John Hinckley, Jr. Trial(图)

The Trial of John W. Hinckley, Jr.

by Doug Linder (2001)

　　The verdict of "not guilty" for reason of insanity in the 1982 trial of John Hinckley, Jr. for his attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan stunned and outraged many Americans. An ABC News poll taken the day after the verdict showed 83% of those polled thought "justice was not done" in the Hinckley case. Some people——without much evidence——attributed the verdict to an anti-Reagan bias on the part the Washington, D. C. jury of eleven blacks and one white. Many more people, however, blamed a legal system that they claimed made it too easy for juries to return "not guilty" verdicts in insanity cases——despite the fact that such pleas were made in only 2% of felony cases and failed over 75% of the time. Public pressure resulting from the Hinckley verdict spurred Congress and most states into enacting major reforms of laws governing the use of the insanity defense.

　　The Hinckley trial highlights the difficulty of a system that forces jurors to label a defendant either "sane" or "insane" when the defendant may in fact be close to the middle on a spectrum ranging from Star Trek's Mr. Spock to the person who strangles his wife thinking that he's squeezing a grapefruit. Any objective evaluation of John Hinckley's mental condition shows him to be a troubled young man——not, as one prosecution witness described him, "a normal, All-American boy." But how troubled? The prosecution contended that Hinckley suffered only from "personality disorders" of the type affecting five to ten percent of the population, whereas the defense saw the same evidence as demonstrating Hinckley's serious mental illness.

　　The Hinckley trial, perhaps better than any other famous trial, reveals the difficulty of ascertaining what exactly is going on in the head of another human being——and then in using that imperfect knowledge to answer a legal question that reduces complex and changing mental states to two oversimplified categories.

　　THE TROUBLED LIFE OF JOHN HINCKLEY

　　The youngest of three children born to a workaholic oil executive and an agoraphobic stay-at-home mother, John Hinckley from an early age was clingy and very dependent upon his mother. Reviewing Breaking Points, JoAnn and Jack Hinckley's book about their coming to terms with their son's mental illness, Laura Obolensky writes——too critically, perhaps——in The New Republic of life inside the affectless Hinckley home:

　　Perhaps it is fear of what lies outside that makes the interior of the family so rigid and subdued, like life in a well-run bunker. The world of the Hinckleys was the rootless, middle-class Sunbelt culture that nurtures pro-family values, Christian fundamentalism, and occasional mass murderers. Families move frequently, but without compromising their parochialism. Everywhere, people are white, Christian, Republican (JoAnn explains John's egregious prejudices by saying he had "never been around people of other races.") Somewhere outside there are malign elements——minority groups, rock musicians, big government, and the cynical, Godless cosmopolites who dominate the media. Mothers in this culture do not lavish attention on their children, but on their furniture.

　　Hinckley drifted aimlessly through two years of college at Texas Tech, in Lubbock, playing his guitar, listening to music, and watching television. In the spring of 1976, he dropped out of school and headed for Hollywood, where he hoped——despite a lack of musical education——to make it as a songwriter.

　　While in Hollywood Hinckley first viewed a movie,Taxi Driver, that seemed to give dramatic content to his misery and meaning to his life. Fifteen

times over the next several years he watched this tale of a psychotic taxi driver, Travis Bickle (played by Robert DeNiro), who contemplates political assassination and then rescues——through violence——a vulnerable young prostitute, Iris (played by Jodie Foster), from the clutches of her pimp. In the movie, Hinckley seems to find clues to escape his depression. He begins to adopt the dress, preferences, and mannerisms of the Bickle character. Like Bickle, Hinckley begins keeping a diary, wearing an army fatigue jacket and boots, drinking peach brandy, and develops a fascination with guns. In letters to his parents in Evergreen, Colorado, Hinckley describes a fabricated relationship with a "Lynn," who shares many characteristics with Bickle's initial love interest in the movie, a campaign worker named "Betsy" (played by Cybill Shepherd). Most significantly, however, Hinckley begins a long-term obsession with actress Jodie Foster.

　　In the spring of 1977, admitting defeat in his attempt to launch a musical career, Hinckley returned Texas Tech, where he sporadically attended class and spent most of his time alone. Over the next two years, Hinckley's parents expressed increasing concern to their son about his occupational goals. His depression deepened. Life seemed to lack purpose. In August, 1979, he bought his first gun and took up target-shooting. Two times that fall he played "Russian Roulette." By Christmas of 1979, fear of facing his family caused him to spend the holiday by himself in Lubbock. A photo Hinckley took of himself in early 1980 shows him holding a gun to his temple.

　　In the summer of 1980, Hinckley informed his parents that he had a new career goal, writing. He asked his parents to pay for writing course at Yale. Hinckley never intended to enroll in writing course; his interest in visiting New Haven centered on one of Yale's undergraduates: Jodie Foster. With $3,600 of his parents' money and promising to work diligently at Yale, Hinckley set off for Connecticut on September 17.

　　Not surprisingly, Hinckley failed in his efforts to win the love of Jodie Foster. Too shy to approach her in person, Hinckley left letters and poems in her mailbox and talked to her twice——awkwardly——over the phone.

　　Soon after his disappointment at Yale, Hinckley began to stalk President Carter at campaign appearances. In a three-day period, Hinckley visited three cities where Carter rallies were held: Washington, D. C., Columbus, and Dayton. Although assassinating the President was clearly on his mind, Hinckley explained later that at that time he was unable to get himself into "a frame of mind where he could actually carry out the act." Video taken in Dayton showed Hinckley to have gotten within twenty feet of the President.

　　For the next few weeks, Hinckley continued to fly frenetically around the country. He reappeared in New Haven, then flew to Lincoln, Nebraska on October 6, where he hoped to meet with "one of the leading ideologicians" of the American Nazi Party. The hoped-for meeting never took place. From Lincoln it was on to Nashville, for another Carter campaign stop. Security officers at the Nashville airport arrested Hinckley for carrying handguns in his suitcase, and confiscated both the guns and handcuffs also found in his luggage. Hinckley paid a fine and was released. After yet another short visit to Yale, Hinckley flew to Dallas, where he purchased more handguns. Then Hinckley boarded a flight for Washington, continuing his trailing of Carter.

　　On October 20, his $3,600 exhausted, Hinckley flew home to Colorado, where his parents expressed strong disappointment in his failure to carry out his promises. After Hinckley overdosed on antidepressant medication, the Hinckleys arranged for their son to meet with a local psychiatrist, Dr. John Hopper. Hopper met with Hinckley several times over the course of the next four months, but learned nothing of Hinckley's

thoughts of assassination and little of his obsession with Foster. Hopper urged JoAnn and Jack Hinckley to push John toward emotional and financial independence.

　　Hinckley's mental health did not improve——rather, it deteriorated. He continued flying across the country to Washington (where the new President-Elect, Ronald Reagan, was staying), New York (where John Lennon had just been assassinated), and New Haven. While in New York, Hinckley seriously contemplated killing himself in front of the Dakota Hotel, at the exact spot where Lennon had been shot. On New Year's Eve of 1980, Hinckley recorded a deeply disturbing monologue in which he spoke of not "really" wanting "to hurt" Jodie Foster, his fears about losing his sanity, and the likelihood of "suicide city" if he failed to win Foster's love.

　　Hinckley returned to Colorado for his last time on March 7, 1981. Jack Hinckley met John at the Denver airport and told John——having failed to obtain a job——he would not be allowed to go home to Evergreen. Jack Hinckley gave his son $200, which John used to pay for motel rooms in Denver where he sat alone watching television and reading.

　　Hinckley——unbeknownst to his father——interrupted his stays in cheap motels to visit his mother several times. On March 25, JoAnn Hinckley drove John to the Stapleton Airport in Denver. They drove in virtual silence. At the curbside in front of the terminal, as he reached for his suitcase John said to his mother, "I want to thank you, Mom, for everything you've ever done for me, all these years." JoAnn Hinckley felt fear "climb into my throat" as she replied, "You're very welcome."

　　THE ASSASSINATION

　　After a one-day stay in Hollywood and a cross-country trip by Greyhound Bus, Hinckley checked into the Park Central Hotel in Washington, D. C. on the afternoon of March 29. After a restless night, Hinckley rose the next morning for a breakfast at McDonald's. On th

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