A man who pleaded guilty to the kidnapping and beating to death of a gay student has received two consecutive life sentences in a Wyoming court.
Mr Russell Henderson, who described the killing of the 21-year-old student, Mr Matthew Shepard, after his guilty plea, is now expected to testify against his co-accused, Mr Aaron McKinney, whom he has accused of actually beating the student with a gun.
Mr Shepard was then tied to a fence and left in freezing weather until found 18 hours later by a passer-by who thought first that he was a scarecrow. He died in hospital five days later.
President Clinton announced yesterday that he will endorse a Bill expanding federal hate crimes to include offences based on sexual orientation. Congress rejected a similar Bill last year.
Mr Henderson escaped the death penalty by pleading guilty and agreeing to testify against Mr McKinney, who is now expected to face a death sentence if found guilty.
During the short hearing, Mr Henderson turned to the parents of Mr Shepard and apologised for killing their son. He said he hoped that "one day you will find it in your hearts to forgive me".
Then, pleading for a more lenient sentence, he accused Mr McKinney of plotting the crime and carrying out the brutal beating with a Magnum pistol. He said that after they lured Mr Shepard from a gay bar in Laramie where he was a university student, Mr McKinney began beating him while they drove to an isolated spot where he [Henderson] tied him to a fence.
"Matthew looked really bad so I told him [McKinney] to stop. He's had enough," Mr Henderson told the court. Judge Jeffrey Donnell told Mr Henderson: "This court does not believe you feel any true remorse in this matter." Passing sentence he said that the murder of Mr Shepard was "part because of his lifestyle, part for a $20 robbery".
Mrs Judy Thompson, the grandmother of Mr Henderson and who reared him, said that he had "never been a hateful individual" but was a "survivor" whose mother was young and "not ready to be a mother".
Mr Henderson's mother was found frozen to death three months ago on a country road after a night of drinking.
The parents of Mr Shepard, who returned from Saudi Arabia for the trial, also addressed the court about the loving and trusting nature of their son. Mr Dennis Shepard said that their son was "blind to people's differences". His friends "included gays and so-called straights", he said.