On 17 July 2024, A Thousand Miles from Care, a memoir canvassing Steve Johnson’s thirty-year effort to uncover the truth about the murder of his brother, Scott Johnson, will be published in Australia by Harper Collins.

Vivian Evans (Vivian) of Uther Webster & Evans has worked closely with Steve and his US Legal team, and John Agius SC (John) over the last decade, in his attempt to obtain justice for Scott. Vivian and John assisted Steve to secure a third coronial inquest into Scott’s death, which resulted in a finding that Scott’s death was a homicide and led to a new police taskforce being appointed and the arrest and sentencing of Scott’s killer. Steve’s work also paved the way for the recent New South Wales inquiry into gay hate crimes.

In December 1988, Scott, who was a 27-year-old American PHD student living in Australia, was found dead at the bottom of a cliff at North Head, in the Manly area. Following an autopsy that concluded no foul play, Scott’s death was initially ruled a suicide.

Steve, who was unsatisfied with this finding, commenced what would ultimately be a three-decade-long investigation into uncovering the truth of what happened to Scott. Refusing to believe that Scott had any reason to end his life or that his death was the result of an accident, Steve lobbied police to continue the investigation into Scott’s death.

However, at a coronial inquest held in March 1989, the coroner found that Scott’s death was the result of a suicide, despite acknowledging that there was no apparent reason for Scott to take his own life. Steve continued to campaign for further investigation into Scott’s death, particularly in light of a number of homophobic killings which occurred around Sydney beaches in the 1980s.

Despite repeated attempts to progress the matter, it was not until 2012 that a second coronial inquest was authorised, in which the coroner overturned the initial suicide verdict and replaced it with an open one. The coroner also called for further police investigation into Scott’s death.

In 2017, a third coronial inquest was held. Following the evidence of several key witnesses, who testified to regular assaults against gay men by gangs in the North Head area, the coroner reached a verdict that Scott fell from the clifftop as a result of actual or threatened violence by an unidentified person or persons who attacked him because they perceived him to be homosexual.

Following this finding, police launched a further investigation into Scott’s death and announced a $2 million reward for information on Scott’s killer, $1 million of which was contributed by Steve personally. Ultimately, the police investigation led to the arrest of Scott White, who was charged with the murder of Scott on 12 May 2020.

On 13 January 2022, White was found guilty of murdering Scott, after entering a plea of guilty. Despite an attempt by White’s lawyer to have his guilty plea withdrawn, on the basis that White was not fit to make an admission of guilt, White was sentenced to 12 years and 7 months imprisonment, with a non-parole period of 8 years and 3 months.

However, six months later, White appealed his conviction, and a re-trial was ordered. On 23 February 2023, following discussions, White pleaded guilty to manslaughter and was subsequently re-sentenced to 9 years in prison, with a non-parole period of 6 years. He will be eligible for parole in 2026.

Following White’s sentence, a special commission of inquiry into LGBTIQ hate crimes was commissioned, appointing Justice John Sackar as Commissioner. The inquiry looked into the unsolved deaths of LGBTIQ people that may have been hate crimes between 1970 and 2010, which were previously the subject of investigation by the NSW Police Force. Specifically, the inquiry was focus upon the deaths of 88 men, potentially motivated by gay hate bias.

On 21 December 2023, the inquiry published its final report comprising almost 3,500 pages. The report calls for an audit and review by NSW Police of all unsolved homicides for the period from 1970 to 2010, and for the implementation of mandatory and ongoing training for NSW Police officers concerning the LGBTIQ community.

UWE is pleased to have been able to work closely with Steve Johnson in achieving not only justice for Scott but also important and long overdue reform in relation to the approach taken by the NSW Police Force in regard to LGBTIQ hate crimes.

The contents of this post are for informational purposes only. They do not constitute legal advice, are not intended to be a substitute for legal advice and should not be relied upon as such.

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