The parents of Matthew Shepard have released letters sent to them after he was killed.

Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in 1998, shocking the US, and inspiring hate-crime laws.

He was killed in the town of Laramie, Wyoming. The town was rocked when he was robbed, beaten and left to die tied to a fence, aged 21.

His parents, Dennis and Judy Shepard were written to by people across the US following Matthew’s death.

Those who wrote letters include then President Bill Clinton, and civil rights leader Coretta Scott King.

“The epidemic brutality that took your son’s life and has caused so much pain to your family must be confronted and stopped,” wrote Mrs. King.

“Americans of conscience must work a lot harder to eliminate this sick culture of violence that threatens even our best and brightest.”

The Shepards launched the Matthew Shepard Foundation shortly after their son’s death, and this year released a trove of letters.

Although the Matthew Shepard Foundation was founded shortly after his death, the letters were only released this year, almost 18 years after his murder.

See below a small selection of the letters: