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WASHINGTON – The man who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan is interested in a job in the music industry, perhaps in California, said his attorney at a news conference. court hearing in Washington on Tuesday.
John Hinckley Jr., 64, lives in Virginia and was not present at the hearing. A prosecutor said that allowing Hinckley to settle in California for a job in the music industry would give the government a "big break".
Hinckley spent decades in a psychiatric hospital in Washington after being found not guilty by reason of insanity during the 1981 shooting that injured Reagan and three other people. But health professionals said the 25-year-old Hinckley's mental illness when he shot Reagan had been in complete and stable remission for decades. US District Judge Paul L. Friedman said he no longer posed a danger to himself or others, and gradually gave him more time to get away from the hospital and more freedom.
Since 2016, Hinckley has been living with his mother in Williamsburg, Virginia. Hinckley lives in a series of 30 conditions that Friedman imposed, including regular visits to mental health professionals. Friedman receives reports on his progress and said Tuesday that certain conditions could be eased.
"Certain conditions that are now in place do not need to be in place," said the judge, although he did not specify which ones.
Hinckley's terms include living within 75 miles of Williamsburg, attending group and individual therapy sessions, volunteering or working at least three days a week and not talking to the media.
At Tuesday's hearing, Friedman's lawyer, Barry Levine, had stated that he would file a motion requesting the reduction of conditions, although he did not specify when neither would he ask precisely. He said that he was finally planning to request that Hinckley be released without any conditions, and he asked for it "in due course". After the hearing, however, he acknowledged that it would be long to ask the judge to grant unconditional release to Hinckley.
Hinckley lives with his older brother Scott and his mother, who is 90 years old. According to the court records, he anonymously sells books online as well as objects in an antique shopping center. Music has long been of interest to Hinckley, who plays guitar, writes music and sings. He participates in music therapy once a month. Under the conditions that Friedman imposed, however, he can not occur in public.
"He has talent," Levine said after the hearing, although he refused to specify the kind of work that Hinckley might want in the music industry.
Attorney Kacie Weston has not explained in detail why the government would worry about a move to California for a job in the music industry. But this kind of move would place him away from a team of mental health professionals with whom he has been working for years and the underlying crime of Hinckley was related to California's entertainment industry. Hinckley shot Reagan in an attempt to impress actress Jodie Foster.
In addition to a job in the music industry, Hinckley is interested in traveling, said Levine, likely to visit his sister in Texas.
The judge said that if he was considering reducing the restrictions, he wanted answers on Hinckley's future. He asked what would be the plan of where Hinckley would live if his mother had to move to a shelter or die. He also noted that Mr. Hinckley had benefited from the team of mental health professionals who surrounded him, but that some of them were considering retirement. He asked to know more about Hinckley's care in the future.
"It's been a long time since 1981," said Friedman towards the end of the hearing, adding that he thought Hinckley was ready for the "next step."
"The question is what is the next step," he said.
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