‘Uncomfortable truth’ in Matthew Shepard’s death
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A cross made of stones rests
below the fence in Laramie, Wyo., where Matthew Shepard was
pistol-whipped and then hung in a pose resembling a crucifixion.
Photo: AP
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A cross made of stones rests below the fence in Laramie, Wyo., where Matthew Shepard was pistol-whipped and then hung in a pose resembling a crucifixion.
Photo: AP
Stephen Jimenez didn’t set out to be the most dangerous journalist on earth.
Or, more to the point, the most dangerous gay journalist.
But Jimenez unearthed a story that few people wanted to hear. And it calls into question everything you think you know about the life and death of one of the leading icons of our age.
Matthew Shepard, college student. Killed, at 21, for being gay.
Or was he?
Jimenez’s “The Book of Matt: Hidden Truths About the Murder of Matthew Shepard,” out last month, challenges every cultural myth surrounding Shepard’s short life and unspeakable death. After some 13 years of digging, including interviews with more than 100 sources, including Shepard’s killers, Jimenez makes a radioactive suggestion:
The grisly murder, 15 years ago this month, was no hate crime.
Shepard’s tragic and untimely demise may not have been fueled by his sexual orientation, but by drugs. For Shepard had likely agreed to trade methamphetamines for sex. And it killed him.
Heresy.
Why dredge this up now? Jimenez’s answer surprised me.
“As a gay man,” he said, “I felt it was a moral thing to do.”
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Or, more to the point, the most dangerous gay journalist.
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Andrea Peyser |
Matthew Shepard, college student. Killed, at 21, for being gay.
Or was he?
Jimenez’s “The Book of Matt: Hidden Truths About the Murder of Matthew Shepard,” out last month, challenges every cultural myth surrounding Shepard’s short life and unspeakable death. After some 13 years of digging, including interviews with more than 100 sources, including Shepard’s killers, Jimenez makes a radioactive suggestion:
The grisly murder, 15 years ago this month, was no hate crime.
Shepard’s tragic and untimely demise may not have been fueled by his sexual orientation, but by drugs. For Shepard had likely agreed to trade methamphetamines for sex. And it killed him.
Heresy.
Why dredge this up now? Jimenez’s answer surprised me.
“As a gay man,” he said, “I felt it was a moral thing to do.”
More:
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