaded guilty. "I hope you never experience another day or night without experiencing the terror, humiliation, the hopelessness and the helplessness that my son felt that night," the tearful mother told Henderson.

The public comments -- at the time -- seemed out of character for Judy Shepard. Months earlier, at her son's funeral, she sobbed on her husband's shoulder, unable to muster the strength to speak.

But, in the past year, Judy Shepard has become an outspoken advocate against hate crimes. Her activism has included an appearance in a public-awareness campaign intended to help reduce anti-gay taunting in public schools.

"By being a supportive mom of ... everyone in the gay community, I want kids to know that there are people out there who love them," she told CNN.

"We are trying to do what we think Matt would want us to do with this opportunity of having a voice," Judy Shepard said. "He's with me every day when I do this. I know it or I couldn't do this because I'm a shy, private person."

The singing group Peter, Paul and Mary perform at a concert in Laramie, Wyoming, for Shepard

'Killed just for being the way he was born'

Shepard's parents were among 600 people who participated Sunday night in a candlelight vigil at the University of Wyoming.

"We on this campus, in Laramie and in Wyoming, are people of peace, of inclusiveness," the Rev. Roger Schmit, of St. Paul's Newman Center, told the crowd.

University President Philip Dubois asked each person to light a candle that will generate "a tiny bit of energy along the road to a world that rejects prejudice, stereotypes, hatred and violence, but their combined force will light a highway of hope."

Many signed a "pledge of nonviolence" written on 8-foot-tall placards, then carried lit candles into a nearby auditorium where folk singers Peter, Paul and Mary dedicated a concert to Matthew Shepard.

The capacity crowd of 2,000 gave Peter Yarrow a standing ovation after a song he performed solo which included the lines: "Show me the gay man, hated and scorned, who was killed just for being the way he was born."

Yarrow wrote the lyrics after visiting the site where Shepard was tied up and beaten. "My heart broke," he said of seeing the fence.

Correspondents Don Knapp, Maria Hinojosa and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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