James Brady -- Murdered?

Many (most?) of us suspect the area in and around Washington, DC is a reality-free zone. A North Virginia medical examiner has done nothing to quash that suspicion, ruling that James Brady was murdered in 2014 – 33 years after being shot.     

Jim Brady and Ronald Reagan - Fox

First, all due respect to James Brady. A madman severely injured him in the service of this Nation and the Reagan Administration. The brain damage was so severe that only miraculous luck, modern medicine and Jim Brady’s will to live prevented the attack from actually being murder. Furthermore, we've little compassion for the assailant. In a rational society, he should have been circling Dante’s Inferno long ago.

Most commentators are at a loss to explain the ruling. According to the Washington Post, there's little chance of a murder prosecution. Common law holds an assault can only be murder if the victim dies within a year and a day. A jury of average intelligence (yeah, we know) would likely find the 33 year span difficult to swallow. The madman has already been found not guilty by reason of insanity for the attempted murders. The Post lists another handful of good reasons against further prosecution. Like it or not (and we don’t), the attacker will probably never pay for the suffering he caused. But, this is a nation of laws, however imperfect, and we should be thankful for that.

James Brady Surrounded by Antis Frank

 Lautenberg. Paul Helmke and Sarah Brady - AP

Whatever the medical examiner’s reasons: simple-minded bureaucracy, Brady family pressure, political intrigue or something else; the anti-gun industry will certainly relish the chance to wave Jim Brady’s bloody shirt once again.   

HT: Emily Miller, FOX News