A U.S. District Court judge has said he will release John Hinckley from restrictions on June 15 as long as Hinckley continues to meet his obligations. Hinckley fired U.S. President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and is on the verge of releasing all remaining restrictive conditions.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman said he would release John Hinckley from restraints on June 15 as long as Hinckley fulfills his obligations to the authorities.
Hinckley fired US President Ronald Reagan in 1981. Hinckley was detained at a mental hospital in Washington for more than two decades after a jury found him not guilty of insanity in shooting Reagan. But starting in 2003 Judge Friedman began allowing Hinckley to live longer Time in the community with requirements like attending therapy and restrictions on where he can travel.
A federal judge said John Hinckley Jr., who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, can be fully released from federal custody later this month https://t.co/XIEoSN2mc1
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) June 1, 2022
John Hinckley when he arrived for the hearing a few days after the shooting
He has lived in Virginia since 2016, though still under restrictions. These include: giving officials access to their electronic devices, e-mail and online accounts; He is prohibited from traveling to places where he knows there will be someone protected by the Secret Service, and giving three days notice if he wants to travel more than 120 miles from his home in Virginia.
Hinckley plays the guitar and uploads his music on YouTube, planning to give a concert in Brooklyn, New York. The judge said Hinkley, 67, had shown no symptoms of mental illness and had been without violent behavior and had not been interested in weapons since 1983. Prosecutors had previously opposed ending the restrictions, but changed their position last year, saying they would agree to Hinkle’s release from restrictive conditions if Will continue to demonstrate mental stability and fulfill the restrictions. Prosecutor Cassie Weston wrote in the court submission that “the government has found no evidence to suggest that Mr. Hinckley’s unconditional release should not be granted,” as the judge had previously said.
Ronald Reagan recovered from the shooting on March 30, 1981, but his press secretary, James Brady, who died in 2014, was partially paralyzed as a result. Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington Police Officer Thomas Delhanty were also injured. Reagan died in 2004.
In the 2000s, Hinckley began, with the judge’s approval, to visit his parents’ home in Williamsburg, Virginia. His father died in 2008, but in 2016 he received permission to live with his mother. Still, he was required for individual and group meetings, was forbidden to speak to the media and could only travel in limited space. The Secret Service would also monitor him from time to time.
Hinckley’s mother died in 2021. In recent years, Hinckley has made money by selling items at the mall, and by selling books online.