Al and leon, I don't want my reasoned rational response to obscure the fact that I think you both are simply miserable shitbags, that you do not, in fact deserve a response, and, all considered, I should probably have left this thread alone content to know that you both will likely die completely alone besides your regrets.
That being said, I read the article and am still convinced that this case has everything to do with homophobia and anti-gay violence. I'm sorry, do normal drug crimes consist of pistol whipping the victim 18 times, publically tying him to a post in the elements and... wait for it... ATTEMPTING TO LIGHT HIM ON FIRE. Jesus Christ! If it was a robbery, couldn't they, oh I don't know... SHOOT HIM. I can't read those guys minds, and I don't know their motives, but how did your pea brains decide that a murder committed in conjunction with a robbery can't also be homophobic? Is it because one of the guys had sex with Matthew Shephard? Do you think that makes him Gay? I mean he's so gay that he denies it, and steadfastly denies he slept with him at all. I'm no psychologist, but I could easily see how a man who occasionally sleeps with men, especially one who is obviously so confused about those actions and his identity, could be violently homophobic.
Stories like these take a life of their own. Rosa Parks, I hate to tell you, wasn't just tired. But they take on those new lives because they express a truth. Matthew Shephard was human, not perfect, but it doesn't mean that his horrific murder wasn't influenced by homophobia. The activists were right to highlight the episode as an extreme but still illustrative of the mistreatment of gay people in America.
Have a nice day. I'd wish you both an STD, but I am reasonably certain that you don't have sex.