NATION & WORLD
John Hinckley Jr. has spent decades in psychiatric hospital
A judge has ordered that John Hinckley, who shot President Ronald Reagan and three others in 1981, be permanently freed from his psychiatric facility.
“I don’t like flipping around the TV, I want to do things.” John Hinckley Jr. in a court document
John Hinckley Jr., who spent more than 35 years in a psychiatric hospital following his attempt to assassinate President Reagan in 1981, will be released into his mother’s care as early as next week under a federal order.
In a 103-page court order, U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman of Washington wrote that Hinckley, 61, no longer poses a danger to himself or others.
The court said experts found Hinckley’s major depression and psychotic disorder “are in full and sustained remission and have been for more than 20 years” and that he is “clinically ready” to leave the hospital. He could be freed as early as Aug. 5.
“I don’t like flipping around the TV, I want to do things,” a court document quoted Hinckley saying, according to the Associated Press. He also has said he wants to “fit in” and be “a good citizen.”
If he adheres to guidelines regarding his activities, Hinckley could be fully removed from court control in as soon as a year.
Hinckley, who shot President Reagan and three others outside the Washington Hilton hotel on March 30, 1981, was found not guilty by reason of insanity at a 1982 trial and ordered confined for treatment at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in Washington.
The release, cast as “convalescent leave,” is subject to strict guidelines. Hinckley must live at his mother’s home in Williamsburg, Va., and is restricted to a 50mile radius of the location. He must inform his doctors before going to any private residence.
Hinckley also must turn over information about his cellphone and is barred from accessing social media, uploading any content or erasing any browser history from his computer.
The court order requires that Hinckley “shall have no contact whatsoever” with specific individuals, including actress Jodie Foster. In a letter to the actress written on the eve of the assassination attempt, Hinckley emphasized that his act was an attempt to impress her.
Foster played a child prostitute in the 1976 film Taxi Driver, which focuses on a disturbed character based in part on the diaries of Arthur Bremer, who tried to kill George Wallace. Hinckley’s obsession included traveling to Yale University, where Foster was a student, in an attempt to meet her. He left her notes, letters and poems, but failed to establish a personal relationship.
He initially began stalking President Carter and was arrested for having firearms in his luggage at the Nashville airport where Carter was to make a campaign appearance. After the 1980 election, he shifted to Reagan.
The court order also says Hinckley is barred from communicating with members of Reagan’s family, or any member of the family of James Brady, Reagan’s then-press secretary who suffered permanent brain damage during the assassination attempt. Brady died in 2014.
The court order further says Hinckley must participate in “structured activities” in Williamsburg, such as volunteer positions or paid employment approved by his doctors.
In addition, Hinckley must adhere to strict guidelines regarding the media. “If approached by media, Mr. Hinckley and the members of his family will decline to speak with them, and if the media persists, Mr. Hinckley and the members of his family will withdraw,” the order said.