Hinckley meeting was sought: Reagan wanted to forgive attacker personally, doctor says
Now here is a bit of perspective for those of us who have a good deal of antipathy for Ronald Reagan's political legacy....
WASHINGTON -- It wasn't enough that Ronald Reagan had forgiven John Hinckley Jr. in his heart. He wanted to forgive the young man to his face.
Pope John Paul II had extended his hand to the man who tried to kill him, and Reagan was apparently inspired to do the same.
So in 1983, the president asked the White House physician to see whether a meeting with Hinckley was possible, according to people involved in the effort. Hinckley was at St. Elizabeths Hospital, the psychiatric hospital here, after being found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting of Reagan and three others.
It would be a remarkable moment, the president face to face with the man who tried to assassinate him.
"I had the feeling he really wanted to do it," said Roger Peele, then head of psychiatry at St. Elizabeths....
Peele said a meeting would be unwise.
"I was concerned that it would diminish Mr. Hinckley's sense of responsibility," said Peele, who oversaw but was not directly involved in Hinckley's treatment....
"I didn't want him to feel rewarded in any way for what he did," Peele said.
Yes, I detested Reagan's politics and the effects that his policies had on so many. Nonetheless, it is tough to deny the man credit for his basic human dignity and his desire to live his personal beliefs (even if they didn't always transfer to the political arena). Would any of us be attempting to do what Reagan wanted to do in order to demonstrate that he bore no malice towards John Hinckley? I didn't think so....
