John Hinckley Jr. Biography
John Hinckley Jr. is an American man who attempted to assassinate U.S. President Ronald Reagan in Washington, D.C on March 30, 1981. Hinckley wounded Reagan with a bullet that ricocheted and hit Reagan in the chest. A police officer Thomas Delahanty and Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy were also wounded. Press Secretary James Brady was critically wounded. Brady died 33 years later.
John Hinckley Jr. Age | How Old Is John Hinckley Jr.?
John Warnock Hinckley Jr. was born on 29 May 1955 in Ardmore, Oklahoma, U.S. He is 64 years old as of 2019.
Is John Hinckley Jr. Still Alive?
Yes, Hinckley is still alive.
John Hinckley Jr. Family
John was born to Jo-Ann Hinckley (née Moore) and John Warnock Hinckley Sr., president of World Vision United States, and chairman and president of the Vanderbilt Energy Corporation. He moved with his wealthy family to Dallas, Texas at the age of 4. He grew up in University Park, Texas.
In 1973, his family being owners of the Hinckley oil company, moved to Evergreen, Colorado, where the new company headquarters was located.
John Hinckley Jr. Education
Hinckley attended Highland Park High School in Dallas County. in his grade school years, John played football, basketball, hockey, soccer, and baseball, learned to play the piano, and was elected class president twice. He graduated from high school in 1973. John was an on and off a student at Texas Tech University from 1974 to 1980 but eventually dropped out.
Hinckley went to Los Angeles in the hope of becoming a songwriter in 1975. His efforts were unsuccessful and he then wrote to his parents with tales of misfortune and pleas for money. He returned to his parent’s home in Evergreen in September 1976 having even spoken about a girlfriend Lynn Collins who then turned out to be a fabrication.
John Warnock Hinckley Jr. Jodie Foster
John was obsessed with the 1976 film Taxi Driver, in which disturbed protagonist Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) plots to assassinate a presidential candidate. He developed an infatuation with Jodie Foster, who played child prostitute Iris Steensma in the film.
Jodie entered Yale University and John moved to New Haven, Connecticut, for a short time to stalk her. He also enrolled in a Yale writing class, began slipping poems and messages under Foster’s door, and also repeatedly called her.
Warnock fantasized about conducting an aircraft hijacking or committing suicide in front of her to get her attention. He had not developed meaningful contact with the actress. Jodie now settled on a scheme to impress her by assassinating the president, thinking that by achieving a place in history, he would appeal to her as an equal.
After his attempt to assassinate President Reagan and he was found not guilty, John later wrote that the shooting was “the greatest love offering in the history of the world.” He added that he was disappointed that Jodie did not reciprocate the love.
John Hinckley Jr. Jimmy Carter
John trailed the then President of the United States Jimmy Carter from state to state. He was then arrested in Nashville, Tennessee, on a firearms charge. Without any money, he returned home and despite undergoing psychiatric treatment for depression, his mental health did not improve.
John Hinckley Jr. Reagan
John shot a .22 caliber Röhm RG-14 revolver six times at Reagan as he left the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981, at 2:27 p.m. EST. This is after the president addressed an AFL–CIO conference.
He also wounded police officer Thomas Delahanty and Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and critically wounded press secretary James Brady. Reagan was seriously wounded when a bullet ricocheted off the side of the presidential limousine and hit him in the chest.
Press secretary Brady was hit on the right side of the head and endured a long recuperation period. He remained paralyzed on the left side of his body until his death on August 4, 2014. His death was ruled a homicide 33 years after the shooting.
In his trial in 1982 in Washington, D.C., he was charged with 13 offenses but was found not guilty by reason of insanity on June 21. He was transferred into psychiatric care from BOP custody on August 18, 1981.
It was reported on March 2011 that a forensic psychologist at the hospital testified that “Hinckley has recovered to the point that he poses no imminent risk of danger to himself or others”. He was permitted up to eight 17-day visits to his mother with an evaluation after the completion of each one.
John Hinckley Jr. Released
A federal judge ruled on 27 July 2016 that John would be allowed to be released from St. Elizabeths on August 5. He was released on September 10, 2016, from institutional psychiatric care. He was to live full-time at his mother’s home.
There were terms of his release that he was prohibited from using alcohol, possessing any firearms, ammunition and other weaponry. He was also prohibited from any access to printed or online pornography, compact disc or online access to violent music, and speaking to the press. John had to work at least three days per week, any access to printed or online pornography, compact disc or online access to violent music, speaking to the press, had to work at least three days per week. He was also required to see a psychiatrist twice a month.
The court also ordered a risk assessment to be completed within 18 months of his release, and it had not been done as of May 2018.
Where Is John Hinckley Jr.? Now | John Hinckley Jr. Today
Judge Paul L. Friedman ruled on 16 November 2018 that John could move out of his mother’s house in Virginia and live on his own upon location approval from his doctors.
