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THE WHITE NIGHT RIOTS (Post 2/7)
THE WHITE NIGHT RIOTS (Post 2/7)
On the night of May 21, 1979, hundreds of the LGBT community of San Francisco marched on City Hall after the verdict of Dan White came out. He was not going to be charged for murder, but for manslaughter. Instead of the death penalty, he would get ultimately five years in jail. In response, the queer community smashed the glass doors, and set fire to City Hall. 150 arrests were made and 140 were injured, but the LGBT community saw this as a victory.
INJUSTICE TODAY 2/21
INJUSTICE TODAY 2/21
One big question for us as the cast and crew to constantly ask is "Why this play now?"
The #MeToo Movement (and various trials involving it) are certainly very different from the Dan White trial. However both involve those in a position of power and privilege getting away with horrible atrocities towards more oppressed people.
Several examples of this are the fact that numerous females have come forward to accuse various famous men of sexual misconduct.
In the film industry, Harvey Weinstein's trial is ongoing. However, in the world of politics, accused men like Brett Kavanaugh and Donald Trump either never go to court, or are hastily cleared of accusations due to them being "a good guy".
3/6: Diminished Capacity since Dan White
3/6: Diminished Capacity since Dan White
John Hinckley Jr. in 1981 tried to kill President Reagan and was found not guilty by reason of insanity. This sparked a lot of controversy and led to Comprehensive Crime Control Act being passed in 1984. This made it so that a criminal had to be unable to morally or cognitively comprehend their actions at the time of the crime.
Since then, not many people have been given a shorter sentence due to "diminished capacity" or these days, insanity.
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