Tonight's 20/20 Report on Matthew Shepard's Murder Ignores Facts

[G_j]

ABC'S HINDSIGHT ON MATTHEW SHEPARD'S MURDER FAR LESS THAN '20/20'


Tonight--Friday, November 26--ABC's '20/20' program promises to "uncover stunning new information about the brutal 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard." Instead, ABC is rewriting history with sensationalistic claims and distortions.


The Human Rights Campaign is joining GLAAD (The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation), the Matthew Shepard Foundation and other GLBT rights groups in voicing our deep concerns about tonight's broadcast. We urge you to learn more about the program before it airs by reading GLAAD's detailed viewer's guide and sharing it with your family and friends.


Click here to see GLAAD's viewer's guide to tonight's program:
http://tinyurl.com/4jknk
Voice your opinion about the program on ABC's 20/20 message board:
http://tinyurl.com/62oqs
Visit the Matthew Shepard Foundation's web site:
http://www.matthewshepard.org
The following information comes from GLAAD's press release about the program.


"In response to a piece airing tonight on ABC, the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and the family of Matthew Shepard today called on the media and the viewing public to scrutinize the sensationalistic claims and distortions offered by '20/20' in its attempt to rewrite the history of Shepard's murder case."


" 'This piece says much, much more about 20/20 than it does about the murder of Matthew Shepard,' said GLAAD Executive Director Joan M. Garry. '20/20's misleading oversimplifications and distortions do a tremendous disservice to a complicated case. This simply is not a credible piece of journalism.' "


"People with first-hand accounts of what happened in Laramie -- among them Judy Shepard, Dave O'Malley (the Laramie police captain whose comments to '20/20' are selectively represented), Moisés Kaufman (author of The Laramie Project, whose team interviewed more than 200 residents of Laramie in 1998 and 1999), and Romaine Patterson (who was close friends with Matt during the last two years of his life) -- dispute the accuracy of '20/20's' piece.


" 'Dennis and I were dismayed and saddened by the tabloid nature of the show and its lack of serious reporting of facts in evidence,' said Judy Shepard. 'Though I was not permitted by 20/20 to view the segment, the copy made available to the press left all of my relevant comments regarding the direction of the show and the facts in this case on the cutting room floor. My remarks were reduced to a few very personal maternal comments taken out of context to make it appear as if I agreed with 20/20's theories. Nothing could be farther from the truth.' "

Click here to read the viewer's guide - http://www.glaad.org/publications/resource_doc_detail.php?id=3755&PHPSESSID=6ebb73dc7f32441fa6bc7659112cb032

and please, forward this e-mail and information to friends and family as well. It is critical that the GLBT community and all fair-minded Americans dispute ABC's distorted view of Matthew Shepard's murder.

===============

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Thank you for taking action and for supporting Human Rights Campaign.

[AngryOldDem]

1. They had the reporter on The View

...I was channel-hopping and stopped when I saw the subject matter. This gal almost sounded apologetic for these thugs.

I guess one of these guys was on a drug high (meth?) and also beat up a Puerto Rican (reporter's distinction) after they killed Matthew. Matthew's "bad luck" was not having anyone around who could help him, as the Puerto Rican had. This, somehow, excuses the "hate" crime as it concerned Matthew.

[candy]

2. Let's wait and see what they have to say before we judge it----I like --

to make up my own mind on something like this and too much advance publicity can cloud the issue for me.

[G_j]

3. just passing on the this HRC alert

but clearly the one woman sounds quite unhappy with the way it appeared her interview was edited and used.

[Skarbrowe]

4. UH, they brutally, sadistically murdered another human being.

Why the hell are they making some big deal out of some "stunning new information"? The guys deserve the sentence they got regardless of whether it was a hate crime or not. WHY OH WHY IS THIS NEW NEWS? 20/20 has got to be in the cellar ratings wise to pull this crap.

oy

[AndyTiedye]

5. Getting Rid of Hate Crime Laws is On the Republican Agenda

which means that it is on ABC's agenda now.
Why else would they be doing this? It's not news.

[KenCarson]

6. It's still a brutal murder, even if it the victim were straight. MSG

but that wouldn't be as spinnable, because people are murdered every day. or is meth the new twinkie "sorry, i couldn't help myself, i had a:

A. Twinkie
B. Batch of extra strong homecooked meth
C. Penchant for killing someone, but it's ok because the one i picked is a disposable subclass.
D. Bad day.

[ooglymoogly]

7. lets get real here

mathew sheperd, a human being, was brutally beaten nearly to death because he was gay, (court records} taken out to a deserted spot hung on a barbed wire fence where he slowly died. the courts and the jury found it was homophobic bigotry and homicide. and now we are going to let 20/20 come along way after the facts rewriting history and insult the memory of the victim and his family in favor of the murderers who's line they are swallowing hook line and sinker, rewriting history to a more republican view of things.... that these were just good ole boys beating on a drunken drug crazed queer. sometimes i don't get some of the members of du

[KenCarson]

9. preach to the choir? is meth the the new twinkie?

i don't see how i was defending them or the program. my question is: in this era, is drug use supposed to pass as the new twinkie defense


"A claim by a criminal defendant that at the time of the crime, he/she was of diminished mental capacity due to intake of too much sugar, as from eating "Twinkies," sugar-rich snacks."


maybe you didn't get the twinkie defense reference. you can google it or here's one example of it being mentioned.

http://ask.yahoo.com/ask/20010829.html

[ooglymoogly]

20. sorry i was gnashing my teeth over the link

and yours was the first post i tagged on to and didn't stop to think
and of course having now stopped to think i do get the twinkie defense, i lived through harvey milk and all that horrible farce. so thanks for the heads up and have pity on my uncontrollable anger at 20/20

[Ima]

8. I'm going to watch it.

[Malikshah]

10. Two murderers not testifying in the trial

Are now allowed to be intereviewed by Vargas.

They are being made the victims while Shepard is being surrounded with the homophobic buzzwords of "HIV" "Drug use" "Rape" "Privileged background"

Vargas, ABC and the like should be pilloried for this. THey will be pilloried for this.

I am disgusted beyond belief at the hack job they are doing.

This is where they are spending their time--

Not investigating the drum up to the war
Not investigating 9/11
Not investigating the 2000 and 2004 elections

They are creating a "case" to ease the minds of homophobes in the US.

Vargas is dirt. Scum. She is vile, as are the producers of this piece.

Shame on them. I only wish the very worst for each and every one of them for the rest of their miserable existence.

[Pithlet]

13. Yes. Shame on them.

Disgusting.

[Wolf1728]

11. November is a ratings sweeps month

As I stated in another thread, November is one of the 3 "sweeps" months (February and May are the other two) in which the television ratings are extremely importatnt in determining advertising rates. Therefore, networks will try anything (no matter how sleazy) to boost those all-important "sweeps" ratings. Another thing that bothers me about these 2 idiots being interviewed is it gives them undeserved media attention, a twisted kind of fame. Isn't prison supposed to be a punishment? Charles Manson gets interviewed from prison too. Let's stop promoting these idiots as some sort of "celebrities".

[Pithlet]

12. There is one person who was there who can't tell his story.

Those scumbags at 20/20 and ABC....:mad:

[Malikshah]

14. My e-mail to 20/20

I just finished watching your piece on the Matthew Shepard case--it was beyond the pale.

You producers and editors made victims out of the killers. You attached the key buzzwords attached by homophobes to Matthew Shepard.
You editorialize din the worst fashion to make sure your preestablished conclusions fit your "piece."

The killers are now associated with being victims of malpractice, domestic abuse, Eagle scouts, etc. Fine. You created the full picture--you allowed them a voice--which they did not choose to use during their trial. They now could say whatever they wished without being held accountable for it. I do not deny their harsh lives, their accomplishments, their humanity. They made mistakes. They killed. And they did it through hate and disregard for other human life.

As for Matthew-- he's tied with the terms "HIV," "drugs," "rape"-- these are all terms that will ease the conscience of homophobic elements in our society who will now view this event as drug related/botched robbery. He had faults. He was not a saint. But now you have created the "out" for the homophobes in our society. Those that view hate crime laws as unnecessary. Those that view equal rights as special privileges.

Your journalistic methods were wanting throughout the first half of the story.

You did not hold the "witnesses" (ex-girlfriends, old drug buddies, limo driver) to any journalistic criteria. Why did some of these people change their story? You do recall that some of these were interviewd by ABC during the initial story, don't you? Did anyone corroborate the stories? Or was the conclusion reached first and then the story built around it to fit? Did you check out their claims as to how long they knew Matthew Shepard? Did you go through the statements made to the police?

You did the same job here as you did the in the march to war, the 9/11 investigation, and allegations of voter fraud..or did you> It appears you spent more time "making a case" against the hate crime than you did on the three aforesaid issues. Why?

I am ashamed that any of you would call yourselves US Citizens. Your story and the effect it will have does damage to this nation of ours. Shame on you. May you realize your errors and ask for forgiveness for those who you have wronged as well as those who will be wronged by the ripple effect of your story.
I, for one, will not forgive Elizabeth Vargas or the producers of this story as well as anyone at ABC who had a hand in it.

By all means-- investigate-- but do a thorough job. You did not. And may others forgive you for it. Their blood (both past, present, and future) will be a stain on your names.

And although this will be written off by your staff as some irrational rant that can easily be written off--which you will no doubt do--remember this--the stain will remain on each and every one of your names. I mean every single word of this. I am lucid, calm, and completely disgusted by your collective lack of journalistic integrity and compassion for victims of hideous crimes.

If you would like to make amends, please do a search of crime statistics where the victims are of the GLBT community. Just see what you come up with. The numbers will rise after this story, no doubt. And nothing will be done--you have provided the shoddy but effective ammunition for the homophobic elements in society. If you don't agree, how about looking at the comments of politicians throughout the nation over the next year when the issue of hate crimes against the GLBT community comes up. Or how about listening to the pundits.

Shame on you. America is better than this. It is better. Maybe one day you will realize that. I hope that it is not too late.

[G_j]

15. awesome letter

I really, REALLY hope someone bothers to take the time to read it all the way through. It made feel very sad to read this. Thank you for taking the time.

[fluffernutter]

21. great letter! I'm glad you sent it.

[ooglymoogly]

23. thank you for sending the letter

i wish i could have calmly sat down and wrote a reasoned letter after watching that withchunt by such an obvious vicious homophobe. what outrageous journalistic prostitution. who is this vargas bitch anyway? she looks like a clone of all the new mindless pretty vicious reporters coming on the scene in the last 4 years. if they didn't have different colored hair you wouldn't know them apart. totally without logic or true morals. colorado has been reeling under the homophobe label, tourism low etc. since the shepard murder and this is a blatant attempt at rewriting history at mathews expense. there is not enough shame in the world to pile on these mthkrs. does anybody have a list of the advertisers of 2o/20 last night did anyone record it. i think letters to these advertisers is in order

[__Inanna__]

16. I saw the piece and it sure looked like spin to me

And yes, it was almost as though E. Vargas was looking for a way to blame it all on meth. What I didn't get was what was her point..the fact that someone is high on meth makes killing someone less bad? This piece can only be designed to achieve one thing -- to blur the story, to tarnish the image of Matthew, and to put a bunch of questions in peoples' minds as in, hmmm, did this Matthew Shepard bring this unfortunate crime upon himself?

I have been around drug users and while they are capable of violence and can be quite scary, this still does not justify the murder of an innocent person, however troubled (and I happen to think most meth users are). They should pay for this crime and pay dearly.

[readmoreoften]

17. Well, hey. There's more where that came from.

According to an AP article on yahoo the other day 72 gays and lesbians (I doubt trans people were included) were murdered for their sexual orientation/ gender expression in 2003 alone. Let's put one of their faces up on 20/20. If that one's just a 'plain old robbery' too, then should expose another heinous hate crime. And another. And another.

Soon enough the American people will realize that homophobia is an epidemic. Or, they'll just think gays get robbed more often than straights.

[Malikshah]

18. THank you!--- This is what needs to be done

In my letter to 20/20 above I challenged them to do just this.

Elizabeth Vargas will forever be "Lady Macbeth" in my book. She will never be able to cleanse her soul of this damnable piece of filth.

[nostamj]

19. it was utterly VILE, and did not surprise me one bit.

the concept of a gay 'victime' is just not very red. watch for more of this kind of 'reporting' and more reporting on gays, HIV, etc. that portrays gays as the 'enemy' and not to be tolerated in a moral society. it's just the beginning....

[AP]

22. They act like the trial didn't address these issues already.

TV is much less able to uncover the truth than a court of law -- unless it's a court of law in Texas and on TV is The Thin Blue Line. But I venture to say that it has been decades since ABC has been better able to uncover the truth than a court of law anywhere.

[Liberal Christian]

24. I was late to this story

I just saw the whole piece on AOL. I'm surprised, but grateful, that they aired the whole piece, so I could see how horrendous it truly was. Here's my letter to 20/20:

Subject: Shame on you!!!

I can't even begin to measure my disgust and outrage over 20/20's
attempted whitewash of the Matthew Shepard murder last week.

By making hearsay and unsubstantiated claims about Matthew being concerned about HIV, by not challenging Aaron McKinney's statement that he first hit Matthew with a gun because Matthew put his hand on Aaron's leg (as though that were a reasonable response!), by her constantly sympathetic facial expression and tone of voice when talking with the people who perpetrated this horrible and brutal crime, ABC and 20/20 are engaging in a piece of revisionist history of which you should be ashamed.

The tone of your story seems to indicate that the kind of brutality these two people perpetrated was somehow less brutal if it was drug-related than if it was motivated by anti-gay sentiments. "Oh, well, y'know, those poor misunderstood boys was all hopped up on drugs. They cain't really be held responsible for they're actions, now, can they?" Good grief!!!!

The truth, which neither one denies, is that they meant to beat and rob an innocent victim. Matthew Shepard's background, his possible HIV-positive status, his own alleged drug use, and his (according to you) "privileged background" are simply not part of the equation. Why on earth would you find it necessary to blame the victim, make it seem as though he had anything to do with this?

Henderson and McKinney committed acts of extreme brutality against a defenseless person. What, other than a desire to play into some kind of right-wing-anti-gay-fundamentalist-rigid-moralism sentiment sweeping the country, could possibly have motivated ABC and 20/20 to attempt to rehabilitate the image of these sadistic murderers?

You should be ashamed. And you should apologize to Matthew Shepard's family, as well as to the American people who, apparently mistakenly, put their trust in ABC News.

It's getting harder and harder to tell ABC and Fox News apart. I'll bet hearing that makes you folks ecstatic.

Yuck.

[dsc]

25. Utterly shameful

I had to watch this so I could know what was up but I am still amazed at what they put on. It is utterly unreal. We should have seen this coming after Bush's 'great' victory but it still is shocking. It should be noted that in the same month as Matthew was killed there were at least two other anti-gay hate crimes which recieved less attention. I suppose those will be reexamined too.