Gay-bash confession ‘must stand’, court hears

A guilty plea for the ‘gay bashing’ murder of an American mathematician Scott Johnson should be upheld, a court heard.

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

A guilty plea for the “gay bashing” murder of an American ­mathematician should be upheld because the convicted killer had a “clear understanding” of the ­charges against him despite ­cognitive impairments, a court has heard.

Scott White, 52, who pleaded guilty to murdering Scott Johnson more than three decades ago, is trying to overturn his confession after his lawyers said he made a “plea of convenience” earlier this year.

White, who was convicted of the 1988 “gay bashing” murder, was in May sentenced to eight years and three months ­behind bars, after he confessed to the crime during a pre-trial hearing in January.

White’s legal team, which is seeking to overturn the 52-year-old’s confession, told the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal he did not know he was going to be ­arraigned on the morning of his guilty plea.

“It is in the interests of ­justice that this issue be tried by a court as to the question of guilt,” Tim Game SC told the court on Tuesday, adding that White’s plea had been “a plea of convenience”.

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

Scott White arrives at Sydney’s King Street Court in 2022.

On Wednesday, NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling SC said several experts in the murder trial expressed the view White was able to “convey a clear understanding” of the ­nature of the charge, the meaning of guilty and not guilty.

The crown argued experts had said White understood all of the questions put to him in the course of the interview and ­answered logically throughout, but they did not dispute his verbal functioning was “in the low range”.

“He appeared to have a memory of the events some eight weeks prior when … [he was taken] to the scene of the crime, and he recalled the version of events he gave to the investigator. Furthermore, he talked about things that had happened in the late 1980s in the Manly area,” the crown said.

However, Mr Game said on Wednesday it was clear his client had provided conflicting versions of what happened to authorities and his memory was not reliable. In response, the crown argued the “mental gymnastics” required to identify a miscarriage of justice in White’s guilty plea was “not sustainable”.

“The lawyer’s position in this court deprives him of any agency in entering his claim,” Ms Dowling said, adding the submission was “paternalistic” in ­nature.

Investigations into Johnson’s death began after his naked body was discovered by fishermen at the foot of Sydney’s Bluefish Point, near Manly.

Scott Johnson's siblings, Steve and Rebecca Johnson, calling for information about the death of their brother in 1988.

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

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