Twenty-one-year-old Russell Henderson pleaded guilty Monday to one of the most horrifying hate crimes of the decade.

Henderson, who was sentenced to two consecutive life terms, admitted that he and his friend Aaron McKinney, 21, lured gay University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard out of a bar last October. The pair then proceeded to beat the 21-year-old, leaving him for dead.

Although his testimony was reportedly “matter of fact,” Henderson told the courtroom he was sorry about Shepard’s death, and he asked Shepard’s family members, who have gone through the most traumatic months of their lives, for forgiveness.

Let’s see: Brutally beating an innocent man, tying him to a fence in freezing October cold, and with absolutely no motive — except that they hated his sexual orientation.

A simple apology isn’t going to cut it.

Nothing Henderson could ever do in the remainder of his jail-bound lifetime could ever make up for taking a man, who hadn’t had a chance to start his life, away from his friends and family. The fact that Henderson will spend the rest of his life in a cell doesn’t matter; no amount of penance is going to bring Shepard back.

Even more ridiculous than Henderson’s pseudo-remorse was a statement from defense attorney Wyatt Skaggs, who denied that Shepard’s murder had anything to do with his sexual orientation.

The Associated Press quoted Skaggs as saying, “This has never been a hate crime.”

Well, then what was it about? Why did Henderson and McKinney pose as gay men to Shepard, who before they showed him their hatred probably believed they were friends, not people to fear?

There was never any reasoning for Shepard’s death, but for Skaggs to offer such a ludicrous explanation is almost as disgusting as the actual murder.

And with all the pain that has been caused, nothing, not even Henderson’s sentencing, can alleviate the hurt that surrounds the Wyoming tragedy.

Although it is too late to save Shepard from ignorance and hatred, there are some things we can do to help prevent similar atrocities.

We can call our local representatives, urging them to pass legislation against hate crimes. We can urge people to recognize that members of the lesbian and gay community deserve the same respect and protection under the law as everyone else in our society.