A single gunshot wound caused a death ruled as homicide thirty-three years later
In short: James Brady, the White House press secretary shot during the 1981 assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan, survived for decades with severe brain damage. Though he lived until 2014, a medical examiner eventually classified his death as a homicide, a legal conclusion tied directly to the bullet he received in 1981.
On March 30, 1981, just 69 days into the presidency of Ronald Reagan, James Brady was shot in the head while leaving the Washington Hilton hotel. The gunman, 25-year-old John Hinckley Jr., fired six shots from a .22 caliber revolver, intending to impress actress Jodie Foster. The bullet that struck Brady entered above his left eye, passed underneath his brain, and shattered his brain cavity. While Brady survived the initial trauma, the injury left him with partial paralysis, slurred speech, and significant cognitive deficits, including memory loss and emotional instability.
The immediate aftermath of the shooting was marked by chaotic reporting. Major media outlets erroneously announced that Brady had died, a mistake famously captured in a tense, on-air moment by ABC News anchor Frank Reynolds. At the hospital, neurosurgeon Arthur Kobrine was performing an hours-long operation on Brady when he learned of the false reports, noting that neither he nor his patient had been informed of the death. Despite his survival, Brady was unable to return to his duties as press secretary, though he remained in the position nominally through the end of the Reagan administration.
Following the shooting, Brady and his wife, Sarah, became prominent advocates for gun control, leading to the passage of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act. When Brady died in 2014 at age 73, the medical examiner ruled his death a homicide resulting from the 1981 gunshot wound. However, John Hinckley Jr. faced no additional charges for the death. He had previously been found not guilty by reason of insanity, and the District of Columbia's year and a day law, which was in effect at the time of the shooting, barred further prosecution for a death occurring more than 33 years after the original injury.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: James Brady
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