TheTrialofJohnWHinckleyJr.docx

1、TheTrialofJohnWHinckleyJrThe 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 hisattempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan stunned and outraged many Americans. An ABC News poll taken the day after

2、 the verdict showed 83% of those polled thought justice wasnot done in the Hinckley case. Some people without much evidenceattributed the verdict to an anti-Reagan bias on the part the Washington, D. C. jury of eleven blacks and onewhite. Many more people, however, blamed a legal system that they cl

3、aimed made it too easy forjuries to return not guilty verdicts in insanity casesdespite the fact that such pleas weremade in only 2% of felony cases and failed over 75% of the time. Public pressure resulting fromthe Hinckley verdict spurred Congress and moststates into enacting major reforms of laws

4、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 Treks Mr. Spock to the person who strangles his wife

5、thinking that hes squeezing a grapefruit. Any objective evaluation of John Hinckleys mental condition shows himto 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 personalit

6、y disorders of the type affecting five to ten percent of the population, whereasthe defense saw the same evidence as demonstrating Hinckleys 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 h

7、ead 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 HINCKLEYThe youngest of three children born to a workaholic oil executive and an agoraphobic sta

8、y-at-home mother, John Hinckley from an early age was clingy and very dependent upon his mother. Reviewing Breaking Points, JoAnn and Jack Hinckleys book about their coming to terms with their sons mental illness, Laura Obolensky writes too critically, perhaps in The New Republic of life inside the

9、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 occasi

10、onal mass murderers. Families move frequently, but without compromising their parochialism. Everywhere, people are white, Christian, Republican (JoAnn explains Johns egregious prejudices by saying he had never been around people of other races.) Somewhere outside there are malign elements minority g

11、roups, 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 hisguitar, listeni

12、ng 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 mise

13、ry 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 rescuesthrough violence a vulnerable young prostitute, Iris (played by Jodie Foster), from

14、 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 develo

15、ps 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 Bickles initial love interest in the movie, a campaign worker named Betsy (played by Cybill Shepherd). Most significantly, howe

16、ver, Hinckley begins a long-term obsession with actress Jodie Foster.In the spring of 1977, admitting defeat in his attempt to launch a musicalcareer, Hinckley returned Texas Tech, where he sporadically attended class and spent most of his time alone. Over the next two years, Hinckleys parents expre

17、ssed 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

18、 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

19、to enroll in writing course; his interest in visiting New Haven centered on one of Yales 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 th

20、e love of Jodie Foster. Too shy toapproach 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 t

21、hree 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 frameof mind where he could actually carry out the act. Video taken in Dayt

22、on showed Hinckley to have gotten within twenty feet of the President.For the next few weeks, Hinckley continued to fly frenetically around the country. Hereappeared in New Haven, then flew to Lincoln, Nebraska on October 6, where he hoped to meet with one of the leading ideologicians of the America

23、n 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. Hinc

24、kley 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

25、 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, b

26、ut learned nothing of Hinckleys thoughts of assassination and little of his obsession with Foster. Hopper urged JoAnn and Jack Hinckley to push John toward emotional and financial independence.Hinckleys mental health did not improve rather, it deteriorated. He continued flying across the country to

27、Washington (where the new President-Elect, Ronald Reagan, was staying), New York (where John Lennon had just been assassinated), and New Haven. Whilein New York, Hinckley seriously contemplated killing himself in front of the Dakota Hotel, at the exact spot where Lennon had been shot. On New Years E

28、ve 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 Fosters love.Hinckley returned to Colorado for his last time on March 7, 1981. Jack Hinc

29、kley 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 int

30、errupted 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,

31、for everything youve ever done for me, all these years. JoAnn Hinckley felt fear climb into my throat as she replied, Youre very welcome.THE ASSASSINATIONAfter 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

32、the afternoon of March 29. After a restless night, Hinckley rose the next morning for a breakfast at McDonalds. On the way back to the hotel, he picked up the Washington Star. Hinckley noticed the Presidents schedule, on page A-4, indicating that Reagan would be speaking to a labor convention at the Washingon Hilton in just a couple of hours. Hinckley showered, took Valium to calm himself, loaded his twenty-twowith exploding Devastator bullets purchased nine months e