"He had one more friend with him, he had God."

At the end of The Laramie Project, Dennis Shepard, Matthew Shepard's father, gave an emotional statement about the death of his son.  It is difficult to not only listen to, but even to read.  He reads this statement during the trail of Aaron McKinney, one of the accused.  In his statement, Dennis Shepard says, "I would like nothing better than to see you die, Mr. McKinney.  however, this is the time to begin the healing process.  To show mercy to someone who refused to show any mercy.  Mr. McKinney, I am going to grant you life, as hard as it is for me to do so, because of Matthew" (Kaufman.III 96).  Although Judy, Dennis, and Matthew Shepard all believed in the death penalty and despite a difficult decision, Aaron McKinney was granted life.  Dennis Shepard then says, "Every time you celebrate Christmas, a birthday, the Fourth of July, remember that Matt isn't.  Every time you wake up in your prison cell, remember that you had the opportunity and the ability to stop your actions that night.  You robbed me of something very precious, and I will never forgive you for that.  Mr. McKinney, I give you life in the memory of one who no longer lives.  May you have a long life and may you thank Matthew every day for it" (Kaufman.III 96).  Aaron McKinney committed a crime that affected the lives of many not only in the town of Laramie or the state of Wyoming, but a crime that affected the whole world.  He was granted life in memory of Matthew.

"The last thing he saw on this earth was the sparkling lights" (Kaufman.III 99).

One of the most powerful words in the play The Laramie Project came from the statement of Dennis Shepard.  In his statement he talked about not just his son, but his hero.  Dennis Shepard says, "On October 12, 1998, my firstborn son and my hero lost.  On October 12, 1998, my firstborn son and my hero died, fifty days before his twenty-second birthday.  I keep wondering the same thing that I did when I first saw him in the hospital.  What would he have become?  How could he have changed his piece of the work to make it better?" (Kaufman.III 95).  Dennis and Judy Shepard did not just lose their son, they lost their hero.  The part of the book that stood out the most was when Dennis Shepard says, "You, Mr. McKinney, with your friend Mr. Henderson left him out there by himself , but he wasn't alone.  There was his lifelong friends with him, friends that he had grown up with.  You're probably wondering who these friends were.  First, he had the beautiful night sky and the same stars and moon that we used to see through a telescope.  Then he had the daylight and the sun to shine on him.  And through it all he was breathing in the scent of pine trees form the snowy range.  He heard the wind, the ever-present Wyoming wind, for the last time.  He had one more friend with him, he had God.  And I feel better knowing that he wasn't along" (Kaufman.III 95).  He was alone, yet not alone.  "He had God."