The man who shot President Ronald Reagan in a failed assassination attempt will, on Saturday, be released from the psychiatric hospital where he has spent the last 35 years. Inspired by the film’s main character, who plots to kill a presidential candidate, Hinckley opened fire on Reagan outside a Washington, D.C., hotel on March 30, 1981, in a misguided effort to win Foster’s affections.
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A federal judge ruled in July that the 61-year-old Hinckley no longer poses a danger to others, ordering his release.
For the past two years, he’s been allowed to spend 17 days a month with his mother in her home at Kingsmill in Williamsburg. He will have to follow a lot of rules while in Williamsburg, but his long-time lawyer Barry Levine says he thinks Hinckley will be a “citizen about whom we can all be proud”. Since a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity, Hinckley has lived at a mental hospital.
He shot former White House Press Secretary James Brady in the head, District of Columbia police officer Thomas Delahanty in the back of his neck, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy in the abdomen and Reagan in the lung. After a year, he may live alone or with roommates.
He will be allowed to go online, but can’t search for details about his crime or set up social media accounts without permission. He’ll also see a therapist individually.
The court order places dozens of detailed conditions on Hinckley’s “full-time convalescent leave” from St. Elizabeths, including a ban on contact with Foster, but said they can be phased out after a year to 18 months if he continues to make progress.
Hinckley got a driver’s licence in 2011.
Hinckley must remain within 50 miles (80 kilometers) 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. He can also drive to and from Washington once a month for his outpatient meetings.
Hinckley will not be able to publicly display, physically or on the internet, any memorabilia, writings, paintings, photographs, artwork, or music created by him without approval from his doctors. He paints and plays the guitar and has been involved in both as part of his therapy.
After Hinkley has been free for a year to 18 months, an updated risk assessment will be performed to determine whether his progress has continued. At court hearings in the case in late 2011 and early 2012, lawyers discussed the fact that Hinckley had recently developed an interest in photography.
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