The man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan has been released from a Washington mental hospital for good, more than 35 years after the shooting.
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A spokeswoman for the District of Columbia’s Department of Mental Health said early on Saturday that all patients scheduled to leave St. Elizabeths Hospital had been discharged. He has been allowed to live with his mother in Williamsburg, Virginia.
As a 25-year-old college dropout, Hinckley had grown fixated upon actress Jodie Foster and the Martin Scorsese film “Taxi Driver”, in which she played a teenage prostitute.
Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity following an eight-week trial in 1982.
“John Hinckley is responsible for the shooting of President Reagan and three other fearless men”.
One thing troubling her, she said, was that while at St. Elizabeths, Hinckley had written to convicted mass murderers Ted Bundy and Charles Manson.
Hinckley has been spending up to 17 days per month with his mother as part of a gradual release over the past decade. After a year, he may live alone or with roommates.
He must meet with a doctor for psychiatric treatment at least twice per month, which can be reduce to once per month after 6 months. He’ll also see a therapist individually. Once a month he can go into DC for outpatient meetings.
The 61-year-old will have to work or volunteer three days a week, attend regular therapy sessions, and has been barred from giving any interviews to the media.
Once Hinckley gets settled in Virginia, he can register to vote.
“I don’t think that anybody who tries to nullify a national election with a bullet should ever been walking free, no matter what their mental state”, former federal prosecutor Joseph DiGenova said.
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Hinckley’s longtime defense attorney Barry Wm. “After a year on convalescent leave, following the comprehensive risk assessment conducted by the Hospital, Mr. Hinckley may reside in a separate residence, either alone or with roommates, or in a group home within a 30-mile radius of Williamsburg”, if all the members of his treatment team agree. As Hinckley walked past, the man, who did not want to be named, said he heard several people from the hospital saying goodbye to Hinckley.
