Bipolar disorder, which used to be called manic depressive illness or manic depression, is a mental disorder characterized by wide mood swings from high (manic) to low (depressed). Periods of high or irritable mood are called manic episodes.
James Byrd, Jr. was not engaged in a federally-protected activity when he was lynched and killed. The Matthew Shepard Act expanded the 1969 Federal Hate Crime Law to cover these and other types of brutal murders.
The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Act, more commonly called the Hate Crimes Act or Matthew Shepard Act, was passed in October 2009. The law was enacted in response to two brutal bias-motivated crimes. In one, a gang tortured and killed Matthew Shepard, a student in Wyoming, because they believed he was gay.