WASHINGTON (AP) – A federal judge will preside over an important hearing for John Hinckley, the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 and is on the verge of being released from all other restrictive conditions.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman said in September that he would release Hinckley from the June 15 restrictions as long as Hinckley continued to do well. Officials say Hinckley has a hearing Wednesday, which Hinckley will not attend, and is not expected to change those plans.
Hinckley was imprisoned in a psychiatric hospital in Washington for more than two decades after a jury found him not guilty of insanity in the Reagan shooting. But since 2003, Friedman has been allowing Hinckley to live longer in the community with requirements such as attending therapy and restrictions on where he can travel. He has been living full time in Virginia since 2016, although he is still under restrictions.
These include: allowing officials to access his electronic devices, email and online accounts; to be barred from traveling to places where he knows there will be someone protected by the Secret Service, and to give three days’ notice if he wishes to travel more than 75 miles (120 kilometers) from his home in Virginia.
In July, Hinckley – who plays guitar and sings and shared his music on a YouTube channel – plans to give a concert in Brooklyn, New York. Appearances in Connecticut and Chicago for what he called the “John Hinckley Redemption Tour” have been canceled.
The judge said Hinckley, who turned 67 on Sunday, showed no symptoms of active mental illness, no violent behavior and no interest in guns since 1983.
In a condition report filed ahead of Wednesday’s hearing, prosecutors wrote that health officials who had been monitoring Hinckley’s treatment for years believed he had “regained his sanity so that he did not pose a danger to himself or herself.” for others due to mental illness, if released unconditionally ”as planned.
Prosecutors had previously opposed the lifting of the restrictions, but changed their position last year, saying they would agree to release Hinckley from the conditions if he continued to show mental stability and adhere to the restrictions. Prosecutor Casey Weston wrote in a court file before the hearing that “the government has not found evidence to suggest that the unconditional release of Mr. Hinckley should not be granted,” as the judge said earlier.
Reagan recovered from the March 30, 1981 shooting, but his spokesman James Brady, who died in 2014, was partially paralyzed as a result. Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington police officer Thomas Delahanti were also injured. Reagan died in 2004.
In the 2000s, Hinckley began, with the judge’s approval, to visit his parents’ home in Williamsburg, Virginia. His father died in 2008, but in 2016 he received permission to live with his mother full-time. However, he was required to attend individual and group therapy sessions, was barred from speaking to the media, and could only travel to a limited area. The secret services also periodically followed him.
Hinckley’s mother died in 2021. He has moved out of her home ever since. In recent years, Hinckley has been making money by selling items in an antique mall and selling books online.
Hinckley said on his YouTube channel that he has set up Emporia Records and that his first release will be a CD of his 14-song music. He also promotes his music on Twitter.
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