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The man who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan 40 years ago will be granted his “unconditional release” in 2022 if he remains mentally stable, a judge has said.
John Hinckley Jr was 25 when he shot and wounded the 40th US President outside a Washington hotel in 1981 – an incident that crippled Mr. Reagan’s press secretary James Brady.
He also injured Secret Service Agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington Police Officer Thomas Delahanty.
From Hinckley left a Washington hospital in 2016He lives in Williamsburg, Va., under a number of court-imposed restrictions.
Doctors and therapists monitor his psychiatric medication and decide how often he attends individual and group therapy sessions.
Hinckley also lives under restrictions on his travel and internet use, is prohibited from having a firearm, and is not allowed to contact Mr. Reagan’s children, other victims or their families, or actress Jodie Foster, who obsessed him at the time of filming.
His lawyer has asked for unconditional release, saying he no longer poses a threat.
US District Court Judge Paul Friedman said he would render his decision on the plan this week, saying his issues are “in remission.”
“I will, after all these years, grant Mr Hinckley full release,” he said on Monday.
A 2020 violence risk assessment conducted on behalf of the Washington Department of Behavioral Health concluded that Hinckley would not pose a danger.
Jurors ruled that Hinckley was suffering from an acute psychosis and found him not guilty by reason of insanity, saying he needed treatment and not a life sentence.
