Stephen Jimenez argues that the killing of Matthew Shepard in October 1998 was not an anti-gay hate crime, but was instead the result of a robbery gone wrong. Mr. Jimenez says that Aaron McKinney, who beat Shepard to death with a .357 Magnum pistol, was on a methamphetamine bender leading up to the night of October 6th and targeted Shepard, who was known to use and deal meth, after his plans to rob someone else fell through. He further asserts that McKinney knew and had sexual relations with Shepard prior to the night of the attack, which makes McKinney's defense in court, that he attacked Shepard in a fit of rage after Shepard made sexual advances toward him, seem implausible. Stephen Jimenez spoke at Books Inc. in The Castro in San Francisco.
