Mr Hinckley Case Study

“It was my fate that I shot the President and it is my fate that I pay the price for my deed” this was quote was famously stated by John Hinckley Junior, the would-be assassin of President Ronald Reagan (Taylor, 1982). On March 30, 1982, John Hinckley Junior fired six shots out of a handgun striking President Ronald Reagan, a police officer, and a secret service agent (Kiger, n.d.). Hinckley was subsequently arrested, and indicted on 13 counts for the crime. He was tried, and ultimately found not guilty by reason of insanity; sparking controversy within the United States regarding the validity of an insanity argument, with Reagan’s daughter Patti Davis stating, “the verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity was a bad verdict” (Jacewicz, 2016).

Hinckley satisfies each criterion laid out by the rule. First, it must be recognized that Mr. Hinckley was medically diagnosed with schizophrenia, narcissistic personality disorder, and major depression. When one examines the symptoms of schizophrenia, he or she will observe that delusions are a recognized symptom of schizophrenia. When applying the knowledge of the symptoms of schizophrenia to Mr. Hinckley, it became evident that he was suffering extreme delusions, believing that he would unite himself with Ms. Foster. Dr. William Carpenter, an expert in schizophrenia, interviewed Hinckley for 45 hours before the trial and testified that Mr. Hinckley satisfied every medical requirement for the diagnosis of schizophrenia. Some of the symptoms that Dr. Carpenter identified to the jury were severe, “depression and withdrawal from social contacts, eccentric or bizarre thoughts, and delusions.” (Taylor, Shootings by Hinckley Laid to Schizophrenia, 1982). While testifying to the jury, Dr. Carpenter informed the jury that in his expert opinion, Mr. Hinckley “a substantial incapacity in his ability to conform his conduct to the requirements of the law” (Taylor, Shootings by Hinckley Laid to Schizophrenia, 1982). Consequently, in this statement, Dr. Carpenter articulated to the jury that Mr. Hinckley was suffering from a disease of the mind and did neither understand the implications of his actions nor recognize that his actions were wrong; fulfilling the legal requirements for the McNaughton