carpenter was excused-- troy roberts: and they hired psychiatrist william carpenter in the hopes thathat would convince a jury. carpenter met with hinckley for months and charted his unraveling. what was his relationship like with his parents? there wasn't anything that seemed like childhood neglect or trauma. troy roberts: but carpenter learned hinckley started to withdraw from friends in high school and then completely isolated himself in college. his parents were worried and took him to see a psychiatrist, who told them hinckley was simply immature and needed tough love. william carpenter: more than once they'd kind of cut him off. troy roberts: the strategy backfired. hinckley's hopelessness showed in his poems, songs, and journals. william carpenter: there are kind of dark anticipatory things in it. and it's certainly compatible with an unhappy and lonely life. troy roberts: in hinckley's poem "guns are fun," the foreshadowing of the shooting is clear. john hinckley (voiceover): if i wish, the president will fall and the world will look at me in disbelief. troy roberts: by the en