Dan White during his 1977 campaign for Supervisor.

Daniel James "Dan" White (September 2, 1946 – October 21, 1985) was a former Democratic San Francisco supervisor who assassinated Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk on November 27, 1978 at City Hall. Events 44 BC - Pharaoh Cleopatra VII of Egypt declares her son co-ruler as Ptolemy XV Caesarion. Year 1946 ( MCMXLVI) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link will display full 1946 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Events 1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) The Democratic Party is one of two major Political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislature of the City and County of San Francisco, California. George Richard Moscone (November 24 1929&ndashNovember 27 1978 (mɒsˈkoʊni was an American attorney and Democratic politician Harvey Bernard Milk (May 22 1930 – November 27 1978 was an American politician and the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in California as a member of the Events 1095 - Pope Urban II declares the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) The City Hall of San Francisco, California opened in 1915 in its open space area in the city's Civic Center, is a Beaux-Arts monument to the brief " In a controversial verdict, which led to the coining of the legal slang "the Twinkie defense", White was convicted of manslaughter rather than murder. In Jurisprudence, " Twinkie defense " is a derisive label for a criminal Defendant 's claims that some unusual biological factor entered into the causes or Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being in a manner considered by law as less culpable than Murder.

Early life

White grew up in a blue-collar, Irish-American household and attended Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory High School in San Francisco. Irish Americans (Gael-Mheiriceánach are citizens of the United States who can claim ancestry originating in Ireland. Sacred Heart Cathedral Preparatory, commonly known as SH SHC or SHCP is a Catholic school located in the Cathedral Hill neighborhood of San Francisco, He served in the Vietnam War before returning to San Francisco to work as a police officer. The Vietnam War, also known as the Second Indochina War, or the Vietnam Conflict, occurred in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia The San Francisco Police Department, also known as the SFPD, is the police department of the City and County of San Francisco California. He later worked as a firefighter. The San Francisco Fire Department provides Fire and emergency services to the City and County of San Francisco, California. In 1977, he was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from the working-class District 8, which included several neighborhoods near the southeastern limits of San Francisco. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislature of the City and County of San Francisco, California. At this time, supervisors were elected by district, and not "at-large", as they would be in the 1980's and 1990's.

The assassinations

Main article: Moscone-Milk assassinations

White was initially on civil terms with Milk and supported some of Milk's political initiatives. After the two had a falling out over a land zoning matter, however, White frequently clashed with Milk and other members of the Board. White claimed that his dissatisfaction with the corrupt inner-workings of San Francisco city politics prompted him to resign his seat in 1978. However, he reversed his position after his supporters lobbied him to withdraw his resignation and seek re-appointment from Moscone.

Moscone refused the re-appointment at the urging of Milk and others. On November 27, 1978, White went to San Francisco City Hall to meet with Moscone and make a final plea to get his job back. Events 1095 - Pope Urban II declares the First Crusade at the Council of Clermont Year 1978 ( MCMLXXVIII) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1978 Gregorian calendar) The City Hall of San Francisco, California opened in 1915 in its open space area in the city's Civic Center, is a Beaux-Arts monument to the brief " After Moscone turned down his request, White shot and killed Moscone, then reloaded and walked over to Milk's office and shot Milk five times resulting in his death, the final shot made at very close range. He then fled City Hall and turned himself in at a police station where he had been an officer.

Trial

Main article: Twinkie defense

At his trial, White's defense argued that White's mental state at the time of the killings was one of diminished capacity due to depression. In Jurisprudence, " Twinkie defense " is a derisive label for a criminal Defendant 's claims that some unusual biological factor entered into the causes or In Criminal law, diminished responsibility (or diminished capacity) is a potential defense by Excuse by which Defendants argue that Major depressive disorder, also known as major depression, unipolar depression, unipolar disorder, clinical depression, or simply depression Therefore, they argued, he was not capable of premeditating his act of violence, and thus was not legally guilty of first-degree murder. Premeditation, frequently referred to in the vernacular with the term "in cold blood" is contemplation of acting out an intended crime thinking about planning or plotting Among several factors cited as evidence of White's depressed state was his consumption of sugary junk food (previously uncharacteristic of White, a health food advocate) in the months preceding the assassination. Junk food is a broad term that is used to describe a variety of Food products from Sweets that contain little to no Nutritional value to products used in In the press, White's consumption of sugary junk food was widely misreported; the press claimed that the sugar in the food had caused (rather than reflected) his state of depression. White's defense was labeled "the Twinkie defense. In Jurisprudence, " Twinkie defense " is a derisive label for a criminal Defendant 's claims that some unusual biological factor entered into the causes or "

The jury found White guilty of voluntary manslaughter rather than first degree murder. Manslaughter is a legal term for the killing of a human being in a manner considered by law as less culpable than Murder. Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries Outrage within San Francisco's gay community over the resulting seven-year sentence sparked the city's White Night Riots; general disdain for the outcome of the court case led to the elimination of California's "diminished capacity" law. Gay community or LGBT community is a term used to describe the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender subculture The White Night Riots were a series of violent events stemming from the sentencing of Dan White, which was deemed lenient by many for the assassinations of San

Imprisonment and death

White's headstone

White served five years of his seven-year sentence at Soledad State Prison and was paroled on January 6, 1984. Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system Events 1066 - Harold Godwinson is crowned King of England. 1205 - Philip of Swabia becomes King Year 1984 ( MCMLXXXIV) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link displays the 1984 Gregorian calendar) Fearing he might be murdered in retaliation for his crimes, California State Corrections Officials secretly transported White to Los Angeles, where he served a year's parole. Los Angeles (lɑˈsændʒələs los ˈaŋxeles in Spanish) is the largest City in the state of California and the American West Parole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system After satisfying the terms of his parole, White indicated he wanted to return to his lifelong home San Francisco, which prompted Mayor Feinstein to issue a public statement formally asking White not to return. Dianne Goldman Berman Feinstein (ˈfаɪnˌstаɪn (born June 22, 1933) is the senior U Nevertheless, he did return.

On October 21, 1985, less than two years after his release from prison, White committed suicide by carbon monoxide poisoning in his wife's garage by running a garden hose from the exhaust pipe to the inside of his car. Events 1512 - Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg. Year 1985 ( MCMLXXXV) was a Common year starting on Tuesday (link displays 1985 Gregorian calendar) Carbon monoxide, with the chemical formula CO is a colorless odorless tasteless yet highly toxic Gas. The body was discovered by White's brother, Tom, shortly before 2 p. m. the same day with the Irish folk song "The Fields of Athenry" playing on a continual loop on the car's cassette player. " The Fields of Athenry " is an Irish folk Ballad set during the Great Irish Famine (1845-1850 about a fictional man from near Athenry He was buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, California. Golden Gate National Cemetery is a US National Cemetery, located in the city of San Bruno, San Mateo County, 12 miles (19 km south of San Francisco San Bruno is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States.

Alleged confession

In 1998 Frank Falzon, a homicide inspector with the San Francisco police, claimed to have met with White in 1984. At that meeting, Falzon said that White had confessed that not only was his killing of Moscone and Milk premeditated, but that he had actually planned to kill another supervisor, Carol Ruth Silver and then member of the California State Assembly Willie Lewis Brown, Jr. as well. The California State Assembly is the Lower house of the California State Legislature. Willie Lewis Brown Jr (born March 20, 1934) served over thirty years in the California State Assembly, fifteen years as its Speaker and afterwards Falzon quoted White as having said, "I was on a mission. I wanted four of them. Carol Ruth Silver, she was the biggest snake. . . and Willie Brown, he was masterminding the whole thing. " Falzon indicated that he believed White, stating: "I felt like I had been hit by a sledge-hammer. . . . I found out it was a premeditated murder. "^[1]

Cultural references

• The story of the assassinations is told in the Academy Award-winning documentary film The Times of Harvey Milk (1984). "The Oscar" redirects here for the film see The Oscar (film. Documentary film is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt in one fashion or another to " Document " reality The Times of Harvey Milk is an Academy Award -winning documentary produced in the United States and premiered on 1 November 1984 at
• Execution of Justice, a play by Emily Mann, chronicles the events leading to the assassinations. Execution of Justice is an award-winning ensemble play by Emily Mann chronicling the case of the People vs Emily Mann is the multi-award winning Artistic Director and Resident Playwright of McCarter Theatre in Princeton New Jersey, where she has overseen over 85 productions
• Dan White was portrayed by actor Tim Daly in the 1999 Showtime film Execution of Justice that chronicled the events leading to the assassination of George Moscone and Harvey Milk. Showtime is a subscription television Brand used by a number of channels and platforms around the world but primarily refers to a group of channels in the United
• Dan White and the "Twinkie defense" were mentioned in the 2006 film Half Nelson during one of the intermittent history reports by the students in the film. Half Nelson is an Academy Award-nominated 2006 American film that premiered in competition at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival, and
• The assassinations were the basis for a scene in the 1987 movie RoboCop, in which a junk food eating former municipal official uses an Uzi to take hostages at city hall because he wants his ". RoboCop is a 1987 Cyberpunk film directed by Paul Verhoeven. The film features Peter Weller, Dan O'Herlihy, Kurtwood . . old job back!"^[2]
• The Dead Kennedys recorded a version of the song "I Fought the Law," but changed the lyrics to be a narrative of the murders (the chorus was changed from "I fought the law and the law won" to "I fought the law and I won. Dead Kennedys was an American Hardcore punk band from San Francisco, California. " I Fought the Law " is a much- covered song originally recorded by Sonny Curtis and The Crickets (post Buddy Holly in 1959 " The cover of the band's 1980 album "Fresh Fruit For Rotting Vegetables" was a picture of the White Night Riots that resulted from the light sentencing. Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables is the debut album by the Hardcore punk band Dead Kennedys, released initially on Cherry Red Records in the UK in The White Night Riots were a series of violent events stemming from the sentencing of Dan White, which was deemed lenient by many for the assassinations of San
• The Cosmetics, a San Francisco punk band, recorded the song "Twinkie Madness" about the City Hall murders, and Dan White's "Twinkie defense" on their 1979 EP "Colors that Scream".
• Actor Josh Brolin is set to play Dan White in Gus Van Sant's 2008 biopic Milk. Joshua Brolin (born February 12, 1968) is an American film and television Actor. Gus Green Van Sant Jr he has dealt unflinchingly with homosexual and other marginalized subcultures without being particularly concerned about providing positive role models Milk is a 2008 biopic about the later life and Assassination of San Francisco

Notes

References

External links

• "48 Drawings from the trial by David Newman"
• New York Times article after the suicide.
• SF Weekly Article1/30/08 "Dan White's Motive More About Betrayal Than Homophobia"