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A federal judge agreed Monday to lift all remaining restrictions on John W. Hinckley Jr., who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan in 1981, the next year if he remains mentally stable and continues to follow the conditions under which he lives, prosecutors said. .
Judge Paul L. Friedman, at a hearing in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, said he will issue his written order on the plan this week, his office said.
“If he hadn’t tried to kill the president, he would have been unconditionally released a long, long, long time ago,” the judge said at the hearing, according to the Associated Press. “But everyone is comfortable now after all the studying, all the analysis and all the talking, and all the experience with Mr. Hinckley.”
At the hearing, the District of Columbia’s United States Attorney’s Office said it would agree to Mr. Hinckley’s unconditional release in June 2022 “if he continues to comply with the terms of his current release order and maintains his mental stability by then, “Bill Miller, an office spokesperson, said in a statement.
Barry Levine, lawyer for Mr Hinckley, 66, said in a telephone interview that he and prosecutors had come to an agreement ahead of the unconditional release hearing and that Judge Friedman had granted their request joint. He said the reason for waiting until June was linked to two major events in Mr Hinckley’s life: Mr Hinckley’s mother passed away in July and his therapist retired in January 2022.
“The court just wants to see how it does,” Mr. Levine said.
For the decision to be reconsidered again, prosecutors would have to file a new petition and show previous conditions of release were violated, such as traveling more than 75 miles from Williamsburg, Va., Without notifying the court, said Mr. Levine.
“It’s self-executing,” Mr. Levine said. “The judge will choose what day it will be. “
After seeing the 1976 movie “Taxi Driver”, Mr. Hinckley began to identify with the main character, who plots to assassinate a presidential candidate. Mr Hinckley became obsessed with Jodie Foster, who played a child prostitute in the film, and moved to New Haven, Connecticut, to be close to her when she started attending Yale University.
After the 1980 election, Mr. Hinckley tracked down President Reagan in an attempt to impress Ms. Foster. In 1981 he wrote a letter to Ms Foster outlining his plan to kill the President and waited outside the Washington Hilton for Mr Reagan, waving him as he walked inside to pronounce a speech.
When Mr. Reagan left the hotel, Mr. Hinckley fired six shots, hitting the President; James S. Brady, White House press secretary; Timothy J. McCarthy, a Secret Service agent; and Thomas K. Delahanty, a police officer. Mr. Brady died of his injuries in 2014.
From 2014 to 2016, Judge Friedman allowed Mr. Hinckley to stay temporarily in Williamsburg, where his mother lived. Mr. Hinckley volunteered to do landscaping at a Unitarian church, and he worked in the library and cafeteria of a mental hospital. He also bowled, attended lectures and concerts, and exercised at a community center.
But he was subject to restrictions during this time. He had to work and volunteer at least three days a week or be reported to authorities if he did not show up. He had to live with his mother for at least the first year and carry a cell phone that tracked his movements.
In 2016, Justice Friedman ruled that Mr. Hinckley could live permanently with his mother. But he was to have no contact with Ms. Foster or members of Mr. Reagan’s family, Mr. Brady, or his other victims.
Mr Hinckley was also prohibited from being in the same area as current Presidents, Vice Presidents, Members of Congress or other senior members of the administration, and he was not allowed to have accounts on the networks. social security without the unanimous consent of their treatment team.
On May 6, Judge Friedman issued an order saying that a psychologist could examine Mr. Hinckley to determine his mental state and “the risk of dangerousness, if any, if he were unconditionally released from his appointment,” the case.
A 2020 violence risk assessment concluded that Mr Hinckley would not pose a danger if released unconditionally from court-ordered restrictions.
In another ruling last October that relaxed the terms of Mr Hinckley’s release, Judge Friedman said Mr Hinckley could publicly display his writings, paintings, photographs and other works of art.
Mr Levine said Mr Hinckley was living in virtually “no condition that matters at all”.
“He lives in Williamsburg, he goes to therapy,” he said. Once the absolute discharge takes effect, “he is detached from the court”.
“There is nothing the court can do to bring him back,” Mr. Levine said.
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