Feb. 16, 2026

PRESIDENTS' DAY WEEKEND - "NOT GUILTY: HOW JOHN HINCKLEY SHOT A PRESIDENT, WALKED FREE & ENDED UP ON YOUTUBE"

Show Notes
Transcript

Reid Carter closes Presidents' Day weekend with the assassination attempt that changed American law. March 30, 1981: John Hinckley Jr. fired six shots at President Reagan outside the Washington Hilton — all to impress actress Jodie Foster. Reagan nearly died. Press Secretary James Brady was permanently disabled. Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy took a bullet to the chest. Hinckley's trial shocked America — jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity after seven hours. Public outrage rewrote insanity defense laws in 34 states. Hinckley spent 35 years institutionalized before full release in 2022. Now posts music on YouTube.

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WEBVTT

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Callarogus Shark Media. Good morning, I'm Reed Carter. Monday, February sixteenth,

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twenty twenty six, President's Day, final episode of our assassination

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Trial series, and I saved the most infuriating one for last. Friday,

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Lincoln Military Tribunal hanged four conspirators, including a woman. Saturday, Garfield,

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a lunatic who sang his way to the gallows while

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doctors killed the president. Yesterday, Kennedy Jack Ruby shot Oswald

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on live TV, got convicted, then died before his retrial today.

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The one where the assassin walked free. March thirtieth, nineteen

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eighty one, Washington, d C. Two twenty seven pm. President

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Ronald Reagan leaving the Washington Hilton Hotel after a speech

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to the AFLCIO, walking to his limousine thirty feet from

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the twenty five year old John Warnock Hinckley Junior, crouched

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in the press area, pulled a point two two caliber

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Rome RG fourteen revolver, fired six shots in one point

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seven seconds, hit four people. Press Secretary James Brady bullet

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to the head, permanently brain damaged Secret Service Agent Tim

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McCarthy bullet to the chest. Police officer Thomas Delahanty bullet

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to the neck President Reagan. Bullet ricocheted off the limousine,

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entered under his left arm, lodged one inch from his heart.

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Reagan nearly died, lost half his blood, underwent emergency surgery.

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The bullet was a devastator designed to explode on impact.

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It didn't detonate. If it had, Reagan would have been

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killed instantly. Why did John Hinckley shoot the President of

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the United States to impress Jody Foster, the actress? He

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was obsessed with her after watching taxi driver, wrote her

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love letters, stalked her at Yale. She didn't respond, sooh,

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he decided to assassinate the president to prove his love.

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June twenty first, nineteen eighty two, after a seven week trial,

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the jury deliberated for twenty five hours over four days.

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The verdict not guilty by reason of insanity on all

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thirteen counts. America lost its mind. The man who shot

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the president on camera in broad daylight, in front of

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dozens of witnesses was found not guilty, not going to prison,

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going to a mental hospital where he'd eventually be released,

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and he was June fifteenth, twenty twenty two, John Hinckley

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Junior was unconditionally released freeman, no restrictions, no monitoring. Today

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he has a YouTube channel, post's original songs has thousands

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of subscribers. The man who shot a President is a YouTuber.

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I'm Red Carter. This is Celebrity Trials today. The shooting

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of Ronald Reagan, the trial that outraged America, the insanity

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verdict that rewrote the law, and the freeman with a

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YouTube channel. Part four of Our President's Day Assassination Trials series.

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John Warnock Hinckley Junior born May twenty ninth, nineteen fifty five,

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in Ardmore, Oklahoma. Grew up in Dallas, Texas. Father was

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president of Vanderbilt Energy Corporation. Wealthy family, two older siblings,

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Comfortable suburban childhood, but Hinckley never fit socially isolated, few friends.

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Attended Texas Tech University in Lubbock, dropped out, re enrolled,

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dropped out again over seven years without graduating. Moved to

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Hollywood in nineteen seventy six, hoping to become a songwriter. Failed,

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moved back home, drifted. Then in nineteen seventy six, Hinckley

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saw taxi driver Martin Scorsese's Masterpiece starring Robert De Niro

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as Travis Bikele, a disturbed Vietnam veteran who plots to

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assassinate a presidential candidate, and Jody Foster, thirteen years old

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playing a teenage sex worker. Bickle befriends Hinkley became obsessed

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not with the movie with Jody Foster. He watched Taxi

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Driver at least fifteen times, bought the soundtrack, read the screenplay,

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began modeling himself on Travis Bickle, bought military fatigues, started

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a diary, and started collecting guns. When Foster enrolled at

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Yale University in nineteen eighty, Hinckley followed. Traveled to New Haven, Connecticut,

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slipped notes under her door, called her on the phone twice,

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managed to reach her short awkward conversations. Foster was polite,

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but clearly uncomfortable, told him to stop contacting her. Hinkley

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didn't stop. He escalated. In his mind, the only way

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to prove his love was a grand gesture, something so

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dramatic Jody Foster couldn't ignore it, something on the scale

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of Travis Bickle's violent climax and Taxi Driver. He decided

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to kill the present ccident October nineteen eighty, Hinckley stalked

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President Jimmy Carter, traveled to Nashville, where Carter was campaigning,

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was arrested at the airport for carrying three handguns in

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his luggage, charged with a firearms violation, paid a sixty

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two dollars fine. Released. Nobody connected the dots, Nobody flagged

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him as a presidential threat. His father confiscated his guns.

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Hinkley bought new ones. After Reagan won the November nineteen

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eighty election, Hinckley shifted his target. Didn't care which president,

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didn't care about politics. This wasn't ideological, This was romance

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in his deranged mind. March thirtieth, nineteen eighty one, Hinckley

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wrote a letter to Jody Foster that morning, never mailed it,

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found in his hotel room after the shooting. Dear Jody,

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there is a definite possibility that I will be killed

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in my attempt to get Reagan. This is the only

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way I can prove to you how much I love you, Jody.

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I would abandon this idea of getting Reagan in a

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second if I could only win your heart and live

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out the rest of my life with you. I will

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admit to you that the reason I'm going ahead with

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this attempt now is because i just cannot wait any

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longer to impress you. Two twenty five pm, Reagan exited

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the Washington Hilton through a side entrance VIP door thirty

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feet to the limousine. A small press pool gathered behind

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a rope line. Hinckley was in the crowd had been

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waiting since noon. Crouched drew his point two to two

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caliber Rum RG fourteen revolver loaded with six devastator exploding rounds.

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Two twenty seven pm, Hinckley fired. Shot one hit Press

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Secretary James Brady in the forehead above the left eye.

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The devastator round exploded inside his skull. Brady collapsed face

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first onto the sidewalk massive brain damage. Would survive, but

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be permanently paralyzed and cognitively impaired for the rest of

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his life. Shot two hit DC Police Officer Thomas Delahanty

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in the back of the neck as he turned to

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protect Reagan. Shot three missed, hit a building across the street.

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Shot four hit Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy in the abdomen.

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McCarthy had deliberately spread his body wide to shield the President.

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Took the bullet intentionally extraordinary bravery. Shot five hit the

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bulletproof glass of the presidential limousine. Shot six ricocheted off

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the armored side of the limousine. The flattened bullet entered

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Reagan's left side under his raised arm. The gap in

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the protective zone traveled seven inches and lodged one inch

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from his heart. All six shots in one point seven seconds.

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Then Secret Service agents tackled Hinkley, slammed him to the ground,

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disarmed him, pinned him. Reagan was shoved into the limousine

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by agent Jerry Parr. Initially thought he was unhurt, felt

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pain in his ribs and thought Parr had broken one

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pushing him into the car. Then he coughed up bright

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red blood frothy arterial. Parr redirected the motorcade to George

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Washington University Hospital. Reagan walked into the emergency room under

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his own power. Then his knees buckled, blood pressure dropping.

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He was losing blood internally. The bullet had punctured his lung,

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bleeding into his chest cavity. Surgeons found the devastator round

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lodge one inch from his aorda. Miraculously, it hadn't exploded.

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If it had, Reagan would have bled out in seconds.

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Reagan nearly died on the operating table, lost over half

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his blood volume three hours of surgery, but he survived.

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Famously told the surgeons before anesthesia, I hope you're all Republicans.

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The lead surgeon, a liberal Democrat, replied, today, mister President,

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We're all Republicans. James Brady's injuries were catastrophic. The exploding

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bullet destroyed part of his brain. He survived, but was

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permanently disabled, partially parallel speech impaired, required round the clock

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care for the rest of his life. He became an

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advocate for gun control. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act

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of nineteen ninety three bears his name. Brady died in

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twenty fourteen. His death was ruled a homicide consequence of

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the nineteen eighty one gunshot wound. Thirty three years later,

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Officer Delahanty recovered, Agent McCarthy recovered. Reagan recovered and returned

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to the White House in twelve days. Now, the question

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what happens to John Hinckley will be right back with

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the trial that changed American law. John Hinckley shot the

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President on camera. The jury said not guilty and America

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rewrote the rules of insanity May fourth, nineteen eighty two,

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thirteen months after the shooting. United States versus John W. Hinckley, Junior,

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began in the United States District Court for the District

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of Columbia, Judge Barrington Parker presiding thirteen counts attempted assassination

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of the President, assault with intent to kill, assault with

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a dangerous weapon, using a firearm during a federal crime

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of violence. And here's the critical legal issue that defined

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everything in federal court in nineteen eighty two. The burden

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of proof for insanity was on the prosecution. The defense

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didn't have to prove Hinckley was insane. The prosecution had

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to prove he was sane beyond a reasonable doubt. Again,

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the government had to prove Hinckley was sane. If jurors

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had any reasonable doubt about his mental state, they had

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to acquit. This was the existing law had been for years.

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Nobody paid much attention to it because insanity defenses rarely succeeded,

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But in this case, with this defendant, it became the

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most important legal technicality in America. Hinckley's defense team was

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led by Vincent Fuller, a respected Washington attorney strategy pure

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insanity defense. Hinckley suffered from severe mental illness, erotomania, major depression,

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borderline personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder. His obsession with Jody

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Foster was a psychotic fixation, not a rational choice. The

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shooting was the product of a diseased mind. The defense

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presented extensive psychiatric testimony. Doctor William Carpenter, professor of psychiatry

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at the University of Maryland, diagnosed Hinkley with schizophrenia. Set

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his letters to Foster, his stalking behavior, and his belief

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that assassinating the president would create a romantic connection all

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pointed to psychotic delusion. Doctor Ernst Prelinger, Yale psychologist, testified

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about psychological test results showing severe thought disorders. Hinckley's CAT scan,

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one of the first brain scans admitted as evidence in

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a criminal trial, showed brain abnormalities sulsy widening consistent with

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brain atrophy. The defense argued this was physical evidence of

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mental illness. Prosecution, led by Assistant US Attorney Roger Adelman,

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argued Hinckley was not insane. He was a spoiled, privileged

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kid who made a deliberate choice. He planned the assassination,

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researched it, traveled to Washington, wrote the letter to Foster,

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positioned himself in the press area, loaded the gun, fired

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with accuracy. Prosecution psychiatrist doctor Park Diets, same expert who'd

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later testify in the Dahmer trial, diagnosed Hinckley with narcissistic

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personality disorder and dysthymia, but not psychosis. Said Hinckley was

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depressed and self absorbed, but understood what he was doing.

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His obsession with Foster was creepy, not psychotic. His planning

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showed rational thought. The prosecution played Hinckley's letter to Foster

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for the jury, pointed out the language there is a

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definite possibility that I will be killed. That's risk assessment,

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rational thought. I would abandon this idea of getting Reagan

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in a second if I could only win your heart.

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That's a conditional statement, a rational weighing of alternatives. But

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the prosecution had a fundamental problem, the burden of proof

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they had to prove Hinckley was sane beyond a reasonable doubt.

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With two competing teams of psychiatrists offering contradictory diagnoses, how

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could any juror be certain about Hinckley's mental state. The

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trial lasted seven weeks. Testimony was dense, technical and confusing.

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Psychiatrists debated diagnostic criteria. Neurologists argued about brain scans. The jury,

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seven women and five men, looked increasingly bewildered. June twenty first,

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nineteen eighty two, the jury deliberated for twenty five hours

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over four days, then returned the verdict not guilty by

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reason of insanity all thirteen counts. The courtroom erupted, Spectators screamed,

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some cried. Outside, crowds gathered to protest. The verdict was

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front page news worldwide. America was furious. Polls showed eighty

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three percent of Americans disagreed with the verdict. This was

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not a case of who done it. Everyone saw Hinckley

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shoot the president on video in broad daylight. Four people shot,

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one permanently brain damaged, and the jury said not guilty.

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The rage wasn't just emotional, it was structural. People demanded

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to know how this happened. The answer the burden of proof.

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The prosecution had to prove Hinckley was sane beyond a

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reasonable doubt. With conflicting psychiatric testimony, that standard was nearly

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impossible to meet. Within three years, Congress passed the Insanity

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Defense Reform Act of nineteen eighty four. Shifted the burden

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of proof. Now, the defense had to prove insanity by

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clear and convincing evidence, rather than the prosecution proving sanity.

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Limited the scope of expert testimony, required defendants found not

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guilty by reason of insanity to be automatically committed to

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a mental institution. Thirty four states changed their insanity defense laws.

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Four states, Montana, Idaho, Kansas, and Utah abolished the insanity

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defense entirely. Some states created a new verdict, guilty but

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mentally ill. You're convicted, but receive mental health treatment in prison.

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John Hinckley didn't just change a presidency, He changed American law.

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Hinckley was committed to Saint Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, d C.

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A federal psychiatric facility. He would spend the next thirty

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five years there, but not continuously behind locked doors. Starting

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in the late nineteen nineties, Hinckley began receiving supervised visits

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to his mother's home in Williamsburg, Virginia. Gradually the visits

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became longer, overnight stays, weekend passes, extended releases. Each expansion

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of his freedom triggered public outrage. James Brady's family objected

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every time the Secret Service monitored him. Federal prosecutors fought

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his release at every hearing, but Hinckley's doctor's consistently reported improvement.

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He was medicated, stable, no longer exhibited psychotic symptoms, participated

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in therapy, showed remorse, posed no danger to himself or others.

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A federal judge granted Hinckley conditional release to live full

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time with his mother in Williamsburg. Conditions included no contact

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with the Reagan family, the Brady family, or Jodie Foster,

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no possession of weapons, regular psychiatric evaluations, no giving interviews

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without court approval. Hinckley moved to Williamsburg started living a

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quiet life, painting, playing guitar, walking around town. Nobody bothered him.

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His neighbors mostly didn't know who he was. Then his

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mother died in twenty twenty one. June fifteenth, twenty twenty two,

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Judge Paul Friedman granted Hinckley unconditional release, all restrictions lifted,

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no more monitoring, no more check ins, no more conditions. Freeman,

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at sixty seven years old, John Hinckley Junior, was fully

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released into society. The judge's reasoning. Hinckley had been stable

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for decades. Every psychiatric evaluation confirmed he was in remission.

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He showed no signs of violence. He'd been living in

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the community for six years without incident. Continued restrictions weren't justified.

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James Brady's family was devastated. The Reagan Foundation expressed disapproval.

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Victim's advocates protested, and John Hinckley he started a YouTube

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channel post's original songs. He's written acoustic guitar soft voice

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titles like Ramblin Man and Can You Feel the Rain

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has thousands of subscribers. Once promoted a concert, It was

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canceled after the venue received death threats. He also joined

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x formerly Twitter posts about his music, his art, his

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life like any other retiree with a social media account,

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except this retiree shot a president, permanently disabled a press secretary,

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and changed The legal definition of insanity in America. Is

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the system right? Hinckley was mentally ill, He received treatment,

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he improved. The purpose of the insanity defense is exactly this,

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to treat, not punish, those who are too sick to

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understand their actions. He spent thirty five years institutionalized. That's

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longer than many murder sentences. But James Brady spent thirty

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three years disabled before dying from his injuries. Officer Delahanty

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was forced into early retirement. Agent McCarthy carries the scar Reagan's,

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but the trauma affected his presidency. Hinckley posts guitar videos

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on YouTube. Brady is dead. That's the math. Make of

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it what you will. The insanity defense exists for a reason.

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Mental illness is real, psychosis is real. Some people genuinely

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don't understand what they're doing when they commit violent acts.

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The legal system should account for that. It should also

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account for the victims. John Hinckley shot four people, including

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the President of the United States, because he thought it

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would make a teenage actress fall in love with him.

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He was found not guilty. He's now free posting songs

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on the internet. Truth is stranger than fiction. That's part

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four of our President's Day Assassination Trial series, and that

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wraps our weekend special. Four presidents, four assassins, four completely

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different versions of American justice. Abraham Lincoln eighteen sixty five,

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John Wilkes Booth shot dead in a barn. Eight conspirators

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tried by military tribunal, not civilian court. Mary Surrat hanged,

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first woman executed by the federal government. Her son walked free.

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James Garfield eighteen eighty one Charles Guitou shot the president

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because God said so and because he wanted to be

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ambassador to France. The doctors killed Garfield with their bare hands.

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Guito sang his way through the trial and danced to

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the gallows. John F. Kennedy nineteen sixty three. Oswald never tried.

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Jack Ruby killed him on live television. Convicted, won an appeal,

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died of cancer before retrial. No answers, no closure. Sixty

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two years of conspiracy theories. By the way, have you

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ever wondered what would have happened if Kennedy had survived

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that fateful day? Check out our new sister podcast, The

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Man Who Lived It All starts President's Day. Just search

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for The Man Who Lived when you finished this show

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and hit follow. Ronald Reagan nineteen eighty one. John Hinckley

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shot the president to impress Jody Foster. Found not guilty

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by reason of insanity. Changed the law in thirty four states.

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Released in twenty twenty two. Now a YouTuber military tribunal execution,

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live television, murder, insanity, acquittal, four different eras, four different results,

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One common thread, the American justice system improvising its response

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to the most extreme act a citizen can commit. Happy

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President's Day, lock your doors. I'm reed, Carter