Coroner Rules James Brady's Death A Homicide
The coroner's report on James Brady's death had some surprises, and also mystery.
I have to admit, I'm scratching my head a bit at this report from the Washington Post:
The death on Monday of President Ronald Reagan’s press secretary James S. Brady, has been ruled a homicide as a result of the gunshot wound he suffered in an assassination attempt on Reagan in 1981, according to District police department’s chief spokeswoman.
There was no immediate word on whether the shooter, John W. Hinckley, who has been treated at St. Elizabeths psychiatric hospital, could face new criminal charges. Hinckley, 59, was found not guilty by reason of insanity after he shot Reagan and three others on March 30, 1981.
The ruling was made by the medical examiner’s office in Virginia, where Brady died in an Alexandria retirement community. The shooting of Brady three decades ago, and the revelation of Hinckley’s mental illness, had largely faded from the headlines until his death this week at age 73.
It's no secret that Brady suffered terrible complications from the gunshot wound, but it seems odd to me that 33 years later, his death would be ruled a homicide unless there was some kind of direct causation that led to an earlier death than would otherwise have been expected.
The Washington Post article is sufficiently vague as to be mysterious.