Judy Shepard rejects Rep. Foxx's apology

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Source: MSNBC

NEW YORK - Judy Shepard doesn't think Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., was sincere when she apologized for calling the 1998 murder of Shepard's son, Matthew, "a hoax."

"Attacks of lesser consequence have been said about Matt since the beginning... but I never expected it to be called 'a hoax,'" said Shepard Thursday on "The Rachel Maddow Show."

During a debate in the House of Representatives Wednesday, Foxx said that the death of Matthew Shepard shouldn't be used to justify a hate crimes bill because it wasn't a hate crime. Foxx said Shepard was killed during a robbery.

In a statement released the following day, Foxx said her comments didn't convey what she meant to say. "The term 'hoax' was a poor choice of words used in the discussion of the hate crimes bill," Foxx said.

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Judy Shepard, who was present when Foxx made the remarks, was unconvinced by the clarification. "It's apologizing for semantics but not her sentiment, her insensitivity or her ignorance," she said on MSNBC.

Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30505428/