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News / Nation & World

Brady’s death ruled homicide

Another prosecution for the 1981 shooting that killed him called unlikely

The Columbian
Published: August 9, 2014, 12:00am
2 Photos
FILE - This March 30, 2011 file photo shows former White House press secretary James Brady, left, who was left paralyzed in the Reagan assassination attempt, looking at his wife Sarah Brady, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington marking the 30th anniversary of the shooting. A Brady family spokeswoman says Brady has died at 73.
FILE - This March 30, 2011 file photo shows former White House press secretary James Brady, left, who was left paralyzed in the Reagan assassination attempt, looking at his wife Sarah Brady, during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington marking the 30th anniversary of the shooting. A Brady family spokeswoman says Brady has died at 73. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Photo Gallery

WASHINGTON — This week’s death of former White House press secretary James Brady, who survived a gunshot wound to the head in a 1981 assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, has been ruled a homicide, District of Columbia police said Friday.

An autopsy revealed the cause of death to be a gunshot wound and its health consequences, according to a news release Friday from District police spokeswoman Gwendolyn Crump.

Federal prosecutors said only that they are reviewing the ruling. But a law professor and an attorney for John Hinckley Jr., 59, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1981 shooting, said new charges against him in Brady’s death seem unlikely.

“I think it (the medical examiner’s ruling) will mean nothing,” long-time Hinckley attorney Barry Levine told The Associated Press. “No prosecutors will bring such a case. The notion that this could be a successful prosecution is far-fetched. There is no legal basis to pursue this.”

Brady lived through hours of delicate surgery and further operations over the past 33 years, but never regained normal use of his limbs and was often in a wheelchair.

Besides partial paralysis from brain damage, Brady suffered short-term memory impairment, slurred speech and constant pain. His family said he died Monday at age 73 at his Virginia home from a series of health issues.

He said bringing such a case could cause problems for prosecutors, because Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity.

“A jury has already concluded on the same incident that he (Hinckley) was not guilty. Nothing today changes that,” Yin said, even if prosecutors say Hinckley is no longer insane. “That doesn’t change what he was 33 years ago.”

Hinckley attempted to assassinate Reagan outside the Washington Hilton Hotel on March 30, 1981, just two months into the new president’s term. Reagan nearly died from a chest wound. Three others, including Brady, were struck by bullets from Hinckley’s handgun.

In 1982, Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity of all charges in a 13-count indictment, including federal counts of attempted assassination of the president of the United States, assault on a federal officer, and use of a firearm in the commission of a federal offense, as well as District of Columbia offenses of attempted murder, assault, and weapons charges. The District of Columbia offenses included charges related to the shooting of Brady.

Levine said prosecutors would have the additional challenge of proving that Brady’s death this week was the result of an act 33 years ago. “How do you prove causation beyond a reasonable doubt?” he asked.

Gail Hoffman, a spokeswoman for Brady’s family, said the homicide ruling “is not a surprise to any of us.” She said the family would respect whatever prosecutors think is appropriate in dealing with the ruling.

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Levine said that Hinckley wanted to express his deep sympathy for Brady’s family. “He has the highest regard for (James) Brady,” he said.

Officials at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, where Hinckley is a patient, have said that the mental illness that led him to shoot Reagan in an effort to impress actress Jodie Foster has been in remission for decades. Hinckley has been allowed to leave the hospital to visit his mother’s home in Williamsburg, Virginia, and can now spend more than half of his time outside the hospital on such visits.

Levine doesn’t expect the homicide ruling to affect Hinckley’s continuing to be allowed to continue the visits.

“The court has found he has regained his mental health,” Levine said.

Brady undertook a personal crusade for gun control after suffering the devastating bullet wound. The Brady law, named after him, requires a five-day wait and background check before a handgun can be sold. President Bill Clinton signed it into law in 1993.

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