Whoa, it's been a long time since we talked about this but I'd like to revisit this event because although the perpetrator was unable to kill anybody during the attempt, recently in 2015, one of the victims, James Brady died. Furthermore, his death was actually ruled as murder because the cause of his death was the damage that his brain had sustained during the shooting even though his death was over 30 years after the shooting.
In 1981, Ronald Reagan had just finished a speech in the Hilton Hotel when a man named John Hinckley approached him with a revolver and fired 6 bullets at him only ten feet away. Miraculously Hinckley was a horrible shot as not a single bullet hit it's intended target. Instead, one bullet struck White House Press Secretary James Brady right in the head, another hit a policeman, another a secret serviceman, and the one that struck the president actually also missed but ricochet off the side of the limousine and hit the president.
While the shooter was quickly apprehended, the President, James Brady, and the Secret Serviceman were immediately whisked away and taken to the hospital for immediate medical care. As we know, after the shooting there was a lot of chaos in the white house on what had just happened and whether Reagan was even so alive. Most outlets also thought that James Brady had died because he was shot in the head from less than ten feet away. Instead, James Brady fighting for his life as surgeons tried to remove the bullet from his head. Even after he was out of surgery, he was never the same. The gunshot wound left him with mental disabilities including slurred speech, a difficulty controlling emotions and recognizing people, and memory problems along with partial paralysis leaving him confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life.
On the other hand, the shooter, John Hinckley was acquitted from all charges due to the fact that he was deemed insane. He had recently become infatuated with an actor named Jodie Foster and targeted Reagan not for political reasons but for her. This ruling lead to a public outcry which led directly to the Insanity Defense Reform Act which altered the considerations on what was a mental illness for Federal Courts. Hinckley was released from an institution in 2016 and was not tried for the murder of James Brady.
https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/ronald-reagan-is-shot-by-john-hinckley-jr
https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0330.html
I found the fact that John Hinckley was never punished to be interesting. Though there was legislation passed after, he was never convicted of murder. I also though it was crazy how he was ten feet away but missed every shot, and managed to kill someone else.
ReplyDeleteThis was horrible! But at least we can be thankful Reagan was so tough and survived to laugh when telling the tale. Dude must have gotten his ass kicked a lot after that.
ReplyDeleteI think it really interesting that due to James Brady, the Insanity Defense Reform Act was passed, and not due to President Reagan. Before this, the United States had been a bit lenient when it came to punishing people who they deemed insane. However, this act made it harder for people to be deemed not guilty off of the basis of insanity, which probably helped our criminal justice system in the long run.
ReplyDeleteSource: https://www.justice.gov/jm/criminal-resource-manual-634-insanity-defense-reform-act-1984
I can't believe that it took James Brady 30 years to succumb to his injuries. However, it is more incredible still that pleading mental illness ensured that John Hinckley wasn't punished even though he tried to kill the president and did kill Brady.
ReplyDeleteWow. This was an interesting post. I don't even remember learning about this assassination attempt. It is kind of incredible that Reagan was not critically injured. It is tragic, however, that so many non-targets were injured.
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