John Hinckley, Jr.

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John Hinckley, Jr. FBI
image on the day of the assassination
Turmoil during the March 30, 1981 assassination attempt on Reagan

John Warnock Hinckley, Jr. (born May 29, 1955 in Ardmore , Oklahoma ) is an American assassin . He committed an assassination attempt on US President Ronald Reagan on March 30, 1981 , in order to attract the attention of actress Jodie Foster . After 35 years of preventive detention , he was on September 10, 2016 editions of the psychiatry dismissed.

Life

Hinckley's father, John Warnock Hinckley Sr., was the chairman of the board of directors of Vanderbilt Energy Corporation and chairman of the board of directors of the evangelical aid organization World Vision . Hinckley jr. grew up in University Park , a suburb of Dallas , Texas , where he attended Highland Park High School . After graduating in 1973, the family moved to Evergreen , Colorado , where the father's employer had relocated its headquarters.

From 1974 to 1980 Hinckley was enrolled at Texas Tech University , but moved to Los Angeles in 1975 , where he tried unsuccessfully to gain a foothold as a songwriter . In 1976 he returned to his parents.

Hinckley developed an obsession with actress Jodie Foster , whom he saw in the movie Taxi Driver . After attempts to get in personal contact with her had failed, Hinckley thought of strategies how he could impress her, for example by hijacking an airplane or committing suicide in front of her. Modeled after the confused main character of Taxi Driver trying to assassinate a politician , Hinckley's plan to go down in history by assassinating the US president was born . He pursued then-President Jimmy Carter from state to state until he was arrested in Nashville for illegally possessing weapons. As a result, Hinckley returned to his parents. A depression was diagnosed and treated with drugs. In 1981 Hinckley gathered information about the Kennedy assassin Lee Harvey Oswald , whom he took as a model.

On March 30, 1981, Hinckley shot President Ronald Reagan six times with a Röhm -RG-14- revolver in front of the Hilton Hotel in Washington, DC . Reagan wasn't hit directly, but a projectile ricocheted off the bulletproof window of his limousine injured his left lung . In the attack, the press secretary James Brady was shot badly in the brain and the security guards Thomas Delahanty and Timothy McCarthy injured more easily.

Hinckley let himself be arrested without resistance. In the trial against him it was ruled not guilty because of insanity . Psychiatrists diagnosed him with acute psychosis , severe depression and a narcissistic personality disorder , coupled with an erotomania directed at Jodie Foster . Hinckley was admitted to the Saint Elisabeth Hospital in Washington, DC for preventive detention. In 1999 he was allowed to leave the institution to visit his family. However, this rule was revoked when it was discovered that Hinckley had smuggled material about Jodie Foster into the hospital. In 2004 he was again granted the visiting regulations.

In 2015, Hinckley was allowed to temporarily leave the clinic and spend time with his aged mother at the Kingsmill Resort in James City County . On July 27, 2016, the relevant district court ruled that Hinckley could be released permanently on August 5, 2016 after 35 years in prison and could settle in Williamsburg , Virginia . Psychiatrists had attested that he had been in sustained stable remission of his illnesses for two decades . The discharge was subject to strict conditions (presentation to the psychiatric clinic at least once a month, notification of private visits to the treating psychiatrist and psychologist, etc.). He was banned from contacting previous victims or their relatives, as well as Jodie Foster and their families.

On September 10, 2016, Hinckley was released from the clinic under a series of conditions imposed by a court (including no media contacts, severely restricted travel radius, obligation to take up at least part-time work, regular psychiatric care).

Bush-Hinckley family connection

Hinckley's father was a financial backer to George Bush in the 1980 campaign . Bush was Reagan's main rival for the Republican Party presidential nomination . Hinckley's older brother Scott, who became vice president of his father's oil company after graduating, would have had a meal at Neil Bush's house the day after the attack , but it was canceled after the attack.

In culture

The feature film The Day Reagan Was Shot (2001) addresses the assassination attempt. In this film, Hinckley is portrayed by Christian Lloyd . In the movie Fletcher's Visions , Hinckley is mentioned as a subject of brainwashing attempts. In season 1, episode 18 ("Red Anemones") of Criminal Minds , which is about a stalker, Hinckley is mentioned as an example. Episode 4 ("Das Assentat", OT: In Control ) of the first season of the espionage series " The Americans " also revolves around the assassination attempt, it serves as a starting point for a number of developments around the protagonists. In season 2, episode 9 of American Dad , the assassination and the consequences of the assassination were discussed. The American punk band NOFX sings about the acts of John Hinckley in the song Sid and Nancy , which is on the 2016 album First Ditch Effort .

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ A b John Hinckley Jr, Reagan's would-be assassin, to be freed on Saturday. BBC News, September 10, 2016, accessed September 10, 2016 .
  2. ↑ Jim Keith: Mind Control, World Control. 1998, ISBN 0932813453 , p. 180.
  3. ↑ George Piccard Liquid Conspiracy: LSD, JFK, the CIA, Area 51 and UFOs. 1999, ISBN 0932813577 , p. 159.
  4. ↑ Douglas Linder (2002): http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hinckley/HBIO.HTM
  5. ↑ Denise Noe: Taxi Driver ( Memento from September 17, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
  6. ↑ a b c Reagan would-be assassin John Hinckley Jr to be released. BBC News, July 27, 2016, accessed July 27, 2016 .
  7. ↑ Praised by shrinks, Hinckley seeks more freedom
  8. ↑ UNITED STATES OF AMERICA v. John W. Hinckley Jr., Criminal No. 81-0306 (PLF). (PDF) Retrieved July 27, 2016 (English).
  9. ↑ Arthur Wiese, Downing, Margaret: Bush's Son Was To Dine With Suspect's Brother , The Houston Post. March 31, 1981. 
  10. ^ UPI: Hinkley's kin slated to dine with Bush's son . The Bulletin. March 31, 1981. Retrieved November 23, 2009.
personal data
SURNAME Hinckley, John Jr.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Hinckley, John Warnock Jr. (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American assassin
DATE OF BIRTH May 29, 1955
PLACE OF BIRTH Ardmore , Oklahoma , United States