John Hinckley and the Assassination Attempt on President Reagan
by Lee Proctor, Roger Shoffner, Robert L. McCartor
by: Lee Proctor, Roger Shoffner, and Robert L. McCartor, Ph.D.
We dispute the government's claim that John Hinckley, Jr. was the
would-be assassin who shot President Reagan. Hinckley certainly was
present at the crime scene, and he had a gun in his hand. However,
this article will prove that it was impossible for Hinckley to have
acted in the manner described by the "official" version of the
story. This is not a matter of doubt; the evidence clearly shows
that the government's version of the assassination attempt could not
have physically happened.
During Hinckley's trial and the events leading to it, we have been
unable to find any mention of the evidence presented by the
government being questioned. Since the whole incident was captured
by multiple video cameras, no one questioned the official version.
It's all right there, plain as day, just like the government said.
Right?
Hinckley himself was suffering from a severe mental illness,
rendering his recollections of the events suspect. So the video
tapes convicted Hinckley in the minds of the public. Ironically, it
is that same video evidence which shows beyond any doubt that
Hinckley did not shoot Ronald Reagan.
A second crucial evidence bag contains the Devastator bullets that
Hinckley supposedly fired from his short-barreled .22 revolver. We
obtained several Devastator bullets and conducted our own amateur
ballistics tests. By comparing the actual specifications of
Devastator ammunition to the government's evidence, one can clearly
see that Hinckley could not have been firing Devastator bullets.
Although his true role in the affair is yet to be uncovered, the
only logical conclusion is that Hinckley was quite innocent of the
government's charges. A second gunman with a rifle would fill in the
holes in the government's case. Hence, a conspiracy.
Next: Video reconstruction of the assassination attempt.
The key to understanding the actual events during the assassination
attempt is a reconstruction using the video tapes. We obtained three
different tapes showing three different views of the shooting. The
government's case, taken from Lincoln Chaplain's book, is as
follows:
Hinckley waited outside the hotel with a .22 short barreled revolver
(actually an RG-14) loaded with six Devastator bullets. As the
president approached his limousine, Hinckley fired six shots and
wounded four people. The first shot hit Brady, the second hit
Delahanty, the third landed in a building across the street, the
fourth hit McCarthy, and the fifth hit the limousine's window. The
sixth shot hit the side of the limo, slid down the car, ricocheted
between the car body and window and wounded Reagan. [See Image 1]
The videotapes clearly show this is utter nonsense. In the still
images taken from the video evidence, each shot can be timed, and
the relative position of the individuals noted. The last three
digits of the time marker are the ones used to denote the events.
Reagan was wounded under the left arm, just under the arm pit, by a
bullet which had ricocheted and flattened to the size of a dime. The
first shot is at time marker 2:00 on two of the tapes and 2:01 on
the other. This series of still images shows Reagan with his left
arm raised. [See Image 2]
On the photo marked 2:11 Reagan is wincing, although this is shown
more clearly on the videotape. [See Image 3] Another photo was taken
at the same time which also shows Reagan's "grimace."
Markers 2:10 and 2:11 denote the second shot. [See Image 3] Brady,
barely visible behind Delahanty in the bottom photo, falls. Reagan
still has his left arm raised.
Markers 2:24 and 2:25 show the third shot. [See Image 4] Although it
is not obvious in the still photo, this is the shot that hits
Delahanty. Note that by this time Parr has grabbed Reagan from
behind and has pinned his left arm to Reagan's side. Parr does not
let go during the remaining time. After this shot, therefore, it is
impossible for a bullet to enter Reagan's chest under the left arm.
The forth shot occurs at markers 3:01 and 3:02. [See Image 5] This
is the shot which hit McCarthy in his right abdomen and spins him
around. Note that Parr still has Reagan's left arm pinned and is
shoving him towards the limo.
Stills 3:04-3:10 show Parr pushing Reagan into the limo. [See Image
6] By 3:10 Reagan is out of sight. This is before the fifth shot is
fired. Note that all of the persons wounded in the shooting have
been shot except, supposedly, Reagan.
The two photos at marker 3:27 are the most revealing of all. [See
Image 7] This is the fifth shot. The photos show the back of Parr's
light gray coat. Parr is in the gap between the car body and window,
and Reagan is in front of Parr with his left arm pinned. By the
fifth shot, Reagan is inside the limo with Parr on top. Reagan
cannot be wounded without a bullet hitting Parr, and this is the
fifth shot, not the last one. Hinckley's hand and gun are visible in
the bottom right corner; it is obvious that he could only have shot
Parr at this time, not Reagan.
The last shot occurs at marker 4:05. [See Image 8] Only a very small
section of Parr's back remains outside of the limo. Also note that
Hinckley's arm is being pushed down by a secret service agent who is
attacking Hinckley. This shot, according to the government, is the
one which wounded Reagan. Unless Hinckley was using some sort of
"magic bullet," that is impossible.
For a bullet fired at this time to hit Reagan following the path the
government described, it would have had to climb to hit the limo,
slide down the car body, jump between the body and the window, make
a u-turn, drop two feet, pass through Parr and Reagan's left arm
without making a mark, then hit Reagan under the left arm, glance
off his seventh rib, and travel through his lung stopping one inch
behind his heart and one inch from his aorta. A .22 caliber bullet
fired from the revolver Hinckley had cannot do this. No bullet can.
It is impossible. Reagan was hit with the first shot, not the last.
The sequence of the wounds is critical. Reagan could only have been
hit under the left arm at the beginning of the shooting spree --
when his left arm was raised. According to the hospital personnel
who operated on Reagan, the president was hit by a ricochet. A
ricochet could only have come from Reagan's left. The limousine was
to his right. No bullet could have glanced off the car and hit him
under his left arm. Therefore, the bullet must have glanced off the
stone wall to Reagan's left.
For Hinckley to have hit the stone wall from where he was, he would
have had to aim well away from Reagan and fire almost around a
corner. Also, his gun was a .22 caliber short-barrel revolver firing
a .22 long bullet. Such a weapon is incapable of firing a bullet
with enough velocity to hit the wall, hit Reagan, nick a rib, and
cross through a large mass of tissue. Only a rifle firing a high
velocity bullet, such as a .223 or similar rifle, could have done
this. Hinckley had no such weapon.
HINCKLEY did not shoot Reagan. It is IMPOSSIBLE.
Supposedly Brady was hit by an Devastator bullet which exploded.
From the casing, a Devastator cannot be distinguished from any CCI
.22 bullet. The only difference is in the slug. The Devastator,
manufactured by Bingham Ltd., is merely a regular .22 long with an
aluminum canister filled with lead azide inserted in the bored-out
tip. The explosive is in the canister, and the canister is in the
copper slug.
In "Thumbs Up," the author reports that the canister containing the
explosive was removed from Brady's brain. This could not have
happened. There is no way that the lead azide could have exploded,
causing the slug surrounding the canister to explode, without
destroying the canister. That is like finding the wrapping of a
stick of dynamite after it has exploded. One may find fragments, but
that is all. The doctors may have removed small portions of the
canister, but it was stated that they removed the canister. That
could not have happened.
Furthermore, the Devastator explodes on impact, resulting in a large
surface wound. Brady's wound was reported to be about the size of a
pencil eraser, which is inconsistent with a wound inflicted by a
Devastator. However, a bullet fired from a rifle does have enough
velocity to hit the thick bone of the forehead, splinter, and
continue through brain tissue.
Two wounds could possibly have been inflicted by Hinckley, although
in all likelihood they were not. Reports state that Hinckley was
crouched and always firing in Reagan's direction. Delahanty was hit
in the upper left area of his back. From the video, one can see how
close Hinckley was to Delahanty. Hinckley would have had to point
almost straight up to shoot Delahanty.
McCarthy was hit on his right side, the side away from Hinckley. The
shot had enough force to lift and spin him around. A .22 caliber
long fired from a short-barrel revolver will rarely have enough
force to do this. The angle and force of the shot indicate that it
was unlikely to have come from Hinckley's weapon.
During the last two shots, Hinckley's arm and gun are visible and
the position of the wounded can be pinpointed. Neither of these
shots hit any one. Yet the government's version of the shooting
states something completely different and completely at odds with
the facts. The government's version is a fabrication; it does not
reconstruct what actually happened. It does not even come close.
The descriptions given here of the capabilities of the Devastator
bullet are based on our own tests of the Devastator bullets. The
Devastator does not have a high-propellant charge. In fact, one
round contains 0.15 grams, or 2.31 grains, of powder.
We also examined the remains of Devastators which did and did not
explode after firing. The actual behavior of the Devastator does not
line up with the government's description. Any Devastator hitting
with enough force to flatten to the size of a dime will explode; the
angle of contact is inconsequential. Therefore the bullet which hit
Reagan could not have been a Devastator.
The slug removed from McCarthy was not described as looking
different from other .22 slugs, yet the slug is the only distinctive
part of a Devastator. At the time of the shooting it was stated that
the bullet was widely available. However, we were unable to locate a
gun shop which had ever stocked the ammunition.
Hinckley called the bullets he purchased "Stingers," and they
probably were. It took the FBI some time to conclude that the
bullets were .22 caliber Devastators. In fact, even though they
supposedly had both Hinckley and his weapon, it took them some time
to deduce that a .22 weapon was used in the shootings. They first
claimed it was a .38. There is little believable evidence that
Hinckley fired Devastator bullets from his weapon.
What actually happened, we do not know. However, the evidence
clearly shows Hinckley could not have done what he was accused of
doing. Another shooter with a rifle inflicted the wounds. The
chances of two people randomly choosing the same time and place to
assassinate the president are too astronomical to accept. Hinckley
perfectly fits the mold of the "lone nut" assassin, making him the
perfect patsy for a larger conspiracy. But what conspiracy? Who
would have been involved?
At this time, we simply don't have enough evidence to provide
credible answers to those questions. But the evidence does show that
Hinckley could not have acted alone. Hopefully further research on
this subject will shed some light on the conspiracy behind the
attempted assassination of President Reagan.
[All Rights Reserved to the Authors.]
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