The Father of Reagan’s Assailant Devotes His Life to Combating Mental Illness

Jack Hinckley talks about mental health issues and his youngest son, John.

In 1981, Jack Hinckley prefaced his tenth annual report to the 1,400 stockholders in the Vanderbilt Oil Company with the words of Proverbs 16:3: “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and your plans will succeed” (NIV). Indeed, Hinckley’s plans during the previous ten years had flourished.

Beginning in 1971, with a half-dozen shareholders and an investment of $100,000, the Denver-based oil company had grown to a $4 million a year business. But along the way, Hinckley had learned that success could not be measured in dollars and cents. In 1977, after reading such books as Ron Sider’s Rich Christians in an Age of Hunger, Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s The Cost of Discipleship, and C. S. Lewis’s Mere Christianity, Hinckley had given Jesus Christ control of his life. Shortly after, he became involved in such organizations as World Vision, through which he frequently did development work in Third World countries.

It was because of such a trip that on March 30, 1981, Hinckley hurried to finish last-minute business at his office. The next morning he, along with his wife, Jo Ann, planned to travel to Guatemala to develop systems to provide clean water for Indian villages.

But they never made the trip. That day, in Washington, D.C., Hinckley’s youngest son, John, fired six bullets at President Reagan, wounding him and three others. Although Jack Hinckley had been burdened by his son’s erratic behavior, he had never suspected that John was suffering from a mental illness so severe that he would attempt to assassinate the President.

This month, Jack and Jo Ann Hinckley are releasing Breaking Points (Zondervan), a book written with Elizabeth Sherrill. More than a detailed account of the tragic events of four years ago, the book also takes an honest look at the devastating effects of schizophrenia, an illness Jack Hinckley blames for his son’s shocking actions.

Jack Hinckley no longer manages an oil company. Instead, he is president and cofounder (with his wife) of the American Mental Health Fund, a nonprofit organization that seeks to increase public awareness of the prevalence and symptoms of mental illness and to raise money for research. CHRISTIANITY TODAY asked free-lance writer Sharon Anderson to interview Jack Hinckley. An edited version of that interview follows.

How did the church respond after your son’s assassination attempt?

The only local church to respond was Calvary Temple in Denver. Charles Blair, the church’s pastor, called the night of March 30. And he was one of the few people who made a public statement in our defense. Thousands of others sent letters sympathizing with us, but hardly any of them spoke out in public for us or for John.

Were you disappointed that you did not receive wider support from Christians?

No. We were overwhelmed by the correspondence we received from Christians all over the world. Everywhere we have gone to speak about mental illness, the local media have had the impression that most of the mail we received was negative or critical. That is simply not so. Probably not more than 5 percent was negative; the rest was very supportive. And at least three-fourths of the mail came from Christians who supported us.

Were those letters partially responsible for your current involvement in mental health?

Yes. So many were from parents of mentally disturbed children. They showed me how great the need was for mental health awareness and education.

In Breaking Points, you write that part of your involvement in mental illness is because God was leading you in that direction.

Before John’s tragedy, I began to realize that God was calling me to do something other than what I was doing. I had lost interest in my work, in making money, and in obtaining many other things. Every Christian book I read was telling me that my lifestyle was wrong. At the time, I began to think that I was being led to do overseas hunger-relief and water-development work. I had visited several Third World countries in conjunction with World Vision. But full-time relief and development work never seemed to work out.

I asked God several times what I was supposed to do. Then there was John’s tragedy. As soon as the dust settled, I again asked God what I was supposed to do. That’s when it became clear that the Lord wanted me to be involved in addressing the problem of mental illness.

What have you learned about mental illness?

After John’s tragedy, Jo Ann and I began to study mental illness, and we learned a number of staggering statistics. One out of every five adults is suffering from some form of mental illness. One-third of all hospital beds are occupied by the mentally ill. Despite these statistics, the amount of mental health research is disgracefully small. We knew we had to do something.

We learned that none of the organizations involved in mental illness were committed to public education or research. At the suggestion of some of these people, Jo Ann and I formed the American Mental Health Fund in 1983. It is dedicated to education and research.

How much progress have you made?

In mid-April, we received preliminary approval from the Advertising Council of a project which, when formally approved, will help us launch a nationwide educational campaign to bring mental illness out of the closet and remove its oppressive stigma. In the past, the Advertising Council has done campaigns for cancer, heart disease, the Red Cross—even Smokey the Bear.

What difference would education make?

All the difference in the world. Many people, especially Christians, see mental illness as just a weakness or extreme self-centeredness. Many mentally disturbed Christians are told that all they need to do to get better is to “turn your life over to the Lord” or to “stop worrying about yourself all the time,” and other such platitudes. In most cases, this advice is nonsense—even dangerous.

Why is that?

So many fail to recognize that many forms of mental illness are biologic, genetic, the results of chemical imbalances that have nothing to do with one’s attitude toward God. Just as some people are born with a withered arm, some are born with a mental illness. And all the Bible reading and evangelism in the world will not change that situation. Mental illness is a family of disorders involving a whole spectrum of illnesses, from phobias to neuroses through personality disorders to psychoses. The most crippling of all is schizophrenia. All physical illnesses are not the result of personal weakness, so why is mental illness viewed that way? Mental illness is just as real as physical illness.

Most people think mental illness is something that will never strike their family, that it will never strike their neighborhood. The truth is that it strikes one out of every three families.

During your testimony at your son’s trial, you said: “I’m the cause of John’s tragedy. I forced him out at a time when he simply couldn’t cope. I wish to God I could trade places with him right now.” Do you feel partly responsible for John’s illness?

The greatest mistake of my life was forcing John to leave our home three weeks before the assassination attempt. The worst thing you can do to someone suffering from a severe mental illness is to increase stress. Of course, I didn’t know that at the time.

Many expect me to feel deep guilt about John, but I don’t. I don’t feel any more guilt than if he had been born with a birth defect. I honestly feel that Jo Ann and I did the best we could. We didn’t ignore his problem. We took him to several doctors and were following medical advice when we forced him to leave in order to learn independence. If I am guilty of anything, it is ignorance about mental illness. I’m dedicating my life to removing that ignorance from parents as well as doctors.

How do you respond to those who say your son’s insanity defense prevented God’s justice from being done?

They are wrong. God’s justice was done because that is the purpose of the insanity defense. John was mentally ill at the time he shot President Reagan, and he could not control his thoughts or his actions. If critics are seeking vengeance instead of justice, they won’t be satisfied. Furthermore, John didn’t get away with a thing. He is in a maximum security hospital. If anybody thinks that is getting away with something, I invite them to go over to Saint Elizabeth’s Mental Hospital and take a look.

How is John today?

We have noticed improvement in the three years that he has been at Saint Elizabeth’s. He is on medication and is taking several forms of therapy, including family therapy with Jo Ann and me. He is also getting spiritual therapy by attending a chapel service every Sunday morning. We are pleased with the progress.

How can Christians become more educated about mental illness?

They can do three things: If they or a member of their family is suffering from some form of mental illness, we advise them to join an advocacy group such as the Alliance for the Mentally Ill. Second, we recommend that they read four books: Schizophrenia: Straight Talk for Families and Friends, by Maryellen Walsh; Surviving Schizophrenia, by E. Fuller Torrey; You Are Not Alone: Understanding and Dealing with Mental Illness, by Clara Clairborne Park with Leon N. Shapiro, M.D.; and our book, Breaking Points. Last, research is imperative. We need the help of the church to raise money for research.

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