Matthew Shepard - Public Reaction and Aftermath

Public Reaction and Aftermath

Romaine Patterson, a friend of Shepard, organized a group of individuals who assembled in a circle around an anti-gay group, wearing white robes and gigantic wings (resembling angels) that blocked the protesters. Police had to create a human barrier between the two protest groups.

While the organization had no name in the initial demonstration, it has since been ascribed various titles, including 'Angels of Peace' and 'Angel Action'. The fence to which Shepard was tied and left to die became an impromptu shrine for visitors, who left notes, flowers, and other mementos. It has since been removed by the land owner.

The murder continued to attract public attention and media coverage long after the trial was over. When ABC 20/20 ran a story in 2004 suggesting that Shepard had been HIV positive and quoting claims by McKinney, Henderson, and Kristen Price, the prosecutor in the case and one of the lead investigators that the murder had not been motivated by Shepard's sexuality but rather was a robbery gone violent amongst drug users (the suggestion being that Shepard was a heavy methamphetamine user)' it received considerable attention and criticism.

Retired Laramie Police Chief Dave O'Malley stated that the murderers' claims were not credible, but the prosecutor in the case stated that there was ample evidence that drugs were at least a factor in the murder. Other coverage focused on how these more recent statements contradicted those made at and near the trial.

Many musicians have written and recorded songs about the murder, including Elton John, whose 2001 album Songs from the West Coast included "American Triangle" (originally titled "American Tragedy"), a song about Shepard's murder. The American metal band Trivium also composed and recorded "And Sadness Will Sear" in their third album The Crusade in honor of Matthew Shepard and in protest to closed-mindedness and prejudice. Beejae, American recording artist better known as Johnny Saint-Lethal from the indie rock group THE SHOW, wrote and performed "Hate Crimes", where a verse and chorus is dedicated in satire to Matthew Shepard. It appeared on his only solo album, 2006's "It Was What It Was"

The American rock band Thursday recorded a song named after Shepard, "M. Shepard", on their 2003 album War All the Time. Canadian progressive metal band Protest the Hero wrote the song "Fear And Loathing In Laramie" from their EP A Calculated Use of Sound about the incident. Lady Gaga performed John Lennon's 'Imagine' at the 2009 HRC Dinner and changed the lyrics from "above us only sky" to "with only Matthew in the sky" and Melissa Etheridge, whose 1999 album "Breakdown" contained "Scarecrow", a song dedicated to Shepard and his family and friends.

A play, three narrative films, and a documentary were made about Shepard: The Laramie Project, The Matthew Shepard Story, Anatomy of a Hate Crime, and Laramie Inside Out, and Moral Obligations, a fictionalized account of the night of the murder. The Laramie Project (a play, later turned into a film by HBO) compiles dozens of interviews with citizens of the town of Laramie ranging from a few months after the attack to a few years after. The play is designed to display the town's reaction to the crime.

Ten years later, The Laramie Project created a second play, based on interviews with members of the town, Shepard's mother, and his incarcerated murderer.

October Mourning by Lesléa Newman, a novel in verse about Matthew's murder, was published in 2012.