Latest news with #NSWSupremeCourt
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
Taser cop avoids jail AGAIN over death of 95-year-old great-grandmother Clare Nowland
A former police officer who fatally tasered a 95-year-old aged-care resident while on duty will remain free after a failed legal bid to jail him. Then-senior constable Kristian James Samuel White, 35, fired his Taser at Clare Nowland after being called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home at Cooma in southern NSW on May 17, 2023. During the brief, two-minute and 40-second encounter, White drew his stun gun and pointed it at Ms Nowland for a minute before saying 'nah, bugger it' and discharging the weapon at her chest. The 48kg great-grandmother, who had symptoms of dementia, fell and hit her head. She did not regain consciousness and died in hospital a week later after a fatal brain bleed. White was given a two-year good behaviour bond in March and ordered to complete community service after a jury found him guilty of manslaughter at a NSW Supreme Court trial. This was despite prosecutors telling Justice Ian Harrison the 35-year-old should be jailed for his crime. On Wednesday, three judges from the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal upheld the imposed sentence, dismissing the prosecution's legal challenge. At an appeal hearing in June, NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling SC argued Justice Harrison's sentence was 'manifestly inadequate' and that jail time was warranted. She argued that the judge erroneously found that sending a strong warning to other police officers had only a minor role to play in sentencing. But White's barrister Troy Edwards SC argued general deterrence had no role to play because his client made an error in judgment by believing Ms Nowland posed a threat that justified the use of a Taser. He said it was 'nonsense' to think a police officer who held a similarly honest but unreasonable belief would be deterred from deploying their Taser as a consequence of White's sentence.
7NEWS
3 hours ago
- 7NEWS
Ex-cop who tasered 95-year-old great-grandmother spared jail again
A former police officer who fatally tasered a 95-year-old aged-care resident while on duty will remain free after a failed legal bid to jail him. Then-senior constable Kristian James Samuel White, 35, fired his Taser at Clare Nowland after being called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home at Cooma in southern NSW on May 17, 2023. During the brief, two-minute and 40-second encounter, White drew his stun gun and pointed it at Mrs Nowland for a minute before saying 'nah, bugger it' and discharging the weapon at her chest. The 48kg great-grandmother, who had symptoms of dementia, fell and hit her did not regain consciousness and died in hospital a week later after a fatal brain bleed. White was given a two-year good behaviour bond in March and ordered to complete community service after a jury found him guilty of manslaughter at a NSW Supreme Court trial. This was despite prosecutors telling Justice Ian Harrison the 35-year-old should be jailed for his crime. On Wednesday, three judges from the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal upheld the imposed sentence, dismissing the prosecution's legal challenge. At an appeal hearing in June, NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling SC argued Justice Harrison's sentence was 'manifestly inadequate' and that jail time was warranted. She argued that the judge erroneously found that sending a strong warning to other police officers had only a minor role to play in sentencing. But White's barrister Troy Edwards SC argued general deterrence had no role to play because his client made an error in judgment by believing Mrs Nowland posed a threat that justified the use of a Taser. He said it was 'nonsense' to think a police officer who held a similarly honest but unreasonable belief would be deterred from deploying their Taser as a consequence of White's sentence.
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Cop's chilling words before tasering grandmother to death - ahead of major decision about his future
An appeals court is set to decide whether a community sentence given to the police officer who fatally tasered a 95-year-old aged-care resident was 'manifestly inadequate' requiring jail-time instead. Then-senior constable Kristian James Samuel White, 35, fired his Taser at Clare Nowland after being called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home at Cooma in southern NSW on May 17, 2023. Mrs Nowland fell, did not regain consciousness and died in hospital a week later. White was given a two-year good behaviour bond in March and ordered to complete community service after a jury found him guilty of manslaughter at a NSW Supreme Court trial. This was despite prosecutors telling Justice Ian Harrison the 35-year-old should be jailed for his crime. A legal challenge to the sentence was swiftly launched with prosecutors arguing that it was 'manifestly inadequate' during a NSW Court of Criminal Appeal hearing in June. That court will decide White's fate on Wednesday, either keeping him on his community sentence or placing him behind bars instead. At the June hearing, NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling SC argued Justice Harrison erred when he decided not to send White to prison. One alleged mistake was the judge's finding that sending a strong warning to other police officers had only a minor role to play in sentencing. But White's lawyer Troy Edwards SC argued general deterrence had no role to play because his client made an error in judgment by believing Mrs Nowland posed a threat that justified the use of a Taser. He said it was 'nonsense' to think a police officer who held a similarly honest but unreasonable belief would be deterred from deploying their Taser as a consequence of White's sentence. During the brief, two-minute and 40-second encounter, White drew his stun gun and pointed it at Ms Nowland for a minute before saying 'nah, bugger it' and discharging the weapon at her chest. Mrs Nowland, who weighed less than 48kg, suffered a fatal brain injury when she fell.
Perth Now
10 hours ago
- Perth Now
Cop who tasered great-gran faces jail prospect again
An appeals court is set to decide whether a community sentence given to the police officer who fatally tasered a 95-year-old aged-care resident was "manifestly inadequate" requiring jail-time instead. Then-senior constable Kristian James Samuel White, 35, fired his Taser at Clare Nowland after being called to Yallambee Lodge nursing home at Cooma in southern NSW on May 17, 2023. Mrs Nowland fell, did not regain consciousness and died in hospital a week later. White was given a two-year good behaviour bond in March and ordered to complete community service after a jury found him guilty of manslaughter at a NSW Supreme Court trial. This was despite prosecutors telling Justice Ian Harrison the 35-year-old should be jailed for his crime. A legal challenge to the sentence was swiftly launched with prosecutors arguing that it was "manifestly inadequate" during a NSW Court of Criminal Appeal hearing in June. That court will decide White's fate on Wednesday, either keeping him on his community sentence or placing him behind bars instead. At the June hearing, NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling SC argued Justice Harrison erred when he decided not to send White to prison. One alleged mistake was the judge's finding that sending a strong warning to other police officers had only a minor role to play in sentencing. But White's lawyer Troy Edwards SC argued general deterrence had no role to play because his client made an error in judgment by believing Mrs Nowland posed a threat that justified the use of a Taser. He said it was "nonsense" to think a police officer who held a similarly honest but unreasonable belief would be deterred from deploying their Taser as a consequence of White's sentence. During the brief, two-minute and 40-second encounter, White drew his stun gun and pointed it at Ms Nowland for a minute before saying "nah, bugger it" and discharging the weapon at her chest. Mrs Nowland, who weighed less than 48kg, suffered a fatal brain injury when she fell.
Sydney Morning Herald
a day ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
Olympian allegedly supplied alcohol to 17-year-old before sexual misconduct claim
Three-time Olympic figure skater Brendan Kerry allegedly supplied alcohol to a 17-year-old girl before the incident that resulted in his lifetime ban from coaching the sport in the US. On Friday, Justice Stephen Rothman granted a suppression order on the identities of two alleged victims of sexual misconduct in Kerry's defamation suit against the NSW Ice Skating Association (NSWISA), which the Olympian filed in the NSW Supreme Court in May. In May 2024, Kerry was given a lifetime ban from coaching ice skating in the US when the US Centre for SafeSport found he had engaged in 'sexual misconduct involving a minor'. It upheld the ban after an appeal on September 16, 2024. Kerry is claiming that NSWISA defamed him when it emailed its members regarding the Centre for SafeSport sanction, but did not mention that the ban had involved a 17-year-old in California when Kerry was 21. The age of sexual consent in California is 18. In NSW, it is 16. His lawyers say leaving this out of the email falsely implied Kerry was a paedophile or had sexually molested a child. Kerry has denied the allegations of sexual misconduct against him. In response to the defence's request for a suppression of the names of two alleged victims, Kerry's lawyers argued he reserves the right to the 'truth of these allegations being heard in open court'. They also argued that had the alleged incident with the 17-year-old, known as Claimant No.1, occurred in NSW, it would have been 'perfectly legal'. In his judgment granting the suppression order, Rothman said the issue was 'not so simple'. 'First, the allegation involves the supply of alcohol by the plaintiff to Claimant No. 1,' Rothman said, adding that there may also be a relationship of authority or trust with Claimant No. 1.
