1983/03/01 by Lawrence Zelic Freedman · 1 citation
Arts and Humanities · Social Sciences · Psychology · #War, Ethics, and Justification #Torture, Ethics, and Law #Insanity #Politics #Criminal responsibility #Law #Criminology #Insanity defense #Diminished responsibility #Political science #Psychology #Criminal law
paper · doi:10.2307/3791182
openalex publication_date 1983/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2025/11/06
The legal response to Hinckley's shooting of the President reflected a politically motivated reaction toward restriction of the criteria for responsibility which exculpates from punishment. This phenomenon is cyclical. The progressive and humanistic emphasis on the psychological state of the alleged attacker reasserts itself over time until the next major political crisis is precipitated by an attack on a head of state.