WASHINGTON - The Human Rights Campaign expressed satisfaction today as the first of two men charged with murdering Matthew Shepard pleaded guilty in a Laramie, Wyo., court.

"Justice was served, and we applaud the authorities in Wyoming for bringing closure to this phase of the murder trials, " said HRC Political Director Winnie Stachelberg. "However, this brutal murder underscores the dire need to send a strong message that these hateful acts are not tolerated anywhere in America by passing strong state and national hate crimes laws. Until this happens, justice will remain inconsistent and elusive for many hate crimes victims."

Russell A. Henderson pleaded guilty today to the felony murder, robbery and kidnaping of Shepard, a University of Wyoming student. Henderson was sentenced to two consecutive life terms.

According an Associated Press report, defense attorney Wyatt Skaggs said that Henderson simply watched while co-defendant Aaron J. McKinney beat Shepard with the butt of a gun last October. Shepard died in Fort Collins, Colo., five days after his body was found lashed to a buck fence in Wyoming. Skaggs also claimed that the fatal beating was not premeditated.

McKinney is slated to stand trial in August on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated robbery and kidnaping. If convicted, he could receive the death penalty.

Henderson's girlfriend pleaded guilty Dec. 23 to being an accessory after the fact and is awaiting sentencing. McKinney's girlfriend is scheduled to go on trial in May on an accessory charge.

At a press conference in Washington on March 23, Shepard's mother, Judy Shepard, spoke of the need to pass stronger hate crimes laws, including the Hate Crimes Prevention Act. The bill, introduced in early March, would extend current federal hate crimes protection to cover gender, sexual orientation and disability.

"There is no guarantee that these laws will stop hate crimes from happening. But they can reduce them," Mrs. Shepard said at the news conference. "They can help change the climate in this country, where some people feel it is OK to target specific groups of people and get away with it. If just one potential perpetrator gets the message of this legislation and there is one less victim, then it will be worthwhile."

Hate crimes based on sexual orientation were up 8 percent in 1997, according to the latest FBI statistics. Sexual orientation was the third-highest category of hate crimes behind race and religion and represented 14 percent of all hate crimes reported.

Calls for passage of the Hate Crimes Prevention Act accelerated in the aftermath of three brutal murders that shocked Americans. Last year, white supremacists dragged James Byrd, a black man, to his death behind a pick-up truck in Jasper, Texas. Shepard was targeted because he was gay. And on Feb. 19, Billy Jack Gaither was beaten to death and burned on a pile of tires in Sylacauga, Ala. Two men, Charles Monroe Butler, 21, and Steven Eric Mullins, 25, confessed to killing Gaither because he was gay, Coosa County Sheriff's Deputy Al Bradley told The Associated Press.

Currently, hate crimes monitoring and enforcement consist of a patchwork of laws that offer citizens varying levels of legal protection depending on where they live. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have hate crimes laws that include sexual orientation. Twenty-one states have laws that do not include sexual orientation. Eight states have no hate crimes laws at all.

The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would allow local law enforcement authorities to use federal assistance in the investigation and prosecution of hate crimes. This key aspect of HCPA is why it has broad support from notable law enforcement agencies and state and local leaders, including 22 state attorneys general, the National Sheriffs Association, the Police Foundation, former Attorney General Dick Thornburgh and the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Two federal hate crimes laws include sexual orientation as a protected group. The Hate Crimes Statistics Act of 1990 requires the FBI to collect statistics on bias-motivated crimes. The Hate Crimes Sentencing Enhancement Act of 1995 provides for tougher sentencing when it is proven that the crime committed was motivated by bias.