The Shepard family have become campaigners for gay rights.
Judy and Dennis Shepard run the Matthew Shepard Foundation, which funds educational programmes and an online community for teens to discuss sexual orientation and gender issues. There have been numerous documentaries, dramas, books and events based on the story. The men responsible for his death were convicted of first-degree murder and given two life sentences. They were not charged with a hate crime, as that wasn’t possible under Wyoming’s criminal law.
