John Hinckley Jr., the man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan 40 years ago, is set to be “unconditionally released” after reaching an agreement with federal prosecutors.
The agreement to lift Hinckley’s current restrictions was reached during a federal court hearing in DC on Monday and will go into effect in June 2022, NBC reports.
The judge agreed to lift all restrictions next year if Hinckley remains mentally stable.
The 66-year-old is currently under court-imposed restrictions after moving from a Washington psychiatric hospital to his mother’s home in Williamsburg, Virginia, in 2016.
He spent 35 years in the psych hospital after being found not guilty by reason of insanity of trying to assassinate Reagan in 1981.
Under the current court-imposed conditions, Hinkley has to have doctors and therapists oversee his psychiatric medication and he is required to attend individual and group therapy sessions.
He is also unable to have possession of a gun and is banned from contacting Reagan’s children or actress Jodie Foster, whom he was obsessed with at the time of the shooting.
Hinckley’s attorney last month asked for unconditional release, arguing his client was no longer a threat.
Federal prosecutors had opposed ending the restrictions back in May, and retained an expert to determine if Hinkley would pose a danger to himself or others if he were to be unconditionally released.
A 2020 violence risk assessment carried out by Washington’s Department of Behavioral Health found Hinckley would no longer pose a danger.
Hinkley was 25 when he shot Reagan outside a Washington, DC, hotel on March 30, 1981.
The president suffered a gunshot wound to his chest and was hospitalized for nearly two weeks. Three others were also wounded in the shooting.
He was found not guilty by reason of insanity of trying to assassinate the president and was committed to a psychiatric institution. Prior to the assassination attempt, Hinkley had also stalked Foster.
Hinkley won a court battle last year that allowed him to publish his songs online, and potentially make a living as a songwriter.
Since then, he has been posting songs on YouTube under his real name.
With Post wires
