Overview

• On July 29, the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal dismissed the DPP’s challenge and left White’s non-custodial sentence intact.
• White was found guilty in November 2024 of manslaughter after firing a Taser at Clare Nowland at Yallambee Lodge and causing her fatal fall.
• Justice Ian Harrison ruled in March that a custodial term would be disproportionate given White’s honest but unreasonable perception of threat.
• Prosecutors led by Sally Dowling SC argued that Nowland’s dementia and vulnerability warranted imprisonment to achieve general deterrence.
• Nowland’s family described the outcome as a “slap on the wrist,” and advocates are calling for clearer Taser protocols in aged-care homes.