Similarities Between The Trials And Tribulations Of John Brinkley

The Trials and Tribulations of John Hinckley Jr. The United States have seen some famed court cases that stir up a large amount of controversy. These court cases usually will cause mass protests against the verdict of the trial which is what the John Hinckley Jr. v. United States trial did. John Hinckley Jr. was the man who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington D.C. In the 1982 Court Case of United States v. Hinckley, the innocent verdict correctly acquitted John Hinckley Jr as he had an obsession to the movie Taxi Driver, he had schizophrenia, and he suffered from severe depression. John Hinckley Jr. had an obsession to the movie Taxi Driver. According to reports it showed he had seen the

developed schizophrenia leading him to attempt the assassination. The first thing to discuss is exactly what is Schizophrenia. Essentially when looking into this, how schizophrenia relates to the case. Along with this what the definition of schizophrenia is. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIH) the definition of schizophrenia is a chronic and severe mental disorder that affects how a person thinks, feels, and behaves. Along with this it states that people who have schizophrenia may seem like they have lost touch with reality. One of the main points to look at is that a person who has schizophrenia has lost touch with reality along. This relates to the case in the fact that John Hinckley Jr. believed he was in the world of Taxi Driver and did not know right from wrong. The second thing to discuss is the symptoms of schizophrenia. When discussing this there are three different categories of schizophrenia with the three being positive, negative and cognitive. These symptoms develop in a child around the age of sixteen up to thirty. On the NIMH website it goes into detail about each symptom stating that positive symptoms are not found in healthy people and normally lead to them losing touch with reality, negative symptoms normally disrupt emotions and behaviors, cognitive symptoms can be subtle but in severe cases can lead to patients memories changing along with other aspects of thinking. One of the main things to look at is the positive

Before explaining the stages of his depression its best to define what depression is. Like with schizophrenia its best to know what depression is along with examples of it. Depression affects many people and can lead people to do dangerous things. According to the Mayo Clinic website, depression is a mood disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Essentially what happens is that it affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. At times a person may think what is the purpose of even living. With the case of John Hinckley Jr he went through a lot of difficult times in his life. He was very dependent on his mother since his father was away with business a lot as an oil executive. Once leaving for college he became a social hermit not engaging with anyone. In an article on the University of Kansas City-Missouri website by Douglas Linder it states, “Hinckley drifted aimlessly through two years of college at Texas Tech, in Lubbock, playing his guitar, listening to music, and watching television. In the spring of 1976, he dropped out of school and headed for Hollywood, where he hoped--despite a lack of musical education--to make it as a songwriter.” When leaving for Hollywood he had no background in music and basically going to Hollywood on a hope and dream. This would eventually be the downfall for John