In the annals of vengeance disguised as justice, the point, it seemed, was not to condemn the murders committed by the state, but to celebrate innocence.
I published “Saints and Sinners,” a review of Stephen Jimenez’s new book, The Book of Matt, which aims to de-mythologize Matthew Shepard.
It appears in the latest In These Times.
Here’s an excerpt:
The Book of Matt advances several controversial claims: that Shepard was not only a drug user but a dealer, that the intended robbery that night was not for a mere $20 but for thousands of dollars of meth that McKinney believed Shepard was carrying on a drug run, that Shepard and McKinney were not simply acquaintances but sexual partners, and that Shepard exchanged sex for drugs. To assemble this account, Jimenez relied on interviews with several key players, including the prosecutor and detective on the case; Shepard’s best friend, his lover and his family; and McKinney and Henderson themselves.
You can read the rest here.
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