Ronald Reagan’s would-be assassin was granted unconditional release on Wednesday, 41 years after he tried to kill the then-president.
John Hinckley Jr., now 67, was found not guilty in the aftermath of the March 30, 1981, attack by a jury that declared him insane. He subsequently spent two decades in a mental hospital.
In 2003, US District Judge Paul L. Friedman began allowing Hinckley to live outside the hospital with restrictions, and by 2016, he was living in Virginia full-time.
Friedman indicated last year that all of Hinckley’s restrictions would be lifted by June 15 if he continued to do well, and confirmed that judgment Wednesday. The judge said Hinckley shows no signs of active mental illness.
Reagan recovered from the shooting, but White House press secretary James Brady was left permanently disabled after being shot in the head. Upon Brady’s death in 2014, a medical examiner ruled it a homicide caused by the wounds Hinckley had given him.
John Hinckley Jr. spotted in September 2021. TheImageDirect.com
In this March 30, 1981, file photo, Secret Service agents and police officers swarm a gunman, obscured from view, after he attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan outside the Washington Hilton hotel. AP“John Hinckley tried to kill the president of the United States. He came very close to doing so. We came to learn President Reagan was very close to death. James Brady was damaged for life,” Friedman said Wednesday, according to WTOP. “In 1981, over 40 years ago, John Hinckley was a profoundly troubled young man. He had acute psychosis.
“He has been in full, sustained remission for more than 25 years. He has followed every condition imposed by the court. He has demonstrated self-awareness and responsibility for his mental illness. He has been under a microscope like none of us have ever been,” Friedman continued.
“We are not losing sight of what he did 40 years ago,” the judge added. “He’s been scrutinized, he’s passed every test. I am confident Mr. Hinckley will do well in the years remaining to him. I hope the public will understand he has made such progress, and he’s not a danger anymore.”
A camera crew records the chaos as press secretary James Brady is gunned down moments after Reagan. The LIFE Images Collection via G
Ronald Reagan is escorted to a limo after being shot by Hinckley on March 30, 1981. APProsecutors wrote ahead of the judgment that Hinckley “has recovered his sanity such that he does not present a danger to himself or others because of mental illness if unconditionally released.”
The feds added that they “found no evidence to suggest that Mr. Hinckley’s unconditional release should not be granted.”
Barry Levine, Hinckley’s attorney, speaks to reporters outside the courthouse in September 2021. AP
John Hinckley Jr. being escorted by US Marshals on Aug. 8, 1981. APThe government had been allowed to access all of Hinkley’s electronic devices, emails, and online accounts since he began to live outside hospital walls. He also had to give authorities three days’ notice if he wanted to leave his home and travel more than 75 miles. He was barred from talking to the media and had to attend both individual and group therapy.
Hinckley now maintains a YouTube channel where he posts his music and makes money by selling items at an antique store and online.
Hinckley has said on his YouTube channel that he has started a record label, Emporia Records, and that his first release will be a 14-song CD of his music. He also promotes his music on Twitter.
With Post wires
