Dan White: Too Much Mercy?

Dan White was your everyday Irish-Catholic, strongly moralistic policeman-turned-public-figure. His goals in life usually involved contributing to the lives of others in some way. He served as a firefighter and received a medal for rescuing a woman and her child before being elected to a supervisor position on the San Francisco board. While the part-time supervisor job required him to give up his job as a fireman, Dan could see even more opportunities to do good. He was elected because most people saw him as a down-to-earth, honest guy who would take their voices seriously. The fact that this man found himself on trial for the murder of supervisor Harvey Milk (yes, the Milk from the Oscar-winning 2008 film) and Mayor George Marscone is a shock. Yet, as you will see, the fact that he was not charged for Capital Murder is even more shocking.

So how did this upstanding man become a murderer? Isn't that always the first question in these cases? Dan began to feel unsatisfied with his supervisor decision pretty quickly.He missed his firefighter job, he was attempting to run a business, and he was upset at the lack of time he had for his wife and newborn son. In November 1978 he suddenly, some would say impulsively, resigned. Less than two weeks later, peer pressure brought him back to Mayor Marscone's office, but this time to ask that his resignation be withdrawn. This was supposed to be an easy process--Marscone seemed eager to have Dan back on the job--but it instead incited a long, protest-filled ordeal that ultimately left Dan unable to come back. He felt betrayed by Marscone and worse off than ever. Not long after, Dan walked into City Hall with a loaded revolver and, calm as you please, murdered both Marscone and Milk in turn.

The mental illnesses that five psychotherapists diagnosed Dan with was "unipolar depressive reaction," "manic-depressive illness, depressive type," "episodes of depression," and "depression of a fairly severe degree." Honestly these diagnoses are all different ways of saying clinical depression. Depression is an episodic disorder, meaning that a sufferer is not depressed at all times but has certain "low points" that last for about two weeks. During these low points some common symptoms are periods of sleeplessness, loss of appetite, and depressed mood. The disorder, especially the manic-depressive one, is highly genetic and Dan attested that most of him family was accustomed to "moods." Yet my biggest problem with this diagnosis has nothing to do when it's right; while all people are very much able to do crazy, out-of-control things, it is unclear how depression would augment this possibility. Even so, the jury agreed with the psychologists and, possibly, found sympathy for Dan. He was sent to prison, but on voluntary manslaughter, the lowest sentence he could have gotten.

So what does this have to do with ethics? First of all, I encourage you all to read this case and judge for yourselves. While the verdict may seem completely unfair--I admit, it seems that way to me--only those who witnessed the trial know how it played out. These people are the only ones that can give us a firm opinion on the matter. But back to my thoughts: To me, this seems like a case where a sympathetic jury offered too much mercy to the defendant. Going back to God's commandment to "do justice and love mercy," I think it is possible to have one more than the other. One is usually easier than the other in different situations. When it came to Dan White, the jury seemed eager to find something, anything that could prove why this morally upstanding, friendly man could kill two officials. They wanted him to be treated mercifully from the get-go (again just my thoughts since I truly cannot know what was running through their minds). A lot of times it's the opposite; it is easier to pass justice onto a lonely, hardened criminal and let mercy go out the window.

I guess what I want you to take away this week is an awareness of times when you might be more inclined to mercy than justice or vice verse. In discussion board this week we kind of touched on this when we talked about getting rid of important people in our lives for God. There comes a point when we must find that balance between merciful and forgiving and just and tough with the people in our lives who need it. Have a good week :)

Kelsey