Following 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 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 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 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 10 rounds of ammunition. By entering 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 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."
Trial and "Twinkie defense" 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 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 was described as "a man pushed beyond his endurance". 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 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 the diminished capacity defense.
Alleged confession 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 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." ==Imprisonment and parole==