NPR

Matthew Shepard Laid To Rest At National Cathedral

Twenty years ago, the brutal killing of a young gay man in Laramie, Wyo., drew national attention and led to an expansion of a federal hate crimes law.
Logan Shepard (2nd L), with his parents, Judy (4th L) and Dennis Shepard (C), attends the interment ceremony for his brother, Matthew Shepard, at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, DC on Friday. Two decades ago, the brutal killing of Matthew Shepard, a 21-year-old gay college student, sent shockwaves across the United States.

Updated 11:40 a.m. ET

On a chilly night in Wyoming 20 years ago this month, a young man named Matthew Shepard was beaten and left to die. Shepard was gay, and his killing was widely seen as a crime of hate.

Friday, his ashes will be placed in a crypt at the Washington National Cathedral.

A public service at the cathedral was led by the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde, Episcopal bishop of Washington and the Right Rev. Gene Robinson, the first openly gay man elected

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