Great Wall Institute: The Process of the Great Wall of Los AngelesMain MenuResearch of the DecadesResearch1960s Illustration DevelopmentIllustration DevelopmentPlaylists of the DecadesPlaylistssparcinla.org185fc5b2219f38c7b63f42d87efaf997127ba4fcGreat Wall Institute - Social and Public Art Resource Center (SPARC)
1978 Dan White 2
1media/Screen Shot 2023-04-03 at 2.39.54 PM_thumb.png2023-04-03T21:40:26+00:00Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a4911On November 27, 1978, the former Supervisor Dan White crept into City Hall through a basement window, armed with a .38 revolver. White had resigned his post just months earlier, and had unsuccessfully asked that he be reinstated. Angered that his hope of returning to the Board was denied, he confronted and killed Mayor Moscone, then strode across the building to Milk’s office, where he murdered his former colleague with five shots. White was quickly apprehended, and that night, tens of thousands of Milk supporters marched to City Hall for a peaceful candlelight vigil. At the subsequent trial, the defense argued that White was operating under severe mental distress due to the loss of his job, citing his junk-food diet as evidence of diminished morale. The strategy was derided as the “Twinkie Defense,” but his situation seemed to strike a chord with the jury. On May 21, 1979, White was sentenced to less than eight years in prison for voluntary manslaughter.plain2023-04-03T21:40:26+00:00November 27, 1978Gina Leonf0ac362b4453e23ee8a94b1a49fbeeafde2a0a49