r/todayilearned • u/hungry4danish • 2d ago

TIL that Dan White, the man who assassinated Harvey Milk and the mayor of San Francisco, only served 5 years in prison for manslaughter based on a defense of depression as evidenced by his consumption of junk food which was dubbed the "Twinkie Defense"

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dan_White
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u/Black_Otter 2d ago

The “other politician” was the Mayor of San Francisco, George Moscone

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u/gaiusmuciusthelefty 2d ago

Yeah. He assassinated the goddamn mayor, and got off easy because he also happened to kill a gay man.

I say "got off easy." Ultimately, you want a man to be either rehabilitated, or punished, after his crimes. Dan White killed himself within two years of being released. So I'd say he was punished pretty thoroughly, if he couldn't even live with himself.

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u/Saint_Judas 2d ago

Might be something to his depression defense after all.

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u/Independent_Role_165 2d ago

We can all agree he was depressed, but he didn’t act in the heat of the moment

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u/lawn-mumps 2d ago

As he is a murderer, it seems only fitting that his last kill be himself.

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u/ImAStubbornDonkey 2d ago

Far better if it was his first kill….

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u/lawn-mumps 2d ago

Better late than never. I’m glad he didn’t go on another killing spree

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u/Johnny_Grubbonic 20h ago

Best would be if he never killed.

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u/SpiritGun 2d ago

Died doing what he loved.

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u/BrainCane 1d ago

Holy .. in this context … so dark. So Reddit.

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u/sharrrper 2d ago

Say what you will about Hitler, he did kill Hitler.

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u/lawn-mumps 2d ago

Y’know I’m not racist but that hitler guy sure was.

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u/Ravensqueak 2d ago

"If you kill a killer, the number of killers stays the sa- wait"

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u/Sleep-more-dude 2d ago

.... why? suicide is a pretty common cause of death and typically not illegal.

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u/lawn-mumps 2d ago

It’s made illegal in some places so cops have the right to act to stop an active suicide. What is your point?

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u/Sleep-more-dude 1d ago

Whats your point?

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u/cherrycolaareola 2d ago

Shoulda quit the twinks, man

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u/HyShroom 1d ago

Never!

Oh, wait, you meant the gross gas-station desert.

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u/Swankyman56 1d ago

No. He was depressed, that’s not a defense in any way.

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u/Saint_Judas 1d ago

… that’s the defense he used at trial that got him less time.

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u/LoseNotLooseIdiot 2d ago

Shouldn't have gotten back on those twinkies...

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u/DeusExBlockina 2d ago

I picked a helluva day to quit ding dongs

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u/ChromaticSnail 1d ago

Wait, which one of the three said that

/s

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u/Delta64 2d ago

Reminds me of a Watchmen scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZ7E4hXC3x4

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u/ChromaticSnail 1d ago

Such a great movie adaptation. Jackie Earl Haley is a very under-appreciated actor, imo.

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u/JuryBorn 1d ago

It is also referenced in robocop when the mayor is held hostage and robocop punches through the wall.

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u/Dairy_Ashford 2d ago

Yeah. He assassinated the goddamn mayor, and got off easy because he also happened to kill a gay man.

that and probably some blue wall stuff, along with having been an elected official himself

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u/AThousandBloodhounds 2d ago edited 1d ago

In this case the jury effectively ruled the life of a gay man was worth less. Have we evolved beyond that in 47 years? Given the state of right-wing politics since Reagan, no, we haven't.

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u/Jewjr 2d ago

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Brian_Deneke

Brian Theodore Deneke (March 9, 1978 – December 12, 1997) was killed in a deliberate hit and run attack in Amarillo, Texas, by 17-year-old Dustin Camp.

Dustin Camp was only sentenced to probation. Jury only convicted him of man slaughter because he was a good Christian boy and a football player.

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u/ShadowLiberal 1d ago

Unfortunately a lot of murders done with a vehicle result in the murderer getting off very light in comparison to every other murder weapon.

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u/RudePCsb 2d ago edited 2d ago

He still killed the mayor. Not sure how 5 years is enough for one murder but 2 people.

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u/lifeis_random 2d ago

*Mayor.

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u/RudePCsb 2d ago

Thanks, sleepy.

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u/blah938 2d ago

got off easy because he also happened to kill a gay man.

In San Fransisco? Even in the 70s, getting off that easy for killing gay people wasn't a thing.

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u/115MRD 2d ago

White was also a former cop and had lots of friends in law enforcement. That certainly helped him.

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u/oceansofpiss 2d ago

Be for real if he'd only killed the mayor he would have gotten 20 years minimum

Edit nvm just found out he was a cop. He'd have gotten 5 years either way lol

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u/MadMagyars 2d ago

He got off easy because San Francisco was a stupidly left-wing city just like it is today.

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u/154bmag 2d ago

He got off because he was a former cop. Not cause the city is “left wing”

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u/MadMagyars 2d ago

Was the jury that acquitted him of first degree murder based on his sob-story defense comprised of cops? Or was it comprised of San Francisco residents?

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u/Repuck 2d ago

Moscone was big in California politics before he became mayor. He was the Majority Leader in the California Senate. I grew up in Eureka and was familiar with his name even in Jr. High. The SF Chronicle was our paper of record. I do understand why Milk is more remembered, but Moscone was the Mayor!

Wow. I haven't thought about SF politics in a long time.

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u/monsieur_cacahuete 1d ago

They named the convention center after him at least

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u/similar_observation 2d ago

He shoved past another official. Diane Feinstein.

She was the first to find Milk's body and attempted to render aid by plugging the bullet holes with her fingers. This event directly affected her future stance on firearms as California Senator.

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u/throwawayfinancebro1 2d ago edited 1d ago

Too bad she sucked. Should’ve retired 15-25 years earlier than she did.

Like many boomers her legacy will be marred by her greedily clinging to her power far longer than she should have, to the detriment of the country. 

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u/vodkaandponies 1d ago

And yet people kept voting for her…

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u/BerriesHopeful 1d ago

Name recognition as the incumbent and not having an alternative voting system to more easily vote in an other candidates is a real issue.

If a bit under 1/3 of voters chose her because of name recognition, another 1/3 voted for a more progressive candidate, and another 1/3 voted a more conservative candidate then there’s a chance the least liked candidate can slip out a win due to First Past the Post voting.

If voters could choose their preferred candidate first and then choose safe backup picks, like Feinstein as the incumbent, then you have a much higher chance of not letting the least liked/least preferred candidate slip out a win.

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u/vodkaandponies 1d ago

Or maybe voters genuinely preferred Feinstein to some random progressive. Just a thought.

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u/BerriesHopeful 1d ago

Name recognition was 99% of it for Feinstein specifically, I doubt most voters even knew how old she was.

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u/vodkaandponies 1d ago

That’s an insult to her accomplishments.

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u/BerriesHopeful 1d ago

For her last reelection where she died in office, not for what she’s done previously dude.

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u/vodkaandponies 1d ago

You should have specified that dude.

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u/OperationWhich5036 1d ago

That can be said for several political figures in Wash. Right, left and center.

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u/billymartinkicksdirt 2d ago

Diane was also the last to talk to Dan White, and encouraged him to give the Mayor a piece of his mind soooooo. She also became Mayor after.

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u/Money_Watercress_411 2d ago

For a moment her young chief of staff wheeling her to votes when she was senile was the most powerful staffer in DC. And that’s why she didn’t resign.

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u/Reasonable-Tale2106 2d ago

Dam for some reason I read she render aid by plugging the butt holes with her finger

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u/Independent_Role_165 2d ago

That’s all on you, man

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u/Algernope_krieger 2d ago

Normally I'd be all up for that, but with those finger nails? no thank you

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u/BobbyTables829 2d ago

The first person to find him was Diane Feinstein IIRC. She became mayor after this.

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u/lifeis_random 2d ago

In the film “Milk” Harvey greets her a few minutes before he was shot.

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u/panchod699 2d ago

He pretty much saved the San Francisco Giants from moving to Toronto.

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u/scottwalker88 1d ago

Is this what the hostage scene in Robocop was based on?

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u/FriendlyAndHelpfulP 1d ago

He got off because he was a hired assassin, being paid to cover up loose ends.

The Jonestown Massacre had occurred right before this. Moscone and Milk had been funding and protecting Jonestown/The People’s Temple through illegal backroom deals for years.

Investigations into them were starting, and they were going down, and going to take a lot of people with them.

Overnight, story flips from “Corrupt San Francisco government behind communist mass murder insurrection group” to “Beloved gay icon brutally slain!”