Thursday, June 24, 2010
Basic Hinckley Info
AKA John Warnock Hinckley, Jr.
Born: 29-May-1955
Birthplace: Ardmore, OK
Gender: Male
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Assassin
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Took a shot at President Reagan
Wacko psychopath who stalked Jodie Foster for a time, while she was at Yale. He became obsessed with her after seeing her in Taxi Driver (1976), and began writing her letters and love poems, even scoring a couple of chats on the phone with her. Hinckley believed that by assassinating the President of the United States, he would win her love and respect. At the time, that official was Jimmy Carter. Hinckley went to a couple of his campaign stops in 1980, only to be arrested for attempting to bring firearms onto an airplane in Nashville in October 1980. For a few months, he lived with his parents, and was cut off at his psychiatrist's suggestion after failing to find a job.
Meanwhile, Carter lost the election and Ronald Reagan was elected. At the end of March he took a bus to Washington, D.C., arriving on 29 March. Hinckley stayed up late that night, composing a letter to his lady love, detailing his plan to assassinate the President. The following day, he went to a labor convention at the Washington Hilton, where Reagan was scheduled to speak. He fired several shots from a .22 at Ronald Reagan, striking him once under the left armpit. He also critically injured press secretary James Brady, and injured Secret Service Agent Timothy J. McCarthy and Washington DC Police Officer Thomas K. Delahanty. A copy of The Catcher in the Rye was found in Hinckley's hotel room.
While awaiting trial, Hinckley tried to commit suicide by overdosing on Tylenol on 29 May 1982, but failed. In August he was indicted for the attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan, only to be found not guilty by reason of insanity on 21 June 1982.
In 1999 he was allowed the right to trips outside the hospital, supervised by the Secret Service. In April 2000, he won the right to unsupervised furloughs, only to have this privilege revoked when guards found a book about Jodie Foster in his room.
Father: John Hinckley
Mother: Jo Ann Moore Hinckley
Brother: Scott B. Hinckley
Sister: Diane
Letter to Jodie Written Immediately Before Assassination Attempt
Dear Jodie:
There is definitely a possibility that I will be killed in my attempt to get Reagan. It is for this very reason that I am writing you this letter now.
As you well know by now I love you very much. Over the past seven months I've left you dozens of poems, letters and love messages in the faint hope that you could develop an interest in me. Although we talked on the phone a couple of times I never had the nerve to simply approach you and introduce myself. Besides my shyness, I honestly did not wish to bother you with my constant presence. I know the many messages left at your door and in your mailbox were a nuisance, but I felt that it was the most painless way for me to express my love for you.
I feel very good about the fact that you at least know my name and how I feel about you. And by hanging around your dormitory, I've come to realize that I'm the topic of more than a little conversation, however full of ridicule it may be. At least you know that I'll always love you. Jodie, I would abandon the idea of getting Reagan in a second if I could only win your heart and live out the rest of my life with you, whether it be in total obscurity or whatever.
I will admit to you that the reason I'm going ahead with this attempt now is because I cannot wait any longer to impress you. I've got to do something now to make you understand, in no uncertain terms, that I'm doing all of this for your sake! By sacrificing my freedom and possibly my life, I hope to change your mind about me. This letter is being written only an hour before I leave for the Hilton Hotel. Jodie, I'm asking you to please look into your heart and at least give the chance, with this historical deed, to gain your love and respect.
I love you forever,
John W. Hickley
http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/hinckley/letter.htm
