George Wallace's shooter to leave Maryland prison

[Hepburn]

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The man who shot and paralyzed Alabama Gov. George Wallace on the presidential campaign trail in 1972 is due to be let out of prison this year after serving 35 years of a 53-year term, a prison official said on Thursday.

Arthur Bremer, 57, has had his sentence reduced for good behavior and is schedule to be freed in December from the Maryland Correctional Institution-Hagerstown, said Rae Sheeley, a prison spokeswoman.

Wallace, a proponent of racial segregation who later disavowed those views, was a captivating and polarizing figure during turbulent times, but Bremer's diaries showed he was motivated to assassinate him to gain fame rather than because of politics.

<snip>

Bremer had quit his job as a janitor in 1972, writing in his diary that he planned to assassinate either Wallace or President Richard Nixon to achieve notoriety.

http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN2325862520070823

I never knew ~~ or maybe at my age I just did not remember ~~ that Bremer had also considered RMN as a target.

[Doctor Panacea]

1. Motivation

Frankly, I do not remember a lot of discussion about Bremer's motivation. But I vaguely remember that Nixon was supposedly also a target. Bremer was locked away, and the whole event was largely ignored. It is strange that, if notoriety was his only goal, Bremer did not also target George McGovern, the Democratic candidate for President in 1972. I cannot remember any claim that McGovern was targeted.

In my opinion, Wallace represented a difficulty for Richard Nixon in 1972. The elimination of Wallace from the race was definitely beneficial to Nixon, since both candidates appealed to many of the same voters.

[VP505]

2. Um, wonder

how he feels about " * " and is buddy "Shooter"?