Editing Matthew Shepard (section)

===''20/20'' report===
Shepard's murder continued to attract public attention and media coverage long after the trial was over. In 2004, the [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] news program ''[[20/20 (U.S. TV series)|20/20]]'' aired a report by TV journalist [[Elizabeth Vargas]] that quoted statements by McKinney, Henderson, Price, Rerucha, and a lead investigator. The statements alleged that the murder had not been motivated by Shepard's sexuality but was primarily a drug-related robbery that had turned violent.<ref name="abcnews"/> Price said she had lied to police about McKinney having been provoked by an unwanted sexual advance from Shepard, telling Vargas, "I don't think it was a hate crime at all."<ref name="abcnews"/><ref>[[James Kirchick | Kirchick, James]] (October 22, 2013), [https://online.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304410204579143612270644276 "Book Review: 'The Book of Matt,' by Stephen Jimenez"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704041321/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304410204579143612270644276 |date=July 4, 2021 }} ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''</ref> Rerucha said, "It was a murder that was once again driven by drugs."<ref name="abcnews"/>

The report was criticized by [[GLAAD]] as relying on speculation and statements by unreliable individuals changing their story.<ref name="Lee">{{cite news|title=ABC News Revisits Student's Killing, and Angers Some Gays|author=Lee, Felicia R.|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/26/us/abc-news-revisits-students-killing-and-angers-some-gays.html|newspaper=The New York Times|date=November 26, 2004|access-date=June 11, 2013|archive-date=July 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712070129/https://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/26/us/abc-news-revisits-students-killing-and-angers-some-gays.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=GLAAD: 10 Questions About ABC'S 20/20 Show on Matthew Shepard|url=http://www.glaad.org/matthewshepard2020|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090514015646/http://www.glaad.org/matthewshepard2020|archive-date=May 14, 2009|access-date=June 11, 2013}}</ref> Judy Shepard's lawyer described the report as an oversimplification, while [[Michael Adams (lawyer)|Michael Adams]] of [[Lambda Legal]] described it as an attempt to "de-gay the murder".<ref name="Lee" /><ref>{{cite book|last=Charles|first=Casey|title=Critical Queer Studies: Law, Film, and Fiction in Contemporary American Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EwtNwyfhHcEC&q=%22matthew+shepard%22+%2220/20%22+controversial+OR+controversy&pg=PT67|publisher=Ashgate Publishing, Ltd.|year=2012|isbn=978-1409444060|access-date=July 4, 2021|archive-date=July 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210704041350/https://books.google.com/books?id=EwtNwyfhHcEC&q=%22matthew+shepard%22+%2220%2F20%22+controversial+OR+controversy&pg=PT67|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=O'Donnell|first=M.|year=2008|title=Gay-hate, journalism and compassionate questioning|journal=Asia Pacific Media Educator|issue=19|pages=113–126|url=http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1304&context=apme|access-date=June 11, 2013|archive-date=October 4, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131004215812/http://ro.uow.edu.au/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1304&context=apme|url-status=live}}</ref>