Attempted assassination of Ronald Reagan: Difference between revisions

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Chaos outside the Washington Hilton Hotel after the assassination attempt on President Reagan on March 30, 1981

The Reagan ass attempt occurred on March 30, 1981, just 69 (haha 69) days into the United States Presidency of Ronald W. Reagan. While leaving a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel (in Washington, D.C.), President Reagan, and three others were shot and wounded by John Hinckley, Jr., who had previously stalked President Jimmy Carter and had a history of mental illness.

Ambush outside Washington hotel

On March 30, 1981, President Reagan delivered a luncheon address to AFL-CIO representatives at the Washington Hilton Hotel north of Dupont Circle in Washington, D.C. Would-be assassin John Hinckley Jr. was waiting outside in a small crowd including news media.

As Reagan walked out of the T Street NW exit toward his waiting car, Hinckley emerged from the crowd and fired a Rohm RG-14 .22 cal. revolver six times at him. The gun, a Saturday night special that cost $25 and was manufactured by Rohm Gesellschaft, a West German company, and assembled by its American subsidiary, R.G. Industries, Inc., was loaded with six Devastator bullets that were designed to explode on impact, but all failed to explode.[1][2] [3] Reagan, White House Press Secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy, and District of Columbia police officer Thomas Delehanty were wounded. Hinckley was quickly subdued by the Secret Service. The entire incident was captured on video by television reporters.

Moments after the shooting began, Reagan was whisked away by the Secret Service agents in the presidential limousine. It was not initially realized that Reagan had been wounded, as the bullet which hit him had entered under his armpit. However, when they realized he appeared to be injured, they diverted to nearby George Washington University Hospital, where an emergency surgery was performed. He subsequently recovered quickly, despite being 70 years old, and was able to continue his presidential duties.

The shooter

According to the March 31, 1981, edition of the Houston Post, and reported by AP, UPI, NBC News and Newsweek, Hinckley is the son of one of George H.W. Bush's better supporters in his 1980 presidential primary campaign against Ronald Reagan; John Hinckley Sr.'s Vanderbilt Energy had been threatened with a $2 million fine the morning of the assassination attempt. John Jr.'s older brother, Scott Hinckley, and Neil Bush had a dinner appointment for the next day.

The motivation behind Hinckley's attack was, strangely, an obsession with actress Jodie Foster. While living in Hollywood in the late 1970s, he apparently saw the film Taxi Driver 15 times, apparently identifying strongly with Travis Bickle, the lead character played by Robert DeNiro. Near the end of the film, Bickle becomes fixated on the protection of a 12-year-old prostitute, played by Foster. Over the following years, Hinckley trailed Foster around the country, going so far as to enroll in a writing course at Yale University in 1980 when he learned that she was a student there. Convinced that a grand, sweeping gesture would be needed to gain her attention, Hinckley began to stalk then-President Jimmy Carter — his decision to target Presidents also likely inspired by Taxi Driver.

The morning prior to the assassination attempt, Hinckley wrote a letter to Foster, saying that he hoped to impress her with the magnitude of his action. The shooting and aftermath were recorded by news cameras present for Reagan's address. Upon capture, Hinckley famously asked his arresting officers whether that night's Academy Awards ceremony would be postponed due to the shooting. It was indeed postponed to the next evening. [4] [5]

"Honey, I forgot to duck"

When Reagan's wife, First Lady Nancy Reagan, arrived at the hospital, he jokingly explained, "Honey, I forgot to duck." Apparently he was quoting a famous remark made by boxer Jack Dempsey in 1926, explaining his defeat by Gene Tunney in the heavyweight championship bout. His wife Estelle Taylor asked him "What happened?" His reply was, "Honey, I forgot to duck." A former actor, Reagan often quoted such witticisms.

Shortly before surgery to remove the bullet, which barely missed his heart, Reagan remarked to the surgical team, "Please tell me you're all Republicans." The head surgeon, liberal Democrat Joseph Giordano, replied, "Mr. President, today we are all Republicans." [6]

The wounding of James Brady

The two law enforcement officers also recovered from their wounds. However, the attack seriously wounded the President's Press Secretary, James Brady, who sustained a very serious head wound and became permanently disabled. Brady remained as Press Secretary for the remainder of Reagan's administration, but this was primarily a titular role.

Later, Brady and his wife, Sarah, became leading advocates of gun control and other actions to reduce the amount of gun violence in the United States. They also became active in the lobbying organization that would eventually be renamed the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and they founded the non-profit Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

"I'm in control here"

Reagan's Secretary of State, Alexander Haig, was criticized shortly after the attack, when Reagan was undergoing surgery, for asserting before reporters at a hastily-arranged White House press conference that "I'm in control here" as a result of Reagan's incapacitation.

Haig was widely accused of mishandling the situation and of misinterpreting the presidential line of succession (according to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947), since the Secretary of State is not in control when a President is incapacitated (unable to serve); this duty devolves to the Vice President of the United States (at the time, this was George H.W. Bush). Since George H.W. Bush was away from the White House (on a speaking engagement in Dallas, TX), and temporarily unable to discharge the duties of the Presidency, the next in line should have been the Speaker of the House (at the time Tip O'Neill).

Hinckley's insanity defense

Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity on June 21. The defense psychiatric reports had found him to be insane while the prosecution reports declared him legally sane. Hinckley was confined at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C., where he was still being held as of April 2006.

Public reaction to "not guilty by reason of insanity" verdict

The not guilty verdict led to widespread dismay, and, as a result, the U.S. Congress, and a number of states, rewrote the law regarding the insanity defense. The old McNaughten test was replaced by the Federal Test that shifts the burden of proof of insanity from the prosecution to the defendant. Three states have abolished the defense altogether. In the United States prior to the Hinckley case, the insanity defense was used in less than 2% of capital cases and was unsuccessful in almost 80% of the trials.

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 [[Image:Reagan assassination.jpg|250px|thumb|Chaos outside the Washington Hilton Hotel after the assassination attempt on President Reagan on March 30, 1981]]
-The '''Reagan ass attempt''' occurred on [[March 30]], [[1981]], just 69 days into the [[United States]] [[President of the United States|Presidency]] of [[Ronald W. Reagan]]. While leaving a speaking engagement at the [[Washington Hilton Hotel]] (in [[Washington, D.C.]]), President Reagan, and three others were shot and wounded by [[John Hinckley, Jr.]], who had previously stalked President [[Jimmy Carter]] and had a history of [[mental illness]].
+The '''Reagan ass attempt''' occurred on [[March 30]], [[1981]], just 69 (haha 69) days into the [[United States]] [[President of the United States|Presidency]] of [[Ronald W. Reagan]]. While leaving a speaking engagement at the [[Washington Hilton Hotel]] (in [[Washington, D.C.]]), President Reagan, and three others were shot and wounded by [[John Hinckley, Jr.]], who had previously stalked President [[Jimmy Carter]] and had a history of [[mental illness]].
 ==Ambush outside Washington hotel==