harrowing days in our history. the attempted assassination of president reagan. screaming, yelling. it s chaos. now, an unprecedented look into the mind and new life of the gunman, john hinckley junior. stories you haven t heard before. the cop, who questioned him, speaks out in his first nationally televised interview. i just didn t think he realized the magnitude of what he had done. from behind the hospital walls. he turned to her and said, will you marry me? secrets from his diary uncovered by dateline. his obsession with actors, jody foster. the letters were sent to and the most controversial question of all, is hinckley really fit to be free? he s a potential k dangerous character. hello, welcome to dateline. he shot a president and shook the country. since that day, more than 40 years ago, gunman, john hinckley jr. has remained an enigma. now, we re about to reveal an extraordinary trove of his most private thoughts and feelings, and provi
from behind the hospital walls. he turned to her and said, will you marry me? secrets from his diary uncovered by dateline. his obsession with actors, jody foster. the letters were sent to and the most controversial question of all, is hinckley really fit to be free? he s a potential k dangerous character. hello, welcome to dateline. he shot a president and shook the country. since that day, more than 40 years ago, gunman, john hinckley jr. has remained an enigma. now, we re about to reveal an extraordinary trove of his most private thoughts and feelings, and provide a firsthand look at his contentious second act as a free man. here s special contributor, troy roberts, with hinckley, diary of a dangerous mind. charming small town, williamsburg, virginia. people visit from all over the world for a taste of americas colonial history. this man came for something more. a new life, one that would be quietened normal. he volunteers at a church, she plays
to make you understand, in no uncertain terms, then i m doing all of this for your sake. the fbi needed to talk to foster. when agents arrive it yale university, where she was a student, the actress was visibly upset. she told him that hinckley started writing her soon after she arrived at campus, the previous fall. and hadn t stopped. was he threatening, what was it like? i m not allowed to say. foster held a press conference few days later. the letters were assume to have been love type letters. have you ever seen hinckley? no. not to my knowledge, i ve never met him. the fbi learned that hinckley had told his parents he was attending at yale writers program, but that was a lie. he wasn t in a reuters program, he was there living in a hotel, and stocking jody foster. he was slipping notes under her door, love notes. this note was left for her just weeks after the shooting. jody, goodbye. i love you six trillion times. don t you may be like me just a little bit? yo
were wrong, because his judgment was impaired by schizophrenic delusions. the only meaningful thing in his life is his delusional attachment with jody foster. dr. carpenter testified, hinckley created an entire fantasy world, where that attachment could exist. he developed this grandiose view of jody and him as a couple. he felt this is something that everybody should know about. killing carter, killing reagan, he needed something that would call attention to this. is attempts to connect with foster were his way of trying to convince her that they were meant to be. the defense had jurors listened to a phone call. hinckley recorded between himself and actress. john who? oh no, not you again. look, i really can t talk to, okay? you understand why can t, you
student, the actress was visibly upset. she told him that hinckley started writing her soon after she arrived at campus, the previous fall. and hadn t stopped. was he threatening, what was it like? i m not allowed to say. foster held a press conference few days later. the letters were assume to have been love type letters. have you ever seen hinckley? no. not to my knowledge, i ve never met him. the fbi learned that hinckley had told his parents he was attending at yale writers program, but that was a lie. he wasn t in a reuters program, he was there living in a hotel, and stocking jody foster. he was slipping notes under her door, love notes. this note was left for her just weeks after the shooting. jody, goodbye. i love you six trillion times. don t you may be like me just a little bit? you must admit, i am different. it would make all of this worthwhile. when did this obsession with jody foster begin? 1976.