Topline
John Hinckley Jr., who gained notoriety for shooting former President Ronald Reagan in the chest in 1981, gave his first interview Tuesday since being released from court supervision earlier this month, sharing wide-ranging commentary including admiration for Reagan.
John Hinckley Jr., pictured here in 2003, was institutionalized for four decades following his … [+]
Key Facts
Hinckley told CBS News Reagan was a “nice man and a good president” and he has “true remorse” for his actions.
In addition to Reagan, Hinckley also shot police officer Thomas Delahanty, Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy and Press Secretary James Brady, who was partially paralyzed in the incident and died in 2014 from his gunshot wound.
The 67-year-old Hinckley called himself the “most scrutinized person in the entire mental health system for 41 years,” having spent 41 years under federal oversight, mostly at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital federal psychiatric institution, after a jury found him not guilty on charges related to the attack by reason of insanity.
Hinckley said memories of his assassination attempt are “traumatic” and “it’s something I don’t want to remember.”
In an interesting twist, Hinckley told CBS News he’s worried about how many guns are in the U.S. today and the “climate of the country right now is just not good at all.”
Key Background
Hinckley famously cited trying to impress actress Jodie Foster as the reason for his assassination attempt. Hinckley was freed from St. Elizabeth’s in 2017 and was allowed to move to his mother’s home in Williamsburg, Virginia. A federal judge ruled last September that he could be unconditionally released this June. Reagan spent 12 days at the George Washington University Hospital after the attack but fully recovered and served eight years as president.
Chief Critic
Reagan’s daughter Patti Davis has criticized Hinckley’s release, calling Hinckley a “narcissist” and writing she doesn’t “believe that John Hinckley feels remorse” in a Washington Post column last year.
Surprising Fact
Hinckley has tried to reinvent himself as a musician in recent years, and has nearly 30,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel where he posts original songs. Hinckley was scheduled to perform at a venue in Brooklyn July 8, but the concert hall canceled the concert on the day of his release due to safety concerns. Hinckley tweeted last week he’s “looking for a music venue that won’t cave when there’s backlash,” receiving more than 10,000 likes.
Further Reading
Attempted Reagan Assassin John Hinckley Freed After 41 Years—But Debut Concert Canceled (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/dereksaul/2022/06/28/a-good-president-attempted-reagan-assassin-hinckley-expresses-remorse-in-first-interview-since-freed/