Exexution of Justice

BIBLIOGRAPHY

A selection of resources for Execution of Justice have been compiled here. The categories included are:

Biographical Information
Facts about the Case
Legal and Governmental terms and details
Critical commentary on the trial

After running twice for the board of supervisors, Harvey Milk won his third bid for the position in 1977. Less than a year after his inauguration, in 1978, he was shot and killed by Dan White.

More about Milk's life, death, and legacy can be found here.

BIOGRAPHICAL INFO

Dan White, once another supervisor, ended up shooting and killing both Mayor George Moscone and Harvey Milk in 1978. His motivations for doing so aren't always clear.

Read about what his former political adviser, lead aide, and business partner, Ray Sloan has to say on the subject here.

Sister Boom Boom, who bookends the play by reading from the Book of Dan, also ran for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. Opening every campaign speech by asking, “Am I Supe yet?”, Boom Boom never won a seat.

George Moscone was mayor of San Francisco from 1976 to 1978, and despite that short time is considered influential in the course of San Francisco's history due to the fact that he didn't shy away from the diversity of his city.

FACTS ABOUT THE CASE

Execution of Justice is a Docudrama. Much of what it contains is factual, or inspired by real events.

But how does the play hold up? The next few sources investigate that question.

DIMINISHED CAPACITY

The diminished capacity defense usually results in a diminished charge, such as a murder charge being changed to manslaughter.

More information can be found here.

QUICK GLOSSARY

FULL GLOSSARY

FIRST DEGREE MURDER

First degree murder involves premeditation (malice aforethought).

MANSLAUGHTER

Manslaughter can be either involuntary or voluntary. Voluntary manslaughter includes the killing of a person that would be considered murder but "is committed under the influence of extreme mental or emotional disturbance for which there is reasonable explanation or excuse."

CRITICAL COMMENTARY

In order to diversify viewpoints regarding this case, a brief selection of current and historical commentary on the trial, verdict, and defense strategy has been compiled here.