John Hinckley is the man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan outside a Washington hotel in 1981.
He is set to be “unconditionally released” from prison after it was deemed he does not pose a danger.
When will John Hinckley be released from prison?
On Monday, September 27, 2021, lawyers met in federal court before U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman to look at freeing Hickley from court-imposed restrictions.
He has lived outside of a mental hospital for the past few years.
Judge Paul L. Friedman, District Court Judge, stated that Hinckley would be released from all court supervision by June 2022, provided he remains mentally stable and follows the court’s rules.
For what purpose was John Hinckley sentencing?
Hinckley was only 25 when Hinckley shot and injured the U.S. President in 1981.
James Brady, Reagan’s press secretary died in 2014. The shooting also injured Timothy McCarthy (Secret Service agent) and Thomas Delahanty (police officer in Washington).
Jurors found Hinckley to be suffering from severe psychosis. They also found him not guilty of insanity. He needed treatment and not life imprisonment.
A federal judge granted Hinckley’s release from psychiatric custody in 2016 under court-imposed conditions.
These conditions were imposed by doctors and therapists who had to supervise Hinckley’s psychiatric medication. They also had to decide how often he attended individual and group therapy sessions.
A 2020 violence risk assessment conducted on behalf of Washington’s Department of Behavioral Health concluded that Hinckley would not pose a danger.
How long has John Hinckley spent in prison?
Hinckley was under institutional psychiatric supervision for more than 30 years.
In 2016, after being treated at St. Elizabeth’s psychiatric hospital Washington for 35 years, he was allowed to move to Williamsburg, Virginia, under a number of restrictions.
The rules included him living at his mother’s home in Williamsburg, not being allowed to possess a weapon or any memorabilia of Jodie Foster, contacting Reagan’s family, or erasing his computer’s web browser history.
Hinckley was released in November 2018 and is now free to live independently.