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gay and trans panic defense

Two decades ago, in a crime that stunned the country, college student Matthew Shepard was tortured and violently murdered — because he was gay.

One of the killers argued Shepard made a sexual advance toward him while the two murderers were robbing him. He was so upset by the alleged flirtation, the murderer claimed, that he killed Shepard in a fit of blind rage.

Mourners attend a vigil for Matthew Shepard in 1998. Photo by Andrew Cutraro/AFP/Getty Images.

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