Aaron McKinney may face the death penalty.

				THE MATTHEW SHEPARD SLAYING
				Discuss the case Nov. 19 1998 Update Dec. 11, 1998 Update Russell Henderson's Guilty Plea and Sentencing June 25 Update Oct. 8 1999 Update (Background Report) Oct. 11 (Jury Selection) Oct. 14 Update Oct. 22 Update Oct. 25 Update (Opening Statements) Oct. 26 Update Oct. 27 Update Oct. 28 Update (Morning) Oct. 28 Update (Afternoon) Oct. 29 Update (Morning) Oct. 29 Update (Afternoon) Nov. 1 Update (Morning) Nov. 1 Update (Evening) Nov. 2 Update (Closing Arguments) Nov. 3 Update (Jury Deliberations) Nov. 3 (The Verdict) "Gay Panic" Ruling

LARAMIE, Wyo. (Court TV) — Armed with his incriminating confession to robbery, a Wyoming jury convicted Aaron McKinney of first-degree felony murder and second-degree murder in the 1998 beating death of gay student Matthew Shepard. The jury acquitted McKinney of first-degree premeditated murder, but convicted him of aggravated robbery and kidnapping.

McKinney's death penalty hearing begins Thursday. At best, the jury could recommend life in prison without parole for McKinney.

In a case that sparked the outrage of gay activists nationwide, Wyoming prosecutors said that McKinney and one-time co-defendant Russell Henderson met Shepard in a bar, pretended to be gay and lured him into McKinney's truck where they intended to rob him. Shepard was pistol-whipped and beaten brutally and later tied to a fence. He was found 18 hours later and died in a hospital after five days in a coma.

Prosecutors never characterized Shepard's slaying as a hate crime; they portrayed the killing as a robbery-gone-bad. However, McKinney's defense claimed that he did not intend to kill Shepard.

McKinney's actions, his defense claimed, were partly aggravated by abuse of alcohol and drugs. McKinney's lawyers also argued that an alleged unwanted sexual advance by Shepard sent their client into a rage that led to the gay student's fatal beating.

Defense attorneys Dion Custis and Jason Tangeman would have wanted to further explore the alleged reasons for McKinney's violent reaction to Shepard's alleged advances, but could not. On Monday, Judge Barton Voigt barred McKinney's defense from presenting a so-called "gay panic defense."

The defense argued in opening statements that McKinney's "rage" — and his fatal beating of Shepard — was spurred partly by the defendant's own prior homosexual experience. The defense has contended that McKinney was sexually abused by a male neighborhood bully when he was 7 years old and had a "confusing" experience at age 15 with one of his cousins.

But Judge Voigt, unconvinced that McKinney's lawyers had found a legal basis or established relevance for their arguments, torpedoed that defense theory.

McKinney's lawyers insisted that they were not employing a "gay panic defense." They argued that McKinney's prior homosexual experience and abuse would help explain why he reacted the way he did to Shepard's alleged advance and would give insight into his state of mind.

However, in addition to Judge Voigt's ruling, McKinney's own confession damaged his defense. Initially, his lawyers argued that he never intended to rob Shepard and only took his wallet as an "afterthought." But police investigators testified that they found Shepard's wallet in a dirty diaper in McKinney's home. McKinney's one-time girlfriend, Kristen Price, testified that he told her that he and Henderson had planned to pose as homosexuals and rob Shepard before he was beaten to death.

In his confession, McKinney admitted his intention to rob Shepard and said he delivered the beating while Henderson stood by. "We really had no intention of hurting this guy," McKinney said. "It was to take him out and scare him and take his wallet and leave." McKinney also admitted hitting Shepard three more times when the gay student admitted he was still able to read back the license plate numbers on his assailant's truck.

Jurors considered two kinds of first-degree murder charges: premeditated murder and felony murder. The felony murder charge refers to the prosecution's robbery and kidnapping allegations and, unlike premeditated murder, does not require intent to kill. Felony murder only requires intent to commit the underlying felony. Both types of first-degree murder carry sentences of either life without parole or the death penalty. Henderson pleaded guilty to felony murder in April and was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

Jurors also had to consider a long list a lesser-included charges against McKinney: second-degree murder, manslaughter, aggravated robbery, larceny, kidnapping, false imprisonment and felonious restraint.

— Bryan Robinson

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