On the evening of September 23, 1978, in Gary, Indiana, 27-year-old professional baseball player Lyman Wesley Bostock was fatally shot. After a game he dined with his uncle, Thomas Turner, then rode with Turner, Turner’s passengers Joan Hawkins and Barbara Smith, when their car was stopped at an intersection. A car driven by Leonard Smith, Barbara Smith’s estranged husband, pulled alongside and he fired a .410 caliber shotgun into the rear of the vehicle. The blast struck Bostock in the right temple; he was taken to a hospital and died in the early hours of September 24, 1978.

Leonard Smith was arrested and charged with murder. His first trial ended with a hung jury; at a second trial he was found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a state mental hospital. After seven months he was judged no longer mentally ill and released. The verdict and the quick release prompted public outrage and led to changes in Indiana law regarding the insanity defense.