More than 35 years after he tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in an effort to impress actress Jodie Foster, John Hinckley Jr. will be allowed to leave a Washington mental hospital and live full time with his mother in Virginia, a judge ruled Wednesday.
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U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman said Hinckley no longer posed a danger to himself or others and could be released from a government psychiatric hospital in Washington.
Speaking to reporters in Florida, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump said, “John Hinckley should not have been released”.
Doctors have said for years that the now 61-year-old Hinckley, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting, is no longer plagued by the mental illness that drove him to shoot Mr Reagan.
The attack badly wounded three other men, including Reagan press secretary James Brady. That time has increased over the years so that for more than the last year he has been allowed to spend 17 days a month at the home, which is in a gated community and overlooks a golf course.
The order comes as numerous major players in that day’s drama have recently died, including First Lady Nancy Reagan, Brady and his wife, Sarah, as well as Jerry Parr, the Secret Service agent credited with saving Reagan’s life.
The attempt on Reagan’s life sparked intense debate over gun violence and the treatment of the mentally ill. Brady, though left paralyzed, became a leading gun-control advocate.
Hinckley must remain within 50 miles of his mother’s home, and can not travel to any area where a current or former president, vice president or member of Congress is known to be.
Hinckley will have to meet his psychiatrist in Washington at least once a month and let the Secret Service know when he travels for the appointments. He must also stay away from the media and can not make posts on the internet or access it.
The detailed conditions even include a requirement for monthly music therapy sessions with a board-certified music therapist.
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Hinckley’s release has been more than a decade in the making. Though it once housed as many as 8,000 patients – many of them indigent – the aging facility is being phased out and now holds only a few hundred.
