‘Gay bash confession a plea of convenience’

Scott White’s legal team says his confession to the murder of American mathematician Scott Johnson should be overturned because it was ‘plea of convenience’.

Scott White at King Street Court in Sydney in January. Picture: Jeremy Piper

A 52-year-old man who pleaded guilty to murdering an American mathematician more than three decades ago is trying to overturn his confession after his lawyers said he made a “plea of convenience” earlier this year.

Scott White, who was convicted of the “gay bashing” murder of Scott Johnson in 1988, was in May sentenced to more than eight years behind bars, after he confessed to the crime during a hearing in January ahead of his trial.

At the time, his lawyers unsuccessfully applied to have the guilty plea discounted, with judge Helen Wilson determining he had been “emphatic” in his confession, despite suffering from anxiety and an intellectual ­disability.

Convicted killer Scott White speaks to police in 2020 after his arrest over the murder of Scott White. Picture: NSW Supreme Court

Barrister Tim Game SC told the Court of Criminal Appeal on Tuesday his client had made a “plea of convenience” because he did not understand what he was confessing to at the time. “This is not some kind of straightforward case where the accused could have understood what he was pleading to,” he said.

“The crown did not say our case is x, our case is y”, adding there was sufficient evidence to suggest White had said he “tried to grab” Johnson as he fell.

Mr Game said White maintained he did not kill Johnson intentionally or with reckless indifference, which must be established to prove murder.

Investigations into Johnson’s death began after his naked body was discovered by fishermen at the foot of Sydney’s Bluefish Point, near Manly. His clothes were neatly folded on the clifftop.

A coronial inquest less than four months later concluded he had committed suicide.

It was not until a third inquest was conducted in 2017 that he was found to be the victim of a gay-hate attack, with the state coroner criticising the initial investigation as deeply inadequate.

In May, Justice Wilson ruled White had attacked and murdered Johnson in December 1988.

The hearing continues.