| John Warnock Hinckley, Jr. was a drifter who in 1976 became obsessed with the actress Jodie Foster after seeing her in the movie "Taxi Driver." He spent the next few years stalking her and professing his love for her, acting out the role
played by Robert DeNiro in the movie. On March 30, 1981, Hinckley culminated his "Taxi Driver" fantasy by shooting U.S. President Ronald Reagan and three other men (including press secretary James Brady) to show his love for Jodie Foster. It is possible that depression over the assassination of John Lennon may have contributed to Hinckley's psychosis.
However, he may have been attempting to fulfill the "Taxi Driver" role a year earlier when he was arrested for illegal gun posession in Nashville while President Carter was visiting that city.
Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity, prompting nationwide
protests against the use of the insanity defense.
Hinckley attempted suicide several times in the months that followed after learning that Jodie Foster, of course, did not love him. |
