Editing Matthew Shepard (section)

===Arrests and trial===
McKinney and Henderson were arrested and initially charged with attempted [[murder]], [[kidnapping]], and aggravated [[robbery]]. After Shepard's death, the charges were upgraded from attempted murder to first-degree murder, which meant that the two defendants were eligible for the [[Capital punishment in Wyoming|death penalty]]. Their girlfriends, Kristen Price and Chasity Pasley<!-- Several sources say Chastity, but later and more reliable sources indicate her name is Chasity-->, were charged with being [[accessories after the fact]].<ref name="CNNBeaten" /><ref name="NYTWitnesses"/> At McKinney's November 1998 pretrial hearing, Sergeant Rob Debree testified that McKinney had stated in an interview on October 9 that he and Henderson had identified Shepard as a robbery target and pretended to be gay to lure him out to their truck, and that McKinney had attacked Shepard after Shepard put his hand on McKinney's knee.<ref name="NYTWitnesses">{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/21/us/witnesses-trace-brutal-killing-of-gay-student.html|title=Witnesses Trace Brutal Killing of Gay Student|first=James|last=Brooke|date=November 21, 1998|work=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=September 17, 2013|archive-date=September 29, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130929125459/http://www.nytimes.com/1998/11/21/us/witnesses-trace-brutal-killing-of-gay-student.html|url-status=live}}</ref> Detective Ben Fritzen testified that Price stated McKinney told her the violence against Shepard was triggered by how McKinney "[felt] about gays".<ref name="NYTWitnesses"/>

In December 1998, Pasley pleaded guilty to being an accessory after the fact to first-degree murder.<ref name="NYTGayMurder" /> On April 5, 1999, Henderson avoided going to trial when he pleaded guilty to murder and kidnapping charges. In order to avoid the death penalty, he agreed to testify against McKinney and was sentenced by District Judge Jeffrey A. Donnell to [[back-to-back life sentences|two consecutive]] [[life term]]s. At Henderson's sentencing, his lawyer argued that Shepard had not been targeted because he was gay.<ref name="NYTGayMurder">{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/06/us/gay-murder-trial-ends-with-guilty-plea.html |title=Gay murder trial ends with guilty plea |access-date=November 2, 2014 |first=James |last=Brooke |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=April 6, 1999 |archive-date=July 23, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150723100203/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/04/06/us/gay-murder-trial-ends-with-guilty-plea.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

McKinney's trial took place in October and November 1999. Prosecutor Cal Rerucha alleged that McKinney and Henderson pretended to be gay to gain Shepard's trust. Price, McKinney's girlfriend, testified that Henderson and McKinney had "pretended they were gay to get [Shepard] in the truck and rob him."<ref name=trutv>{{cite web|url=http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/forensics/welner/3.html?print=yes|title=Psychiatry, the Law, and Depravity: Profile of Michael Welner, M.D. Chairman, The Forensic Panel|first=Katherine|last=Ramsland|publisher=[[truTV]]|access-date=September 26, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203002900/http://www.trutv.com/library/crime/criminal_mind/forensics/welner/3.html?print=yes|archive-date=December 3, 2013|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.salon.com/1999/11/01/gay_panic/singleton|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140413020816/http://www.salon.com/1999/11/01/gay_panic/singleton|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 13, 2014|title=Quiet bombshell in Matthew Shepard trial|first=Dave|last=Cullen|date=November 1, 1999|access-date=February 19, 2012|newspaper=Salon}}</ref> McKinney's lawyer attempted to put forward a [[gay panic defense]], arguing that McKinney was driven to [[insanity defense|temporary insanity]] by [[homosexual panic|alleged sexual advances]] by Shepard. This defense was rejected by the judge. McKinney's lawyer stated that the two men wanted to rob Shepard but never intended to kill him.<ref name="abcnews"/> Rerucha argued that the killing had been premeditated, driven by "greed and violence", rather than by Shepard's sexual orientation.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/26/us/a-defense-to-avoid-execution.html|title=A defense to avoid execution|access-date=November 2, 2014|first=Michael|last=Janofsky|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 26, 1999|archive-date=November 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102220613/http://www.nytimes.com/1999/10/26/us/a-defense-to-avoid-execution.html|url-status=live}}</ref> The jury found McKinney not guilty of premeditated murder but guilty of [[felony murder]] and began to deliberate on the death penalty. Shepard's parents brokered a deal that resulted in McKinney receiving two consecutive life terms without the possibility of parole.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cart |first=Julie |date=November 5, 1999 |title=Killer of Gay Student Is Spared Death Penalty; Courts: Matthew Shepard's father says life in prison shows "mercy to someone who refused to show any mercy." |page=A1 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-31-mn-47273-story.html |access-date=October 7, 2023 |archive-date=October 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231010055335/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-dec-31-mn-47273-story.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Henderson and McKinney were [[incarcerated]] in the [[Wyoming State Penitentiary]] in [[Rawlins, Wyoming|Rawlins]] and were later transferred to other prisons because of overcrowding.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jean|last=Torkelson|title=Mother's mission: Matthew Shepard's death changes things|url=http://m.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/oct/03/10-years-later-matthew-shepard-hasnt-been-forgotte|work=Rocky Mountain News|publisher=The E.W. Scripps Co.|date=October 3, 2008|access-date=November 16, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715195945/http://m.rockymountainnews.com/news/2008/oct/03/10-years-later-matthew-shepard-hasnt-been-forgotte/|archive-date=July 15, 2011}}</ref> Following her testimony at McKinney's trial, Price pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of misdemeanor interference with a police officer.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cbsnews.com/news/last-gay-beating-trial-ends/|title=Last gay beating trial ends|date=November 4, 1999|work=[[CBS News]]|access-date=November 2, 2014|archive-date=November 2, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141102202843/http://www.cbsnews.com/news/last-gay-beating-trial-ends/|url-status=live}}</ref>