Would-be Reagan assassin Hinckley freed after 35 years
Last week, the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 was released from a Washington psychiatric hospital. John Hinckley Jr., 61, was granted “full-time convalescent leave” in July. The order allows him to live with his mother in Williamsburg, Va., but under certain restrictions. Doctors said Hinckley had recovered from the mental illness that drove him to shoot Reagan and three others outside the Washington Hilton in March 1981. Hinckley, who was obsessed with actress Jodie Foster, said he shot Reagan to impress her. James Brady, the White House press secretary at the time, died in 2014 due to injuries from the assassination attempt. Hinckley is not allowed to go near any member of the Reagan or Brady families, along with relatives of the Secret Service officer and the D.C. police officer wounded in the attempt. He must also volunteer or find work.