HR0632 LRB093 16047 RAS 41672 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, On March 30, 1981, President Ronald Reagan was
3 scheduled to speak to a labor conference at 1:45 p.m. at the
4 Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C.; and
 
5     WHEREAS, John Hinckley, Jr. ventured to the Washington
6 Hilton Hotel on March 30, 1981 with the goal of assassinating
7 President Reagan; and
 
8     WHEREAS, At 1:30 p.m., Hinckley stepped forward from a
9 crowd of television reporters and fired six shots from a Rohm
10 R6-14 revolver at President Reagan; and
 
11     WHEREAS, The bullets from Hinckley's gun struck President
12 Reagan in the left chest, Press Secretary James Brady in the
13 left temple, Washington D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty in
14 the neck, and Secret Service agent Timothy J. McCarthy in the
15 stomach; and
 
16     WHEREAS, Hinckley was immediately arrested, and after
17 seven weeks of testimony and three days of jury deliberation,
18 he was found to have carried out his assassination attempt
19 while under psychotic delusion and pronounced not guilty by
20 reason of insanity; and
 
21     WHEREAS, Immediately after the verdict, Hinckley was
22 committed to St. Elizabeth's Mental Hospital in Washington,
23 D.C. where he underwent a psychiatric evaluation and was
24 classified as a danger to himself, Jodie Foster, and any other
25 third party whom he would consider incidental to his ultimate
26 aims; and
 
27     WHEREAS, James "Jim" Brady was born in Centralia and is a
28 former resident of Chicago; he is a graduate of the University
29 of Illinois, where he earned a B.S. degree in communications

 

 

HR0632 - 2 - LRB093 16047 RAS 41672 r

1 and political science; and
 
2     WHEREAS, Jim suffered permanent brain damage from the
3 gunshot wound inflicted by Hinckley, as his memory and speech
4 are forever impaired; his left leg was left partially paralyzed
5 and his left arm remains completely paralyzed; and
 
6     WHEREAS, On December 17, 2003, U.S. District Court Judge
7 Paul L. Friedman ruled that Hinckley no longer poses a serious
8 danger to himself or others and granted Hinckley permission to
9 begin a series of six daytime and two overnight visits with his
10 parents in the Washington, D.C. area; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Judge Friedman, who took the case following the
12 2001 death of Judge June Green, who consistently ruled against
13 Hinckley, rejected the arguments of federal prosecutors, who
14 said that Hinckley has a history of deception and that they
15 believe he is concealing dangerous thoughts and remains a risk;
16 and
 
17     WHEREAS, Judge Friedman's decision not only endangers the
18 public and leaves many in outrage, but serves as an affront to
19 Hinckley's victims and their families; therefore, be it
 
20     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
21 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
22 condemn Judge Paul L. Friedman for his December 17, 2003 ruling
23 allowing attempted presidential assassin, John Hinckley, Jr.,
24 unsupervised daytime and overnight visits with his parents; and
25 be it further
 
26     RESOLVED, That a copy of this resolution be presented to
27 Judge Paul L. Friedman.