Prosecutors will not pursue murder charges against John Hinckley Jr. in connection with the death of former Reagan administration press secretary James Brady.
“The decision was made following a review of applicable law, the history of the case, and the circumstances of Mr. Brady’s death, including recently finalized autopsy findings,” the office of the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia said in a statement on Friday.
{mosads}Brady’s family said in a statement that they respected the decision.
Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Reagan in March 1981. Reagan was shot, along with Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and police officer Thomas Delahanty.
A jury ultimately ruled that Hinckley was not guilty related to Brady’s shooting by reason of insanity. Hinckley has been committed to a mental hospital for over three decades. In recent years, he has been allowed to leave to visit his mother.
The attack left Brady, who was shot in the head, paralyzed for life. He became a prominent gun control activist, and in 1993, Congress passed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, which instituted background checks and waiting periods.
Brady died last summer, and a Virginia medical examiner ruled that his death was a homicide caused by the gunshot wound.
In explaining their decision Friday, federal prosecutors argued that because Hinckley was deemed insane by a jury in 1982, they would be unable to argue today that he had been sane when he shot Brady.
They also said that a rule in place in D.C. at the time of the shooting stipulated that murder charges be filed if the victim died a year and a day after the injury that caused his or her death.