In March 1981, President Reagan was shot during an assassination attempt by John Hinckley Jr. outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C., Hinckley being brought to trial fourteen months afterward. Heflin espoused the view that the time between the incident and the trial was part of the need for an overhauling of the criminal justice system "so it can more efficiently and effectively deal with the rising epidemic of violent crime in this nation" and noted the shootings of Pope John Paul II and President of Egypt Anwar Sadat as incidents that had happened after the Reagan shooting yet had already seen the assailants be convicted and either jailed or executed. Heflin stated that the delays in bringing defendants to trial formed "contempt for the system" in addition to denouncing the delays as part of the problem, calling for the Senate to form a "Crime Caucus" as part of an attempt to "put aside petty partisan politics and unite in an effort to wage a successful war on crime."