John Hinckley Jr., the man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan over 40 years ago, stated Tuesday during his first televised interview since being released from prison that he has genuine “remorse” for what he did and is glad that his assassination attempt against the beloved commander-in-chief “did not succeed.”
Kind of amazing to hear someone like Hinckley make these comments. Every person can change given enough time and the right influences in their lives. Perhaps, somehow, while Hinckley was behind bars, he got what he needed to straighten his mind out and get himself together?
It’s possible.
“Hinckley attempted to assassinate Reagan on March 30, 1981, and later claimed he did so to gain the attention of actress Jodie Foster,” The Daily Wire reported. “A bullet ricocheted off the presidential limousine and struck Reagan about an inch from his heart. Press Secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy, and policeman Thomas Delahanty were injured in the shooting, too; Brady lived partially paralyzed from the attack, until he later died.”
“I feel terrible for what I did, and I’ve had remorse for many years for what I did, and if I could take it all back, I would,” Hinckley stated during the interview with CBS Mornings. “I swear, I would take it all back.”
He then stated that Reagan was “a nice man and a good president.”
Hinckley went on in the interview to say that he’d like to have the forgiveness of the other members of the Reagan family, along with the families of the additional victims, but he doesn’t believe that’s going to happen.
“They probably can’t, but I wish they would,” he said.
“I have true remorse for what I did. I know they probably can’t forgive me now, but I just want them to know that I am sorry for what I did,” he stated. “I’m glad I did not succeed.”
“I did not have a good heart. I was doing things that a good person does not do,” Hinckley added.
“CBS News’ chief Washington correspondent Major Garrett said Hinckley told him he takes two psychotropic pills per day, after CBS host Gayle King noted the near-assassin ‘seemed heavily medicated’ during the interview,” the Daily Wire reported.
“I’ve been the most scrutinized person in the entire mental health system for 41 years,” Hinckley stated during the interview with Garrett.
Apparently, Hinckley, 67, tried to commit suicide on two separate occasions while he was in psychiatric care. “One was a hanging, and one was an overdose of pills,” he admitted.
Hinckley claims his release from prison is “justice,” saying, “I was not just a cold, calculating criminal in 1981,” but suffering from mental illness.
“Psychologically, that person is dead,” he added. “I’m a completely different person in mind and spirit.”
Hinckley’s conditioned release actually started back in 2016, but those restrictions have now been removed.
In 1981, John Hinckley Jr. shot and wounded Pres. Reagan and three others — now, he’s been granted unconditional freedom.
He says he wants to show that decades of mental health treatment have made him an “ordinary guy who’s just trying to get along like everybody else.” pic.twitter.com/Nj8w4WX3I1
— CBS Mornings (@CBSMornings) June 28, 2022
Very interesting comments from Hinckley. The question we’re all wondering is whether or not he actually means what he says or if it’s just the medication talking.
Or if he’s just trying to somehow get a little limelight to use in order to make a living. You know, by creating a bit of press around his name, perhaps write a memoir or something.
Who knows?
Just an interesting thing to ponder.
This story syndicated with permission from michael, Author at Trending Politics
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