14A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 4, 1999 HIGHER EDUCATION Defendant found gult of murder LARAMIE, Wyo. - A Wyoming jury yesterday convicted Aaron James McKinney of felony murder in last year's beating death of gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard, but acquitted him of a more serious charge of premeditated mur- der, a distinction that could indicate enough sympathy to spare him the death penalty. The jury of seven men and five women also found McKinney guilty of kidnapping and aggravated robbery and will begin a penalty phase of the trial today in which they will sentence him to death or to life in prison. McKinney, a high school dropout who was working as a roofer at the time of the crime and who was described by his defense attorneys as a troubled young man addicted to methamphetamines, showed little emotion upon hearing the verdict yes- terday morning. Standing with his hands folded in front of him, McKinney bit his lower lip and bowed his head. Dennis and Judy Shepard, the par- ents of the murder victim, did not visi- bly respond and said through a spokesperson they would not com- ment until the penalty phase is com- pleted. Bill McKinney, the defendant's father, also declined to comment. The Albany County jury, which deliberated for less than 10 hours, apparently took to heart an argument that McKinney's lead attorney ham- mered home during closing arguments Tuesday: that even though McKinney beat Shepard severely with a .357 magnum pistol, he did not plan to kill him. McKinney made that statement to police in a confession after his arrest. McKinney and codefendant Russell Henderson posed as homosexuals to lure Shepard from a tavern popular with University of Wyoming students. Shepard was driven a mile outside of town, beaten in the head with a hand- gun and tied to a fence. He was found by passersby, battered with burn marks on his body. He died three days later. Prosecutors said McKinney was the mastermind of the attack. Henderson, who pleaded guilty last April and is serving a life sentence, said he didn't participate in the beating. The murder last October gained nationwide publicity and spurred calls by gay and lesbian activists for enact- ment of tough anti-hate crime legisla- tion nationally and in states such as Wyoming that have no such laws. It also galvanized gay advocacy groups Ohio Stat team susp er op By Isaac Eldridge '1 .antcrn COL j tUBUS, Ohio (U-WIRE) - # Topless team pholographs have long been a :radition for men's rugby teams. but the Ohio State University women's 1 rugby team posing topless was a first. 1 In front o1' the Lincoln Memorial in Washinton,. D.C. Saturday, the team 4 w.as photog ra phed by a photographer from The Washington Post. ielve ofI the 37 team members were topless. Suspended ffrom practice and two 1 games, the team is still under scrutiny , from university officials. Since Monday, the administration has been considering possible repercussions, said David Williams, vice president of student affairs. Rugby is a club sport at OSU, so the team falls under the jurisdiction of Student Affairs. H-lead coach Jon Moore said the team wants to present Williams with a plan where only the girls who participated in the photograph would be punished. "The students understand that they did somethingo that caused great harm to the university, that's definitely clear," he said. "They arc very willing to make up for that and make amends." Moore said. The photograph in question came about when the team stopped in front of the Lincoln Memorial to take a group photo. After the photograph was taken, a few players took another shot with their e rugby ended ass phot w0 Dennis and Judy Shepard leave the Albany County Courthouse in Laramie, Wyo. yesterday after a jury convicted Aaron McKinney of the murder last year of their son, Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming college student. shirts off while covering themselves with their hands. The Post photograph- er shot them putting their shirts back on, Moore said. According to the Post story which ran in The Columbus Dispatch Monday, the team had plans to market the photo- graph on T-shirts that would be sold on campus. Moore said there was never any such' plan. "Let me assure you there was at ng time any organized intent or plan by thC club to produce, market or distribuWe pictures, T-shirts, (or) calendars featur ing unclothed OSU women's rugbh players," Moore said. Undergraduate Student Government Senator Kevin Cope said people must keep in mind that laws in Washington, D.C., do not prohibit women from being topless in public. "I thought that their actions may hav4 been offensive to some, but it's impor- tant to remember that they did nothing illegal," Cope said. Rob Coridan, a physics and comput- er science major, said the whole issue has been blown out of proportion. "I don't think it was anything to get this upset about. They didn't do anything illegal. It was their right. I mean if it was the men's rugby teavt it wouldn't be an issue at all,," Coridan said. Moore said that the picture was taken quickly and that he thought nothing of it at the time. in the region, with some organizations seeing huge jumps in membership in the months after Shepard's death. David Smith, a spokesperson for the Human Rights Campaign - the largest gay and lesbian activist organi- zation in the nation - called the jury's decision yesterday "a fair verdict, a just verdict." In finding McKinney guilty of felony murder, Smith said, the jury "repudiated the defense strategy of trying to put Matthew Shepard on trial" for being homosexual and insti- gating the attack by making a sexual advance on McKinney. "There's no doubt in our minds that this was a hate crime," Smith said. "This verdict sends a message that these crimes won't be tolerated." The University Activities Center's RUDE MECHANICALS present Much Ado About Nothing By William Shakespeare r *1 The University Activities Center's Rude Mechanicals present William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing on November 5th and 6th at 8pm, and November 7th at 2pm in the Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre. Tickets are $8/$6 for students, and are available at the Michigan Union Ticket Office (763-TKTS). The University of Michigan Department of Dermatology is currently offering a new investigational treatment for acne. If you are male, between i1 and 35 years of age, and in good general health, you may be eligible to receive a new treatment for facial acne. Office visits and medication are provided free of charge to eligible participants. If you are in good general health and have acne, you may be eligible. You may also receive up to $150 for your participation. For more information, please call: (734) 936-4070 .. University of Michigan -- - Medical Center I; J ..r 0