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View information about John Hinckley Jr's arrest and mugshot here on famouslyarrested.com John Hinckley Jr. You can view information about John Hinckley Jr's arrest and other celebrity arrests. You can view by name or by category. We also have included John Hinckley Jr mugshots.
John Hinckley Jr
- John Hinckley Jr
- Criminal
- March 30, 1981
- Presidential Assassination Attempt
- Not Guilty by Reason of Insanity
The arrest of John Hinckley, Jr.:
Obsessed with an actress, he's spent most of his life in prison because he wanted to impress her – and shot the President of the United States to do it.
Jodie Foster was the actress.
Ronald Reagan was the President.
John Hinckley Junior was born in Ardmore, Oklahoma and when he was four, moved to Dallas with his family. His father, John Sr., was a successful oil company executive. Hinckley grew up in University Park and played sports as a youth. He was a so-so student at Texas Tech University although he did take some time to test his wings as a songwriter. It didn't fly!
By the late "70's and early '80's, John was buying guns and practiced shooting them. To add some extra danger, he was experimenting with tranquilizers and anti-depressants.
He became obsessed with Foster after her 1976 film "The Taxi Driver".
The disturbed main character, played by Robert DeNiro, plots a Presidential assassination.
Foster played the role of a child prostitute in the film and Hinckley was so hooked, he even began stalking her in real life when she attended Yale University, slipping poems and notes under her door.
His dream relationship went nowhere and it was then that he came up with his idea that if he killed someone important, he'd be her equal.
It all happened as President Ronald Reagan and his aides left the Hilton Hotel in Washington DC on March 30, 1981.
Several people were wounded, including White House Press secretary James Brady.
Hinckley was wrestled to the ground …
…and arrested.
Found not guilty by reason of insanity in June 1982 because of his erotomanic fixation on Foster, Hinckley's remained under institutional psychiatric care since the crime occurred.
His visits to his family have been extended over the years.
James Brady's death was ruled a homicide in August, 2014, but in January, 2015 federal prosecutors decided they would not charge Hinckley with his murder – even though Brady's death was a direct result of the bullet Hinckley fired 34 years earlier.
Prosecutors said their decision was based on a review of the law, the history of the case and circumstances of Brady's death. Hinckley's lawyer said any idea that the case could be prosecuted was ridiculous and the defense attorney believed it would be thrown out as a matter of law.