Living in America for a long time, you hear some truly bizarre court stories.

Among them, the one that made me think, "Is this really a story from a courtroom?" was the Twinkie Defense.

A Twinkie is a sweet snack with a yellow sponge cake and white cream that you commonly see in American stores.

However, this snack appeared during the most famous murder trial in American history in 1978 in San Francisco.

The case involved Dan White, who entered San Francisco City Hall and shot Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk.

Harvey Milk was one of the first openly gay elected officials in the U.S. and was a prominent figure receiving national attention.

At first glance, the incident seems premeditated. White entered City Hall with a gun, killed Mayor Moscone, and then moved to Milk's office to shoot him as well.

So many people thought he would obviously be found guilty of first-degree murder.

But during the trial, an unexpected argument came up.

Junk food.

White's defense team claimed that he was in a severe state of depression at the time of the crime, which significantly impaired his judgment, known as diminished capacity.

In explaining how deteriorated his mental state was, they brought up his change in diet.

Originally, White was someone who exercised and ate healthy food, but before the crime, his life fell apart, and he started consuming a lot of junk food like donuts, cakes, and cola.

From here, the story took a bizarre turn.

"I killed someone because I ate too many Twinkies and went crazy."

This became the Twinkie Defense that people still remember today.

However, the actual defense strategy was not to claim that "I committed murder because I ate sugary bread," but rather that the act of starting to eat junk food was one of many symptoms showing White's severe depression.

Surprisingly, this argument worked, and the verdict was overturned.

The jury found White guilty of two counts of voluntary manslaughter instead of first-degree murder.

He received a sentence of 7 years and 8 months, but actually served only about 5 years.

After killing two people, the outcome shocked San Francisco.

Especially, the anger of those who supported Harvey Milk erupted.

Thousands took to the streets, police cars were set on fire, and clashes occurred between police and protesters. This became known as the famous White Night Riots.

Watching American news, you sometimes feel that American trials place as much importance on "what happened" as on "what mental state the person was in at that moment."

So, it's not unusual for cakes and cola to suddenly appear in a trial centered on guns, murder, and political issues.

Interestingly, the name Twinkie Defense itself fails to accurately describe the actual trial content.

People remember the story of "a guy ate snacks and got a lighter sentence" much better than the complex psychiatric term diminished capacity.

I would too. If someone said "Depression and diminished capacity defense," I might forget it by tomorrow.

But if someone says "Twinkie Defense," I think I would remember it for life.

In the end, it has become one of the most famous snacks in American legal history.

Now, when you see a Twinkie in the store, it might not just look like a cheap sweet snack anymore.

Behind this little snack are two murder cases, San Francisco's political history, psychiatric debates, jury trials, and even large-scale riots.

In America, it seems you have to know the history behind even a snack.