John Hinckley Jr., who shot President Ronald Reagan in a March 1981 assassination attempt, will be freed from all court supervision in June 2022 if he remains mentally stable and law-abiding.
On Monday, Judge Paul L. Friedman said that “If he hadn’t tried to kill the president,” the 66 year-old Hinckley “would have been unconditionally released a long, long, long time ago.”
“But everybody is comfortable now after all of the studies, all of the analysis and all of the interviews and all of the experience with Mr. Hinckley,” the judge added.
Hinckley was 25 years-old and suffering from acute psychosis when he attempted to kill Reagan, whose lung was punctured by a bullet that ricocheted off the presidential limousine. Reagan press secretary James Brady, who died in 2014, was paralyzed in the attack. Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty were also wounded.
Hinckley, whose violent act was inspired by the 1976 film ‘Taxi Driver’ and an obsession with actress Jodi Foster, was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1982. He was ordered to live at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington. In 2016, he was released and allowed to live with his mother, who has since died.
Over the past several years, Judge Friedman has steadily stripped away the conditions of Hinckley’s release.
A risk assessment in 2020 found that Hinckley would not be a violent threat if he were released from all court-ordered restrictions.
The Associated Press reports:
Hinckley did not attend Monday’s hearing. But Barry Levine, his attorney, said Hinckley wanted to express his “heartfelt” apologies and “profound regret” to the people he shot and their families as well as to Foster and the American people.
“Perhaps it is too much to ask for forgiveness,” Levine said. “But we hope they have an understanding that the acts that caused him to do this terrible thing (were caused by) mental illness.”
“I would hope that people will see this as a victory for mental health,” Levine added. “That is the real message in this case — that people who have been ravaged by mental disease, with good support and access to treatment, can actually become productive members of society.”
