John Hinkley, Jr. Released from All Restrictions

More than forty years after his crime, the failed Presidential assassin is now free to pursue his dream of becoming a chart-topping folk singer.

“I’m very sorry, I have tremendous remorse for what I did in 1981,” he said recently. Although doctors testified that he’s no longer a threat to himself or others, he still takes his medication daily.

Hinkley’s YouTube music channel has over 36,000 subscribers. He also sells paintings of his cat on eBay. However, he’s yet to do a live music show. Several venues have booked Hinkley and canceled, citing security concerns. But the 68-year-old Hinkley says he is unfazed. “If I never do a gig ever,” he said, “I will still be writing my songs and putting them out there for people to hear.”

Insanity and Criminal Law

John Hinkley’s future looked very bleak in 1981, when he was 25 years old. After John Kennedy’s 1963 assassination, Congress toughened the presidential assassin laws. Furthermore, about a year earlier, Hinkley was arrested on a firearms charge in Nashville, as he stalked President Jimmy Carter. On the same day Carter was visiting the city, Hinkley was arrested at the city’s international airport, while trying to board a flight to New York with three unloaded guns in his carry-on bag. The airport police handed him over to the Nashville city police.

That’s basically a hanging offense today. But back then, it wasn’t serious. A judge quickly confiscated Hinkley’s guns, fined him $50 plus court costs, and released him.

At the same time, Hinkley was clearly a troubled young man. He was obsessed with th actress Jodie Foster. Hinkley convinced himself that he must hijack a plane, kill the president, or take similar drastic action to impress her.

“Over the past seven months I’ve left you dozens of poems, letters and love messages in the faint hope that you could develop an interest in me. Although we talked on the phone a couple of times, I never had the nerve to simply approach you and introduce myself. … The reason I’m going ahead with this attempt now is because I cannot wait any longer to impress you,” he wrote just before the assassination attempt.

His criminal past made a straight-up insanity plea a long shot. So, to better capitalize on the facts, his lawyers used the irresistible impulse defense. Basically, defendants argue they couldn’t control their own actions, although they knew those actions were wrong.

The court found Hinkley not guilty by reason of insanity. Although he was committed to a secure mental facility, which was in effect a prison, many people believed he “got off light.” In response, Congress sharply limited the federal irresistible impulse defense. Most states, including Georgia, followed suit. Today, very few Marietta criminal defense lawyers use this defense.

Mental Deficiencies and Criminal Defense

The court accepted Hinkley’s insanity plea but still ordered his confinement in a secure mental facility. Somewhat similarly, a Marietta criminal defense lawyer can use a mental condition as a legal defense or a mitigating circumstance.

Georgia’s insanity defense is quite subjective. Legally, defendants are not guilty by reason of insanity if, due to a mental disease or defect, they did not know right from wrong at the time they committed the offense.

Usually, a defense-affiliated psychiatrist testifies that the defendant was legally insane, and a state-affiliated psychiatrist testifies s/he was legally sane. Jurors then use whatever method they choose, even something like the tone of the psychiatrist’s voice, to decide which witness was more credible.

Insanity is a high reward/high risk. If jurors accept the defense, the defendant walks. If they don’t accept it, the defendant has confessed to the crime in open court and is subject to harsh punishment. Insanity is also an all-or-nothing defense. You’re sane or insane. There’s no middle ground.

The environment is different if a Marietta criminal defense lawyer uses insanity, or a related argument, as a mitigating circumstance during sentencing.

Jurors often sympathize with these defendants. Mentally ill people often act erratically during and after law enforcement contacts, behavior that police offices interpret as resisting arrest. To avoid such conflicts, a few jurisdictions have passed rules or laws requiring mental health professionals, not police officer, to respond to such disturbance calls.

Furthermore, the brain does not fully develop until about age 25. Younger people with under-developed brains often make poor choices. Any parent of any teenager can probably confirm that. Many jurors take such evidence into account as they assess punishment.

Removal of Restrictions in Georgia

Hinkley waited forty years for a complete removal of restrictions. Georgia probationers only have towai three years for a complete removal of probation restrictions. Under a 2021 law, the judge must discharge the defendant from probation if:

• No new cases,
• All restitution paid, and
• No probation violations within the past twenty-four months.

If you meet these criteria, your probation officer must submit an order to terminate your probation, at least in most cases. The court must grant the order unless the prosecutor, or the judge, requests a hearing within thirty days.

Except for termination, the judge retains exclusive power over all terms and conditions of probation. So, a Marietta criminal defense lawyer could technically submit a motion to modify the conditions immediately after the defendant pleads guilty. As a rule of thumb, however, most courts require most defendants to serve at least a third of their sentences before the judge considers a modification motion.

Ironically, defendants with a few blotches on their record are better candidates for modification than defendants with perfect records. A Marietta criminal defense lawyer could argue that, unless the judge eases restrictions, the defendant will wind up in jail, where s/he becomes a burden on the state.

Usually in these cases, attorneys reach out to probation officers before they take any substantive action. If the probation officer indicates that s/he would oppose such a motion, then quite frankly, the motion may not be worth filing.

Getting off the sex offender list is a bit more complex. At the time of sentencing, a review board classifies defendants as Level I, II, or III, mostly based on their risk of reoffense. Level I designees can immediately petition for removal when their sentences end. Level II and II defendants must wait ten years.

All designees can petition for removal, but the judge decides whether to grant this petition, based on factors like:

• Any other sex crime convictions or minor (under 18) victim convictions,
• Use of any weapon during the sex crime,
• Unfiled sex crime charges, even if they were dropped due to lack of evidence,
• Physical harm to the alleged victim,
• Any moving of the alleged victim, and
• Physical restraint of the alleged victim.

Once again, if the probation officer agrees to the removal, the judge usually approves the request. Generally, the victim must agree to the motion as well.

Sane and insane defendants are eligible for relief during and after trial. For a free consultation with an experienced Marietta criminal defense lawyer, contact The Phillips Law Firm, LLC. We routinely handle matters in Cobb County and nearby jurisdictions.