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103-566: Daniel James White (September 2, 1946 – October 21, 1985) was an American politician who assassinated George Moscone , the mayor of San Francisco , and Harvey Milk , a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors , inside City Hall on November 27, 1978. White was convicted of manslaughter for the deaths of Milk and Moscone and served five years of a seven-year prison sentence. Less than two years after his release, he returned to San Francisco and later committed suicide . Dan White

206-488: A 1982 court order to do so. Its parts were melted down in a foundry that produced manhole covers. Journalist Randy Shilts wrote a biography of Milk in 1982, The Mayor of Castro Street , which discussed the assassinations, trial and riots in detail. The 1984 documentary film The Times of Harvey Milk won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature . Execution of Justice , a play by Emily Mann , chronicles

309-547: A Modern Gay Martyr" was shown in the main gallery in the Society's former Mission Street location. The centerpiece was a section displaying the suit Milk was wearing at the time of his death. The suit is currently on display in the Society's permanent museum space in the Castro. In 2008 the film Milk depicted the assassinations as part of a biographical story about the life of gay rights activist and politician Harvey Milk . The movie

412-472: A Supervisor after receiving loans from family and receiving encouragement from constituents. Moscone returned the letter, but on November 16, City Attorney George Agnost ruled that White had in fact resigned and was no longer on the Board, pending legal review, and whether White could be appointed back to the position from which he had just resigned was also an open question. Moscone stated that if "legal problems" in

515-627: A devotion to Mary Magdalene 's conversion), now known as the Contemplative Communities of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd , for penitent women who wished to live a cloistered life , but were ineligible to become Sisters of Our Lady of Charity. On November 11, 1825, four young women began their novitiate with a short rule given to them by Archbishop de Montblanc of Tours, which followed the Rule of

618-543: A disagreement over a proposed drug rehabilitation center in the Mission District , White frequently clashed with Milk, as well as other members of the board. On November 10, 1978, White resigned his seat as supervisor. The reasons he cited were his dissatisfaction with what he saw as the corrupt practices of San Francisco politics, as well as the difficulty of earning a living without a police officer's or firefighter's salary, jobs he could not retain legally while serving as

721-482: A dismissive ministerial response a civil claim in court was announced in 2018 by 19 victims. Women were renamed and forced to work every day except Sunday. 'Rebellious' girls were sedated. Women who escaped despite the high walls were detained and returned by the police. Nutrition was poor, the regime was harsh, and medical care inadequate; hundreds of girls and women died. The 'Death List of the Special Cemetery' of

824-633: A few years later". By 1895, the Sisters of the Good Shepherd cared for numerous poor elderly men including disabled Civil War veterans at a large asylum at 5010 North Avenue in Milwaukee . They later moved to a facility at 8730 W. Bluemound Road. New York City Police Commissioner Theodore Roosevelt (1895) was a firm supporter of the work of the Congregation. From 1928 to 1975, the Sisters operated Villa Loretto in Peekskill, New York . On February 14, 2000

927-785: A full-fledged “Magdalen” nun, contemplative and cloistered within the House of the Good Shepherd. Lovina Benedict opened a home in Des Moines under the auspices of the Women's Christian Temperance Union. It was based on the Good Shepherd Home she had visited in St. Paul, Minnesota. In Wood's view the Davenport use of the Good Shepherd Homes "anticipated the juvenile court system created by Progressive reformers

1030-447: A girls' primary school. In Thailand in 2021, Piyachat Boonmul of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd was appointed by the Thai government to a national advisory role in a committee with tasks of coordinating plans for the prevention and suppression of prostitution, establishment of shelters and protection, and setting regulations for detainees' acceptance and care. In 1842 Mary Euphrasia sent

1133-415: A laundry, washing the sheets and tablecloths used by the railroad. The Sisters also gave the girls money to buy new clothes. "We weren't all rosaries and stations of the cross," said Sheilah Nichols Castor. "You had to be able to type, you had to be able to take shorthand , and you had to be able to cook something. When I came out, of course, I could only cook in batches of 30." In 1867, the Sisters came to

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1236-445: A meeting with Moscone and was permitted to see him after the meeting with Brown ended. As White entered Moscone's outer office, Brown exited through another door. Moscone met White in the outer office, where White requested again to be re-appointed to his former seat. Moscone refused, and their conversation turned into a heated argument over Horanzy's pending appointment. Wishing to avoid a public scene, Moscone suggested they retreat to

1339-905: A member of both the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) and the San Francisco Fire Department (SFFD). He and Harvey Milk were each elected to the Board of Supervisors in the November 1977 elections, which introduced district-based seats. The election ushered in "a range of legislators perhaps unmatched in San Francisco history in their diversity", including its first Chinese American ( Gordon Lau ), first unwed mother ( Carol Ruth Silver ), first black woman ( Ella Hill Hutch ), first homosexual (Harvey Milk) and first former firefighter (Dan White). All supervisors were sworn in on January 9, 1978, with Dianne Feinstein as

1442-850: A new governing structure that would free the sisters to respond more readily to requests for assistance. She appealed to Rome for approval to establish a new religious congregation , and the congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd was founded in 1835, with the motherhouse in Angers. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier was Mother-General of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd for 33 years, and at her death in 1868, she left 2067 professed sisters, 384 novices , 309 Touriere sisters (outdoor sisters who were not cloistered), 962 Sisters Magdalen, caring for 6372 "penitents", and 8483 children. In her lifetime 110 Good Shepherd convents were established in places as various as Rome, Italy (1838), Munich, Germany (1839) and Mons, Belgium (1839). The first convent of

1545-439: A police officer), and ten extra rounds of ammunition in his coat pocket. White knocked on a basement lab window, and told a building engineer inside that he had misplaced his keys. White climbed into the window at about 10:25 a.m., thereby avoiding metal detectors and guards at public entrances. White proceeded to Moscone's office, where the mayor was conferring with California Assemblyman Willie Brown . White requested

1648-488: A police officer, to Frank Falzon and another detective, both former co-workers. In a police interrogation room that afternoon, White confessed to shooting Moscone and Milk, but denied premeditation . Part of the taped confession became public in 2014. An impromptu candlelight march consisting of tens of thousands started in the Castro District and ended at the steps of City Hall. Joan Baez led " Amazing Grace ", and

1751-472: A private lounge adjacent to his office. Witnesses later reported that they heard Moscone and White arguing, later followed by the gunshots that sounded like a car backfiring . At approximately 10:45 a.m., as Moscone lit a cigarette and proceeded to pour two drinks, White pulled out his revolver. He then fired at the mayor's shoulder and chest, tearing his lung. After Moscone fell to the floor, White approached him, pointed his gun 6 inches (150 mm) from

1854-599: A re-evaluation of the Order's work in Ireland, though the order still has to pay promised compensation to former inmates. The Dutch branch of the congregation has been accused of labor abuse, with inmates forced by nuns to perform unpaid labor in laundries and sewing workshops between 1860 and 1973. One of the interviewed victims also mentioned rape, claims on the heritage of orphans to pay for living costs, while performing unpaid labour. Questions have been submitted in parliament; after

1957-586: A supervisor, White saw himself as the board's "defender of the home, the family and religious life against homosexuals, pot smokers and cynics". White held a mixed record on gay rights , opposing the Briggs Initiative which sought to ban gays and lesbians from working in California's public schools, yet voting against an ordinance prohibiting discrimination against gays in housing and employment. Despite their personal differences, White and Harvey Milk , who

2060-401: A supervisor. White had opened a baked potato stand at Pier 39 , which failed to become profitable. He reversed his resignation on November 14, after his supporters lobbied him to seek reappointment from Mayor George Moscone . Moscone initially agreed to White's request, but later refused the appointment at the urging of Milk and others. On November 27, 1978, White visited City Hall with

2163-448: A year and a half after his release from prison. Feinstein was elected by the Board of Supervisors to become the first female mayor of San Francisco on December 4, 1978, a title she would hold for the next ten years. She eventually became a United States Senator for California until her death in 2023. In the mid-1970s, San Francisco and the surrounding Bay Area were the scene of a series of anti-government bombings largely attributed to

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2266-602: A year's parole . At the completion of his parole, White sought to return to San Francisco; Feinstein, by now elected mayor, urged him not to return on the basis that doing so would jeopardize public safety. Joel Wachs , a member of the Los Angeles City Council , also argued to keep White out of Los Angeles. White eventually did move back to San Francisco, where he lived with his wife and children. On October 21, 1985, less than two years after his release, White killed himself by carbon monoxide poisoning in his garage. He

2369-587: The Edgar Award as Best True Crime Book of the Year. An expanded second edition, Double Play: The Hidden Passions Behind the Double Assassination of George Moscone and Harvey Milk, was issued in 2010 and updated White's story to include his life after prison and his suicide. The second edition also includes a DVD with a half-hour video interview of White. Execution of Justice , a play by Emily Mann , chronicles

2472-633: The New World Liberation Front , a leftist militant group. Members of the city government, including the mayor , had received bombs in the mail or were subjected to bomb threats, as was City Hall itself. On February 9, 1977, a tighter security regime began at City Hall to protect the mayor and members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors , including locking most entrances, and providing security guards and metal detectors at public entrances, measures which had remained through 1978. Prior to entering city politics, Dan White had been

2575-650: The Peoples Temple in Jonestown . Prior to the group's move to Guyana , the Temple had been based in San Francisco , so most of the dead were recent Bay Area residents, as was Leo Ryan , the United States Congressman who was murdered in the incident. The city was plunged into mourning, and the issue of White's vacant Board of Supervisors seat was pushed aside for several days. On November 21, Moscone confirmed that

2678-733: The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston , where they ran the House of the Good Shepherd on Mission Hill in Boston for nearly a century. The Sisters moved their school to Marlborough, Massachusetts in 1964, where they provided a therapeutic residential program for girls until 1985. In 1993, the Woburn-based Cummings Foundation purchased the property and renovated it into the upscale independent and assisted living community, New Horizons. The Sisters continue to live there today rent-free, and offer residents daily Masses in

2781-512: The San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus sang a solemn hymn by Felix Mendelssohn . Upon learning of the assassinations, singer/songwriter Holly Near composed "Singing for Our Lives", also known as "Song for Harvey Milk". Moscone and Milk both lay in state at City Hall. Moscone's funeral at St Mary's Cathedral was attended by 4,500 people. He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma . Milk

2884-615: The Third Order of Our Lady of Mount Carmel , and earned their own way with intricate embroidery and production of altar bread. In 1829, the Bishop of Angers, in France, requested a home be established in his diocese. Soon requests arrived from other cities. Each convent of the Order of Our Lady of Charity was independent and autonomous, with neither shared resources nor provisions for transferring personnel as needed. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier envisioned

2987-645: The United States Army in June 1965. He served during the Vietnam War as a sergeant with the 101st Airborne Division between 1969 and 1970, and was honorably discharged in 1971. Following a stint as a security guard at A. J. Dimond High School in Anchorage, Alaska , White returned to San Francisco and joined the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD). According to a SF Weekly newspaper account, he allegedly quit

3090-495: The mayor of San Francisco and Harvey Milk , a member of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors , were shot and killed inside San Francisco City Hall by former Supervisor Dan White . On the morning of that day, Moscone intended to announce that the Supervisor position from which White had previously resigned would be given to someone else. White, angered, entered City Hall before the scheduled announcement and first shot Moscone in

3193-482: The $ 9,600-per-year Supervisor salary and that being forced to work two jobs was preventing him from adequately serving his constituents. White's resignation quickly renewed a call to amend the city charter to raise Supervisor salaries, this time proposed in White's name by Silver. His resignation would leave an open seat on the Board of Supervisors, a vacancy which would be filled by appointment by Moscone. This alarmed some of

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3296-773: The Australian Province Leader Sister Anne Manning] "that for numbers of women, memories of their time with Good Shepherd are painful. We are deeply sorry for acts of verbal or physical cruelty that occurred: such things should never have taken place in a Good Shepherd facility. The understanding that we have been the cause of suffering is our deep regret as we look back over our history." The Congregation ran institutions which provided residential accommodation for children and adults in Belfast , Derry and Newry in Northern Ireland . These institutions were

3399-498: The Board on April 3, 1978 and signed by Moscone soon after. A city charter amendment to raise the salaries of Supervisors was proposed in the summer of 1978, and a committee White was on stopped the amendment from going forward, in the context of the then-recent passage of California Proposition 13 in June. The low salary of the Supervisor position took its toll on White, and he tendered his resignation to Moscone on November 10. White stated that he could not support his family on only

3502-489: The Board. He scheduled a press conference to make this announcement on November 27, at 11:30 a.m.; advance copy had been sent to newspapers with late editions so they could begin preparing their stories. White arranged for a former aide to drive him to City Hall on the morning Moscone was to make his announcement. He was carrying a five-round .38-caliber Smith & Wesson Model 36 Chief's Special loaded with hollow-point bullets (his service revolver from his work as

3605-644: The Cardinal Cushing Chapel. At the request of the Melbourne bishop James Goold, four sisters, led by Mary of St Joseph Doyle , arrived in Australia in 1863. They established the Abbotsford Convent , and the first women's penitentiary and reform school for girls. The convent was established carry out the heart of the Good Shepherd mission, that of providing refuge for women deemed outcasts of society. From

3708-516: The Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd was an international order of religious women in the Roman Catholic Church with its some 4,000 nuns work in 70 countries across the world. • St. Mary Euphrasia Pelletier , from 1835-1868. • Mother Mary of St. Peter de Coudenhove, from 1868-1892. • Mother Mary of St. Marina Verger, from 1892-1905. • Mother Mary of St. Domitilla La Rose, from 1905-1928. • Mother Mary of St. John of

3811-535: The Good Shepherd Sisters, represented by Cait O'Leary; Barnardo's in Northern Ireland, represented by Michele Janes; and Irish Church Missions, represented by Mark Jones. In live reporting after the apology, BBC News reported that Jon McCourt from Survivors North West said "If what happened today was the best that the church could offer by way of an apology they failed miserably. There was no emotion, there

3914-501: The Good Shepherd are active in fighting against prostitution and human trafficking in poor countries of Asia. They also work in an international fair trade partnership with women and those in social and economic distress through Handcrafting Justice . The contemplative sisters continue to be devoted to prayer and they support themselves by: making vestments, supplying altar breads to parishes, artistic works, creative computer work – designing graphics, cards and composing music. As of 2010

4017-1375: The Good Shepherd in Great Britain was founded in London in 1841 and then in Dalbeth , Glasgow in 1851, moving to Bishopton, Renfrewshire in 1953. [1] They arrived in Montreal, Canada in 1844, and in Toronto in 1944. The sisters arrived in Melbourne, Australia in 1862. Additional convents were founded in El-Biar, Algeria (1843), Cairo, Egypt (1846), Limerick, Ireland (1848), Vienna, Austria (1853), Bangalore, India (1854), San Felipe, Chile (1855), Malta (1858), Leiderdorp, Holland (1860), and Rangoon, Burma (1866). Under her successor, Mary Saint Peter Coudenhove, in twenty-four years, eighty-five houses were founded, and thirteen new provinces established: eleven in Europe, two in Africa, nine in North America, five in South America and one in Oceania. The Ceylon (Sri Lanka) Mission

4120-554: The Good Shepherd was a cloistered order in the past, but is now mostly apostolic. Members follow the Rule of Saint Augustine . The contemplative and apostolic branches were once separate but have since merged . There are now two lifestyles in one institute. The sisters work in the areas of: community outreach, special education, social work, youth development, nurses, and post abortion counseling. They serve as administrator, psychologists, hospital chaplains, and prison ministers. The Sisters of

4223-544: The Iowa Industrial School for Girls in Mitchellville . According to Sharon E. Wood, "Throughout the 1880s and 1890s, reformers increasingly promoted private institutions as the best way to deal with problem girls." When the Sisters of the Good Shepherd arrived in St. Paul in 1868, their mission was to serve the needs of the homeless, wayward, and criminal girls and women. The Sisters developed two distinct programs:

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4326-454: The Mayor's office, then Milk in White's former office space, before escaping the building. Board of Supervisors President Dianne Feinstein first announced Moscone and Milk's deaths to the media, and because of Moscone's death, succeeded him as acting mayor. White was charged with first-degree murder with circumstances that made him eligible for the death penalty . However, on May 21, 1979, White

4429-459: The Sisters, it was found that historically girls remanded to their care were forced to work, unpaid, in the laundries, where the environment was harsh and involved physically demanding work. The Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd began as a branch of the Order of Our Lady of Charity ( Ordo Dominae Nostrae de Caritate ), founded in 1641 by John Eudes , at Caen , France, and dedicated to

4532-564: The Streets and Transportation Committee. In April 1978, the Roman Catholic Church proposed a facility in White's district for juvenile offenders who had committed murder, arson, rape and other crimes, to be operated by the Sisters of the Good Shepherd . White strongly opposed the facility, while Milk supported it, and their difference of opinion led to a conflict between the two. Following

4635-454: The assassinations. Specifically, the victim(s) were elected officials of a local government of California and the killing was intentionally carried out in retaliation for or to prevent the performance of the victim(s) official duties; and, more than one murder was committed. Murder with special circumstances meant that, if convicted, White could have faced the death penalty . White's defense team claimed that he suffered from depression at

4738-608: The asylum in Velp has 214 names. On 11 March 2022 ministers from the five main political parties in Northern Ireland and six abusing institutions made statements of apology in the Northern Ireland Assembly . The six institutions that apologised for carrying out abuse were De La Salle Brothers, represented by Francis Manning; the Sisters of Nazareth, represented by Cornelia Walsh; the Sisters of St Louis represented by Uainin Clarke;

4841-463: The building through the window, White managed to avoid the recently installed metal detectors . After entering Moscone's office, White pleaded to be reinstated as supervisor. When Moscone refused, White shot him in the shoulder, the chest, and twice in the head. He then walked to Milk's office, reloaded the gun and fatally shot Milk five times, firing the final two shots with the gun's barrel touching Milk's skull. White then fled City Hall, surrendering to

4944-507: The care, rehabilitation, and education of girls and young women in difficulty. Some of the girls were abandoned by their families or orphaned, and some had turned to prostitution in order to survive. The Sisters provided shelter, food, vocational training and an opportunity for these girls and women to turn their lives around. The Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd was founded by Rose Virginie Pelletier in Angers , France, in 1835. Rose

5047-405: The city's White Night riots immediately after the verdict was announced. The verdict also ultimately led to changes by the legislature in 1981 and statewide voters in 1982 that ended California's diminished-capacity defense and substituted a somewhat different and slightly more limited "diminished actuality" defense. White never made a direct statement of remorse, and only one relayed as hearsay

5150-460: The city's business interests and White's constituents, as it indicated the mayor would tip the balance of power on the Board and appoint a liberal representative for the more conservative district. On November 15, five days after resigning, White asked Moscone to return his letter of resignation (a letter that had already been accepted and filed by the Board) and expressed his intent to continue serving as

5253-460: The city's legal position on White was that he had resigned, and further, that filling White's vacancy was a week away. He again made no guarantee of re-appointing White unless he was legally obligated to. White appeared to interpret Moscone's statements to mean that he would be re-appointed to his former position. Rather than re-appoint White, Moscone decided to appoint Don Horanzy, a more liberal federal housing official, to White's former position on

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5356-402: The clothing White had worn, a tape of his police interrogation, liquor bottles and glasses from the site of Moscone's shooting, and White's original resignation letter to Moscone. The revolver used in the murders was for a time assumed missing from police evidence storage. An SFPD clerk later confirmed that he had destroyed it "in 1983 or thereabouts" while witnessed by his supervisor, and under

5459-481: The diminished capacity defense. In 1998, Frank Falzon, the SFPD homicide inspector to whom White had surrendered after the murders, said that he met with White in 1984, and that at this meeting White had confessed his intention to kill Brown and Silver along with Moscone and Milk. 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

5562-415: The door was closed, White positioned himself between the doorway and Milk, and after a brief conversation, opened fire on Milk at 10:55 a.m. The first bullet hit Milk's right wrist as he tried to protect himself. White continued firing rapidly, hitting Milk twice more in the chest, then fired a fourth bullet at Milk's head, killing him, followed by a fifth shot into his skull at close range. White fled

5665-415: The early 1890s to the 1960s, most Australian state capitals had a Magdalene asylum , also known as Magdalene laundry, a large convent where teenage girls were placed. According to James Franklin, the girls came from a variety of very disturbed and deprived backgrounds and were individually hard to deal with in many cases. The asylums were initially established as refuges, with the residents free to leave. In

5768-402: The early 1900s, they reluctantly began to accept court referrals. "They took in girls whom no-one else wanted and who were forcibly confined, contrary to the wishes of both the girls and the nuns." Like orphanages, they received almost no government funds. Laundry work was regarded as suitable as it did not require much training nor substantial capital expense. The nuns shared the conditions of

5871-589: The events leading to the assassinations. The play opened on Broadway in March 1986 and in 1999, it was adapted to film for cable network Showtime , with Tim Daly portraying White. The Moscone–Milk assassinations and the trial of Dan White were lampooned by the Dead Kennedys with their re-written version of " I Fought the Law " which appeared in their 1987 compilation album Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death . The photo on

5974-494: The events leading to the assassinations. In 1999, the play was adapted to film for cable network Showtime , with Tim Daly portraying White. Harvey Milk is an opera in three acts composed by Stewart Wallace to a libretto by Michael Korie . A joint commission by Houston Grand Opera , New York City Opera , and San Francisco Opera , it was premiered on January 21, 1995, by Houston Grand Opera. Moscone%E2%80%93Milk assassinations On November 27, 1978, George Moscone ,

6077-404: The finality of White's resignation arose, he would appoint White back to the seat, but in any case, some of the more liberal city leaders, most notably Milk and Silver, lobbied Moscone not to reappoint him. On November 17, Moscone stated that White's resignation was final and gave no indication that he was guaranteed to be re-appointed. On November 18, news broke of the mass deaths of members of

6180-527: The first five Sisters to Louisville, Kentucky , to establish houses in the United States. From Louisville new foundations spread across the country. From 1893 to 1910 authorities in Davenport, Iowa placed 260 underage girls in Good Shepherd Homes in Omaha , Peoria , Dubuque , and elsewhere. Some of these girls were taken from brothels or dangerous home environments. This was seen as an alternative to sending them to

6283-447: The first, was the care of girls who came from failing homes. The second served former prostitutes or delinquent girls, a majority of which were sent there by the civil courts. At the conclusion of their court-ordered stay, most women returned to their communities. However, they had the option to remain with the sisters in a semi-religious status, living at the House, praying, assisting with chores, and easily able to come and go, or to become

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6386-399: The force after reporting another officer for beating a handcuffed suspect. White then joined the San Francisco Fire Department , in which he rescued a woman and her baby from a seventh-floor apartment. The city's newspapers referred to him as "an all-American boy". In 1977, White was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors from District 8, which included several neighborhoods near

6489-517: The four Provinces of Cincinnati, St. Louis, Washington and St. Paul merged to become the Province of Mid-North America. The Good Shepherd Sisters in Seattle ran a home for young women, most of whom were runaways, referred to the nuns by juvenile courts that deemed them "incorrigible". "The perception was that unwed mothers were sent there, but they weren't," said Sister Vera Gallagher. "In order to protect

6592-699: The front cover of their 1980 album Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables , which shows several police cars on fire, was taken during the White Night riots of May 21, 1979. In 2003, the story of Milk's assassination and of the White Night Riot was featured in an exhibition created by the GLBT Historical Society , a San Francisco museum, archives and research center to which the estate of Scott Smith donated Milk's personal belongings that were preserved after his death. "Saint Harvey: The Life and Afterlife of

6695-504: The girls, we really didn't tell the community much about what we were doing; and, because nobody knew, that was what they imagined. But they were just high-energy girls who had no place to go.". Deborah Mullins, the youngest of twelve from a divorced family, said the Good Shepherd nuns "[W]ere the best thing that ever happened to me. ...They never screamed at you when you did something wrong. They'd be just totally disappointed in you, and that would make you know what you needed to do." They ran

6798-462: The head wounds brought instant death without question, particularly because White fired at very close range. White's resignation, and all subsequent events including the shootings, caused positional changes inside San Francisco's city government. At the top two levels, these were: White was charged with first-degree murder with two special circumstances, both of which had been passed into law through California Proposition 7 only three weeks before

6901-443: The inmates, such as bland food, hard work, the confinement and the long periods of silence. Education for residents was either of poor quality or lacking altogether. The state-run Parramatta Girls Home , which also had a laundry, had similar harsh conditions but a worse record for assaults. In 2004 the Australian Parliament released a report that included Good Shepherd laundries in Australia for criticism. "We acknowledge" [writes

7004-446: The later-declared intention of killing not only Moscone and Milk, but also two other San Francisco politicians, Speaker of the California State Assembly Willie Brown (who himself would later serve as mayor) and Supervisor Carol Ruth Silver , whom he also blamed for lobbying Moscone not to reappoint him. White climbed through a basement window carrying a Smith & Wesson Model 36 revolver and ten rounds of ammunition. By entering

7107-405: The laundries. He recommended state-backed compensation of £ 7,500 to £100,000 per person for victims of historic child abuse in Northern Ireland, with the maximum for those who had experienced severe abuse or been transported to Australia in the controversial Home Children migrant scheme. An apology on behalf of the Sisters said "we regret that some of our former residents have painful memories of

7210-435: The lyrics to the song " I Fought The Law " to tell the story of the assassinations from White's perspective, which was released on the 1987 compilation Give Me Convenience or Give Me Death . The Law & Order episode "Pride" is heavily based on White's assassination of Harvey Milk. The killer in the episode is a former police officer and current politician who kills a victim known for his support for gay rights. White

7313-415: The mayor's head, and fired two additional bullets into Moscone's ear lobes, killing him instantly. While standing over Moscone's body, White reloaded his revolver. Immediately following Moscone's murder, White left the mayor's office and hurried toward the shared office of the Board of Supervisors, at the other end of City Hall, where each supervisor had an enclosed cubicle and desk. Dianne Feinstein , who

7416-474: The more neighborhood-oriented approach favored by Mayor George Moscone , who was also elected in 1977. Debate among the board members was sometimes acrimonious and saw White verbally sparring with other supervisors, including Milk and Carol Ruth Silver. Further tension arose when Milk voted in favor of placing a group home within White's district. Subsequently, White would cast the only vote in opposition to San Francisco's landmark gay rights ordinance, passed by

7519-552: The order sold land to property developers in High Park, Drumcondra, that partly included a graveyard containing the mass grave of former inmates of its Magdalene Laundry . After seeking an exhumation order from the authorities to remove 133 bodies from the mass grave, it was found that the grave actually contained 155 bodies. They were eventually cremated and the ashes reinterred in Glasnevin Cemetery . The resulting scandal caused

7622-405: The police at Northern Police Station, where he had formerly been a police officer. While being interviewed, White recorded a tearful confession, stating, "I just shot him." At trial, White's defense team argued that his mental state at the time of the murders was one of diminished capacity due to depression . They argued that he was therefore not capable of premeditating the murders, and thus

7725-466: The police chief while speaking, instead announced to shocked reporters that Moscone and Milk had both been murdered. White left City Hall unchallenged. He took the keys of his former aide's car from her desk and drove to a diner, where he called his wife from a payphone ; they met at a nearby church. Approximately thirty minutes after leaving City Hall, White turned himself in at the SFPD's Northern Station precinct, at which he had previously served as

7828-525: The president of the board. The city charter prohibited anyone from retaining two city jobs simultaneously, so White resigned from his higher paying job with the SFFD. During 1978, White would try to supplement his salary as a Supervisor, totaling $ 9,600 per year, with a food concession stand on Pier 39 . With regard to business development issues, the eleven-member Board was split roughly 6–5 in favor of pro-growth advocates including White, over those who advocated

7931-405: The punishment so poorly matched the deed and circumstances that most San Franciscans believed White essentially got away with murder . In particular, many in the local gay community were outraged by the verdict and the resulting reduced prison sentence. Since Milk had been homosexual, many felt that homophobia had been a motivating factor in the jury's decision. This groundswell of anger sparked

8034-543: The room while they were speaking, "compound[ing] the hurt." Others angry at the institutions' apologies included Caroline Farry, who attended St Joseph's Training School in Middletown from 1978-1981, overseen by nuns from the Sisters of St Louis, Pádraigín Drinan from Survivors of Abuse, and Alice Harper, whose brother, a victim of the De La Salle Brothers, had since died. Peter Murdock, from campaign group Savia,

8137-413: The scene before Feinstein entered the office and found Milk's body. She felt Milk's neck for a pulse, her finger entering a bullet wound. Rumors about what had happened began to circulate, but were not confirmed until about 11:20 a.m. At that time, Feinstein addressed assembled media which had expected the announcement of Horanzy's appointment. Feinstein, shaking so badly that she required support from

8240-473: The shootings and had only mentioned Twinkies in passing. Rather, the defense argued that White's depression led to a state of mental diminished capacity , leaving him unable to have formed the premeditation necessary to commit first-degree murder. The jury accepted these arguments, and White was convicted of the lesser crime of voluntary manslaughter . He was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. The verdict proved to be highly controversial, and many felt that

8343-466: The southeastern boundaries of San Francisco. At that time, supervisors were elected by district and not " at-large ", as they had been before and then were again during the 1980s and 1990s. White, a Democrat , had strong support from police and firefighter unions . His district was described by The New York Times as "a largely white, middle-class section that is hostile to the growing homosexual community of San Francisco ." The Times stated that as

8446-678: The subject of the two-week Module 12 of the Northern Ireland Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry into sexual and physical abuse of children—not taking into account young women over the age of 18, the majority of residents—starting on 7 March 2016. The inquiry, under retired judge Sir Anthony Hart, published its report on 20 January 2017. In regard to the Good Shepherd Sisters facilities in Belfast, Derry and Newry, Hart said there had been "unacceptable practices" of young girls being forced to do industrial work in

8549-415: The time of the shootings, evidenced by many changes in his behavior, including changes in his diet. Inaccurate media reports said his defense had presented junk food consumption as the cause of his mental state, rather than a symptom of it, leading to the derisive term " Twinkie defense "; this became a persistent myth, despite the fact that neither defense lawyer had argued junk food caused White to commit

8652-485: The time spent in our care." The Sisters also ran residential institutions in Scotland, and were involved in transportation of children to Australia, as there was a Catholic presence there. The Ireland branch of the congregation has been accused of labor abuse, with inmates forced by nuns to perform laborious work in laundries and factory-like setups for pocket-money pay for companies such as Hasbro . In Dublin in 1993,

8755-474: Was cremated and his ashes were spread across the Pacific Ocean. Feinstein, as president of the Board of Supervisors, acceded to the mayor's office, becoming the first woman to serve in that office . The coroner who worked on Moscone and Milk's bodies later concluded that the wrist and chest bullet wounds were not fatal, and that both victims probably would have survived with proper medical attention. However,

8858-486: Was a critical and commercial success, with Victor Garber portraying Moscone, Sean Penn playing Milk and Josh Brolin playing White. Penn won an Oscar for his performance and Brolin was nominated. In January 2012, the Berkeley Repertory Theater premiered Ghost Light , a play exploring the effect of Moscone's assassination on his son Jonathan , who was 14 at the time of his father's death. The production

8961-406: Was at Nazareth Lodge Orphanage with his brother (who had recently died); he likened the institution to an "SS camp". He said "It's shocking to hear a nun from the institution apologising ... it comes 30 years too late ... people need to realise that it has to come from the heart. They say it came from the heart but why did they not apologise 30 years ago?" The Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of

9064-539: Was born in Long Beach, California , on September 2, 1946, the second of nine children in a working-class Irish-American family. He grew up in the Visitacion Valley neighborhood of San Francisco and attended Archbishop Riordan High School , until he was expelled for violence in his junior year. He went on to attend Woodrow Wilson High School (later renamed Phillip and Sala Burton High School). White enlisted in

9167-496: Was buried at Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno , with a traditional government-furnished headstone issued for war veterans. He was survived by his two sons, his daughter and his widow. The story of the assassinations is told in the Academy Award -winning documentary film The Times of Harvey Milk (1984), which was released a year before White committed suicide. The American hardcore punk rock band Dead Kennedys altered

9270-570: Was convicted of the lesser crime of voluntary manslaughter and was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment, which resulted in the White Night riots and the abolition of the diminished capacity criminal defense in California . It also led to the commonly cited " Twinkie defense ", as the defense had stated in passing that White's diminished capacity was partially evidenced by his consumption of sugar-laden junk food. White committed suicide in 1985,

9373-442: Was described as "a man pushed beyond his endurance". Many people familiar with City Hall claimed that it was common to enter through the window White had used to save time. An acquaintance of White's, who knew him from the SFPD, claimed that several officials carried weapons at this time and speculated that White carried the extra ammunition as a habit that police officers had. White was found guilty of voluntary manslaughter and he

9476-631: Was directed by Jonathan Moscone himself and written by Tony Taccone . The 2024 documentary about Sally Gearhart , Sally (2024 film) , addresses the aftermath of the verdict, especially the White Night riots , and Gearhart's role in attempting to deescalate the violence. Sisters of the Good Shepherd The Congregation has a representative at the United Nations , and has spoken out against human trafficking . In some countries' laundries and other institutions that were run by

9579-437: Was elected to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors and was the first openly gay officeholder in California history, had several areas of political agreement and initially worked well together. Milk was one of three people from City Hall invited to the baptism of White's newborn child shortly after the 1977 election. White also persuaded Dianne Feinstein , then president of the Board of Supervisors, to appoint Milk chairman of

9682-581: Was founded in 1869 and the convent continues to function as a religious community and school. From Ceylon, the Good Shepherd Sisters went to Singapore in 1939 and to Malaysia in 1956. Starting around 1938, over time eleven monasteries of Our Lady of Charity in four countries joined the Sisters of the Good Shepherd. Since 1939 the Sisters have operated a convent in Singapore Since then they diversified into other ministries ranging from education to social welfare. In 1958 they opened Marymount Convent School,

9785-534: Was given by a prison duty nurse who attended to White in 1983. He was paroled in 1984 and served this parole in the Los Angeles area, away from San Francisco. Frank Falzon, the detective who took White's statement after the assassinations, said in 1998 that he met with White in 1984 and that White had admitted that not only was his killing of Moscone and Milk premeditated, but he had actually planned to kill Silver and Brown as well. Falzon quoted White as having said, "I

9888-425: 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." White served five years of his seven-year sentence at Soledad State Prison and was paroled on January 7, 1984. Fearing he might be murdered in retaliation for his crimes, authorities secretly transported him to Los Angeles , where he served

9991-472: Was no ownership. ... I don't believe that the church and institutions atoned today." He called on the intuitions to "do the right thing" and contribute to the redress fund for survivors, saying that institutions have done similar for people in Scotland. McCourt praised the government ministers' apologies; they had "sat and thought out and listened to what it was we said.", but said that the institutions had failed to do this, leading to some victims having to leave

10094-537: Was not legally guilty of first-degree murder . Forensic psychiatrist Martin Blinder testified that White exhibited several behavioral symptoms of depression, including the fact that White had gone from being highly health-conscious to consuming sugary foods and drinks. Area newspapers quickly dubbed it the Twinkie defense . When the prosecution played a recording of White's confession, several jurors wept as they listened to what

10197-399: 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." After serving his parole, White moved back to the San Francisco area in early 1985, and committed suicide there that October. In the late 1990s, Falzon showed a KTVU reporter some of the evidence that still existed in police custody, including

10300-430: Was portrayed by Josh Brolin in the 2008 film Milk . The film depicted White from his first meeting with Milk up to and including Milk's death. Brolin's nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor was one of eight nominations the film received overall. White's life, the assassinations, and his trial are covered in the 1984 book Double Play: The San Francisco City Hall Killings by Mike Weiss, which won

10403-436: Was sentenced to seven years' imprisonment. Outrage within San Francisco's gay community over the sentence sparked the city's White Night riots . General disdain for the verdict led to the elimination of California's "diminished capacity" law. In June 1979, psychiatrist Thomas Szasz , a critic of forensic psychiatry , gave a speech to a large audience in San Francisco calling the verdict a "travesty of justice" which he blamed on

10506-531: Was the daughter of a medical doctor and his wife, known for their generosity to the poor. At the age of eighteen, she joined the Congregation of Sisters of Our Lady of Charity in Tours and was given her the name Mary of Saint Euphrasia. At the age of twenty-nine, she became mother superior of the convent. While superior at Tours, Mary Euphrasia formed a contemplative nuns group, named the Magdalen Sisters (based in

10609-540: Was then president of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, saw White run past her office door and called after him. White responded with, "I have something to do first." White intercepted Milk as he was speaking to a radio reporter and acquaintance in the Supervisors' office. White interrupted the conversation with a knock and asked Milk to step inside his former office for a moment. Milk agreed to join him. Once

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