Losing Matt Shepard

Beth Loffreda's introduction to "Losing Matt Shepard" highlights the key facts surrounding Matt's murder. Yet through this impersonal account we can see that his murder was more than an accidental death. Loffreda writes that "after being released later that night [Henderson, Pasley, Mckinney, and Price] began to hatch their false alibis; and that through all this Matt Shepard remained tied to the fence" (368). The diction with hatched refers to the beginning of life, and this is significant because Henderson and McKinney are giving life to their alibi at the expense of Matt's life. Hatching, such as hatching of eggs, is a lengthy process. Henderson, McKinney, Pasley, or Price could have helped prevent Matt's death at any point during the day and night he spent tied to the post. Through their impartial view of Shepard's life we can see that they viewed him as an actual scarecrow, an inanimate object. Shepard was in fact a scarecrow; the thought of Shepard's body scared the murders away even though they could have attempted to rescue him. Loffreda's introduction captures this event effectively because she gives the facts to contrast the murderers who attempted to create an alibi out of lies.