James Brady Death Ruled Homicide By Medical Examiner

Photo courtesy of Ronald Reagan Presidential Library of Simi Valley, California
Photo courtesy of Ronald Reagan Presidential Library of Simi Valley, California

The recent passing of James Brady, who served as Press Secretary under former President Ronald Reagan, has been ruled a homicide 33 years after he was shot during an assassination attempt on Reagan. Brady received a head wound from a bullet fired by John W. Hinckley in 1981 as they exited a speaking engagement at the Washington Hilton Hotel in Washington D.C.
There is no word as of yet as to whether or not Hinckley will be facing new criminal charges as a result of Brady’s passing. Hinckley, who has been under psychiatric care at St. Elizabeth’s psychiatric hospital, was found not guilty by reason of insanity for shooting Brady, Reagan, and two others on March 30, 1981 — just 69 days into Reagan’s first term as President of the United States. Although under institutional care, Hinckley has been allowed progressively longer unsupervised visits to the home of his parents.

The death of James Brady will now be added to the District’s 2014 homicide list.

Current White House spokesperson Josh Earnest spoke briefly of Brady’s passing and legacy on Monday.


Here is some information on the 1981 assassination attempt.

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h/t Washington Post

"...And so I say to all of you here and to all in the nation tonight that those who appeal to you to hold on to the past do so at the cost of denying you your future. This great rich, restless country can offer opportunity and education and hope to all--all, black and white, North and South, sharecropper and city dweller. These are the enemies: poverty, ignorance, disease. They are our enemies, not our fellow man, not our neighbor. And these enemies too--poverty, disease and ignorance--we shall overcome." ~excerpt from speech by President Lyndon B Johnson, given two days after the start of the Selma Marches in an event that became known as Bloody Sunday.