The NSW Director of Public Prosecutions Sally Dowling SC (above left) will personally appear in the NSW Court of Criminal Appeal later this month to argue the sentencing of former NSW police officer Kristian White (above centre) was "manifestly inadequate".
White was found guilty of the manslaughter of 95-year-old aged care resident Clare Nowland (pictured above right) in November 2024, and was handed a two-year community correction order in March this year.
Ms Nowland, who was living with dementia, fell and suffered a fatal brain injury after she was tasered by White at the Yallambee Lodge nursing home in Cooma, 114km south of the state capital Canberra, in May 2023. She died a week later in hospital.
In handing down the sentence, Justice Ian Harrison said White’s actions were at the “lower end” of the scale of seriousness for manslaughter, and jail time would be “disproportionate".
However, the Director of Public Prosecutions announced plans to appeal the sentence, citing concerns over its leniency and now Dowling will seek to overturn the decision. The appeal will be heard on 27 June.
White, 35, is currently living under the conditions of the community correction order while awaiting the outcome of the appeal.
