John Hinckley is clearly an extraordinary person. However, he did not bring beauty into the world, since his creations can hardly be called poetry. He is known for his obsession with Jodie Foster, as well as the assassination attempt on the President of the United States.
In 2016, this 61-year-old lover moved in with his 90-year-old mother. Will the Hollywood actress, relatives of the wounded president, and the current head of the United States be able to feel safe?
Childhood
John Hinckley came into this world on May 29, 1955. The city of Ardmore (Oklahoma) became his place of birth, but from the age of four he began to live with his parents in Dallas (Texas).
The boy studied at the local school and was elected head of the class twice. He went in for sports and played the piano. He graduated from school in 1973. By this time, his father was already the owner of an oil company. The family then moves to Evergreen(Colorado).
Youth plans and dreams
From 1974 to 1980, John Hinckley was a student at Texas Tech University. But his plans for life were not related to science. In 1975, the young man made a trip to Los Angeles. There he hoped to be a songwriter.
The attempt was unsuccessful, and he had to ask his parents for money. He told them about everything that had happened to him in a letter. He also mentioned to his parents about a certain girl named Lynn Collins, but she turned out to be just his invention. By the beginning of autumn 1976, the young man returned to live with his parents. At this time, he first watched the film "Taxi Driver", which influenced his future fate.
After a few years, Hinckley acquired a weapon. At the same time, he had emotional problems. He was prescribed antidepressants.
Obsession with Taxi Driver heroine
The film "Taxi Driver" tells the story of the protagonist Travis Bickle, played by Robert De Niro. The protagonist plans to assassinate one of the presidential candidates. Jodie Foster played the role of a prostitute girl. After watching the film, Hinckley developed an unhe althy addiction to the actress.
John Hinckley pursued a young girl. He entered one of the courses at Yale University, where Foster studied, in order to be closer to her. But a close acquaintance did not work out, he could only slip notes under her door and call on the phone.
He thought he could get her attention by hijacking a plane or committing suicide. But in the end itthe fantasy settled on the assassination of the president. He began to spy on Jimmy Carter, but was arrested for violating gun laws. They tried to treat his mental state, but to no avail.
In 1981, a man decided to assassinate Ronald Reagan, the new US president. Before the assassination attempt, he sent Foster a letter. In it, he indicated that he was doing everything in order to attract attention, since poems and love notes did not bring the expected result. If only he knew at that moment that his lover would be more interested in the fair sex!
Attempt on the President
The obsessed John Hinckley Jr decided to fulfill his plan on 1981-30-03. He managed to fire six shots from a revolver. It all happened at 14:27 local time, when Reagan was leaving the Hilton Hotel (Washington).
Shot victims:
- Ronald Reagan - punctured lung;
- Thomas Delahunty (cop) - shot in the back;
- Tim McCarthy (special service agent);
- James Brady (Spokesman) - Shot in the head, leaving him paralyzed on the left side for life until he died in 2014;
John Hinckley, whose photo is presented, did not try to run. He was arrested at the scene of the crime. Several cameras captured the incident. The video is still available today.
What awaited the son of an oil tycoon for the crime?
Trial and sentence
Detainedat the crime scene, John Hinckley Jr. was presented to the court in 1982. He was charged with thirteen offenses, but found not guilty due to a mental disorder. By the end of the summer of that year, he was sent for treatment.
The confession of innocence left the public in disarray. Some states have banned insanity defense after this process. A number of laws were changed, making it rather difficult to invoke the insanity of someone in the dock with the help of psychiatrists and psychologists invited by the defense. They began to be allowed to draw conclusions only from a medical point of view, and not from a legal one.
John Hinckley Jr., whose photo is presented, spent thirty-five years in compulsory treatment at St. Elizabeth's Hospital (Washington). Has his infatuation with Jodie Foster gone? This question is difficult to answer, since searches of his ward in 1987 and 2000 found evidence that the possession had persisted.
Freedom
Long before his release, John Hinckley, whose biography is connected with the assassination of the President, began to leave the hospital. Since 1999, he has been allowed to visit his parents' home in Williamsburg, Virginia. These visits were controlled, sometimes again banned, but every year Hinckley's rights expanded.
Released him in the fall of 2016. However, it has some limitations. So, he's not allowed to have contact with Jodie Foster, and alsorepresentatives of the Reagan, Brady families. He can only live within a fifty mile zone from his mother's house. He was also banned from speaking in public, ordered to work three times a week and see a psychiatrist twice a month.
Whether Hinckley's release was the right decision, time will tell.
