MAN WHO SHOT REAGAN TO BE FREED
JOHN HINCKLEY TRIED TO KILL US PREZ IN 1981
John Hinckley Jr, who wounded American President Ronald Reagan and three other people in a 1981 assassination attempt prompted by his obsession with actress Jodie Foster, can be freed from a psychiatric hospital to live with his mother, a US federal judge ruled on Wednesday.
US District Judge Paul Friedman said Hinckley, 61, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity in a 1982 trial, no longer posed a danger to himself or others. He said Hinckley could be released from St. Elizabeth’s, a government psychiatric hospital in Washington, as soon as August 5, subject to nearly three dozen conditions.
“Since 1983, when he last attempted suicide, he has displayed no symptoms of active mental illness, exhibited no violent behaviour, shown no interest in weapons, and demonstrated no suicidal ideation,” Friedman said of Hinckley in a 103-page opinion.
In addition to Reagan, Hinckley’s attack wounded presidential press secretary James Brady, a policeman and a Secret Service agent.
It helped launch the modern gun control movement, as Brady and his wife, Sarah, founded what is now known as the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence after he was left permanently disabled.
The Bradys’ support helped the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act become law in 1993, imposing federal background checks on gun purchases and a five-day waiting period.
The Hinckley verdict also led several states to rewrite their laws making it more difficult to use the insanity defence while the US Secret Service tightened its protocols for presidential security.
Upon his admission to St. Elizabeth’s Hospital, doctors diagnosed Hinckley with depression and psychosis — two maladies they say have been in remission for years.
Friedman said Hinckley will be required to spend at least a year living with his mother, Jo Ann, 90, in Williamsburg, Virginia, about 210 km south of Washington, where he has been making increasingly long furlough visits for several years.
If Hinckley’s treatment team approves, he may then move into his own residence by himself or with roommates, Friedman said. He also said if Hinckley’s mother becomes unable to monitor him in her home, his brother or sister will be required to live there with him until the hospital determines an alternate plan.