Kristian White (left) was found guilty over the death of Clare Nowland. Photo: Gail Eastway.
Prosecutors will argue the non-custodial sentence handed to a former police officer over the death of Clare Nowland is “manifestly inadequate”, court documents reveal.
The NSW Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions has already announced it will appeal Kristian James Samuel White’s sentence.
White was found guilty of manslaughter over 95-year-old Ms Nowland’s death at the end of his NSW Supreme Court trial but was spared being sent to jail when he was sentenced to a two-year community corrections order.
Earlier this month, prosecutors lodged their notice to appeal.
A document outlining their grounds of appeal shows prosecutors will argue the sentence was “manifestly inadequate”.
Prosecutors will argue that the sentencing judge, Justice Ian Harrison, erred in mistaking the facts by proceeding on the basis that the lawyers agreed that White held an honest belief that his conduct was necessary.
They will argue Justice Harrison “erred in his assessment of objective seriousness”.
Lastly, prosecutors will claim the judge erred in determining that general deterrence had “little or no role” or “only a minor role” to play in the sentence.
The appeal will be mentioned in court on 17 April.
Clare Nowland is remembered as a “beacon of love and strength” by her family. Photo: Supplied.
Ms Nowland, who suffered from symptoms consistent with dementia, was carrying two knives while going into other residents’ rooms at Yallambee Lodge in Cooma, NSW, on 17 May 2023, resulting in staff calling Triple Zero for assistance.
CCTV captured her movements around the lodge, as well as the search to find her.
She was eventually found in a small room, holding a steak knife while she used her mobility frame to slowly walk towards police officers, paramedics and staff standing in the corridor outside the room.
She did not drop the knife or stop moving when the officers repeatedly told her to, then was tasered by White while he stood about two metres away from her outside the room’s doorway.
She fell over, hit her head on the ground and died from her injuries seven days later.
When White was sentenced, Justice Harrison said the former senior constable completely and inexplicably misread and misunderstood the dynamics of the situation that night.
But he also found the crime fell towards the lower end of objective seriousness for manslaughter and did not call for a custodial sentence.
White was dismissed from the police force in December 2024 but then launched a review of this decision.
Original Article published by Albert McKnight on Region Canberra.
