John Hinckley, Jr. Will Not Face Charges In James Brady Homicide
Washington’s U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Friday it will not charge John Hinckley, Jr. in the death of James Brady, the former White House press secretary who was shot in the head and left partially paralyzed in the 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan.
According to Reuters, federal prosecutors are declining to pursue charges against Hinckley due to a prior ruling finding him insane when he opened fire on President Reagan, Brady, and two other law enforcement officers. This, prosecutors contend, prevents any argument that Hinckley was sane at the time he shot Brady. Prosecutors are also barred from pursuing charges because before 1987, District of Columbia courts followed the year and a day rule. This rule did not allow homicide charges to be brought if the victim died more than a year and a day after his or her injury.
John Hinckley’s attorney, Barry Levine, said he is not surprised by the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s decision to not file new charges against his client due to the length of time that has passed and the circumstances of the case. According to Levine, Hinckley, now 59, has lived with the regret of the actions he took years ago.
“Mr. Hinckley is haunted by the tragedy that his conduct, more than 30 years ago, created. He is just haunted by what he did as a result of a mental illness. Now, of course, he is well and he confronts, every day, this tragedy.”
While Reagan, a Secret Service agent, and a police officer were also injured when Hinckley shot at the president, Brady suffered the longest-lasting injuries. The gunshot Brady sustained during the assassination attempt left him partially paralyzed and suffering from slurred speech for the last 33 years. James Brady’s death was ruled a homicide in August by a Virginia medical examiner, who attributed his death to complications caused by the gunshot wound.
After Brady left the Reagan administration, he became a staunch gun control advocate. The Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act was passed in 1993, an Act which required gun buyers to go through a background check and a five-day waiting period before a firearm could be purchased.
John Hinckley, Jr. has spent the past 32 years at St. Elizabeth’s psychiatric hospital in Washington, D.C. The Associated Press reports Hinckley now spends more than half of each month at his mother’s home in Virginia, where he may eventually be permitted to live full time. Hinckley is also permitted to drive and take up to four hours to go on unsupervised outings.
