Tag Archives: insanity defense

national news, Uncategorized

Should we set John Hinckley free?

Allow me to answer the question posed in the headline.

Yes, sort of.

John Hinckley has been housed in a psych ward since a jury found him innocent by reason of insanity after he shot President Ronald Reagan, White House press secretary James Brady and two law enforcement officers in March 1981.

Brady — nicknamed The Bear by the press corps — died a year ago from the grievous head wound he suffered at Hinckley’s hand.

http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/05/12/406175445/reagan-shooter-john-hinckleys-lawyers-say-hes-ready-to-be-free

Hinckley’s lawyer says he’s ready to be set free. And even the government prosecutors suggest he is able to be released from the hospital. The feds, though, say he needs constant supervision and must be monitored closely.

I concur with the feds’ assessment, although if I were King of the World, I’d be reluctant to let him out.

Why? Well, the man sought to murder the president of the United States. He wounded him with a gunshot wound in the chest and as we would learn after the chaotic day the president could have died from the wound had the bullet lodged an inch or so toward the president’s heart.

What’s more, a jury ruled that Hinckley was insane when he committed the crime. How many people usually go from being insane to, well, sane?

I am one who doesn’t trust John Hinckley to never do something so crazed again.

That’s why if he gets out of the psych ward he needs careful and never-ending scrutiny.

 

national news

Hinckley won't be tried again … for murder

It’s settled. John Hinckley, who shot President Reagan in March 1981, will not be tried for the murder of one of the men who died as a result of the injuries he suffered on that terrible day.

One of the other victims was the late White House press secretary James Brady, who died this past summer. A medical examiner said Brady’s death was a direct result of being shot in the head by Hinckley.

http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/228396-no-charges-for-hinckley-in-james-brady-death

This is a good call for a number of reasons.

Hinckley was acquitted of trying to assassinate the president. He fired the shots. The acquittal was because he was determined to be insane. That means he also was considered insane when he shot Brady and two law enforcement officers.

The Constitution prohibits what’s called “double jeopardy,” meaning criminal defendants cannot be tried twice or more for the same crime. As The Hill reported: “In explaining their decision Friday, federal prosecutors argued that because Hinckley was deemed insane by a jury in 1982, they would be unable to argue today that he had been sane when he shot Brady.”

Hinckley’s time in court has come and gone.

My initial reaction to Brady’s death was to put Hinckley on trial for murder. I thought better of it a few days later. I’ve thought even more about it months after that.

Prosecutors have made the right decision.