John Hinckley Getting Full Freedom 41 Years After Shooting President Reagan
Hinckley was confined to a mental hospital in Washington D.C. for more than two decades after a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity in shooting the president in 1981
By Jessica Gresko ••
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John Hinckley, Jr., who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 but was found not guilty by reason of insanity, sits in the back of this motioned vehicle outside the federal court in Washington, D.C., shortly after asking for permission to visit his family for Easter without supervision, Jan. 1, 1990.
John Hinckley, who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981, is “no longer a danger to himself or others” and will be freed from all restrictions this month, a federal judge said Wednesday, capping Hinckley’s four-decade journey through the legal and mental health systems.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman said in September that he would free Hinckley from all remaining restrictions on June 15 as long as Hinckley continued to do well living in the community in Virginia as he has for years. At a hearing Wednesday in Washington which Hinckley did not attend, Friedman noted Hinckley has continued to do well, and the judge made no changes to his plans for full freedom from court oversight.
“He's been scrutinized. He's passed every test. He's no longer a danger to himself or others,” Friedman said at a hearing that lasted about an hour. Friedman devoted much of the hearing to talking about the “long road” of the case, which he was randomly assigned two decades ago, the third judge to be involved in the case.
He noted that Hinckley, who turned 67 on Sunday, was profoundly troubled when he shot Reagan but that he had been able to get mental health help. Hinckley has shown no signs of active mental illness since the mid-1980s, the judge noted Wednesday, and has exhibited no violent behavior or interest in weapons.
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Hinckley was confined to a mental hospital in Washington for more than two decades after a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity in shooting Reagan. Starting in 2003 Friedman began allowing Hinckley to spend longer and longer stretches in the community with requirements like attending therapy and restrictions on where he can travel. He's been living full-time in Virginia since 2016, though still under restrictions.
Some of those include: allowing officials access to his electronic devices, email and online accounts; being barred from traveling to places where he knows there will be someone protected by the Secret Service, and giving three days’ notice if he wants to travel more than 75 miles (120 kilometers) from his home in Virginia.
Prosecutors had previously opposed ending restrictions, but they changed their position last year, saying they would agree to Hinckley’s release from conditions if he continued to show mental stability and follow restrictions.
Prosecutor Kacie Weston said in court Wednesday that the government believes the case “has demonstrated the success that can come from a wraparound mental health system." She noted Hinckley has expressed a desire to continue receiving mental health services even after he is no longer required to do so, and said the government wishes “him success for both his sake as well as the safety of the community.”
Corbis via Getty Images
President Ronald Reagan smiles and waves as he leaves the Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington D.C., March 30, 1981. Among those pictured are, from second left, Secret Service agent Jerry Parr, White House press secretary James Brady, Reagan, White House Deputy chief of staff Michael Deaver, an unidentified policeman, policeman Thomas Delahanty and Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy (right). Reagan, Brady, Delahanty, and McCarthy were all shot in the attempt.
Ron Edmonds/AP
President Ronald Reagan is shoved into the presidential state car by secret service agents after a 25-year-old gunman attempted to assassinate him outside a Washington, D.C., hotel, March 30, 1981.
Richard Drew/AP
Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy takes bullets intended for President Ronald Reagan, March 30, 1981, after the president left the Washington Hilton. Behind the limousine door, lead agent Jerry Parr shoves the stricken president into the car.
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
Police officers and Secret Service agents dive to protect President Ronald Reagan amid a panicked crowd during an assassination attempt by a 25-year-old gunamn outside the Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington D.C., March 30, 1981.
Ron Edmonds/AP
An unidentified secret agent yells orders with his weapon drawn after a 25-year-old gunman fired at President Ronald Reagan, March 30, 1981, outside a Washington, D.C., hotel.
Ron Edmonds/AP
White House press secretary James Brady lies on the sidewalk outside a Washington hotel after he was shot during an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan, March 30, 1981.
Dirck Halstead/The LIFE Images Collection via Getty Images/Getty Images
Armed Secret Service agents surround D.C. policeman Thomas K Delahanty and White House press secretary James Brady outside the Washington Hilton Hotel, Washington D.C., March 30, 1981. Both were shot during an attempt, by John Hinkley Jr, to assassinate President Ronald Reagan; also injured were Reagan and Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy.
Mike Evens/AFP via Getty Images
Police and Secret Service agents react during the assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. Reagan was hit by one of six shots fired by John Hinckley, who also seriously injured press secretary James Brady. Reagan was hit in the chest and was hospitalized for 12 days.
Ron Edmonds/AP
First responders load Secret Service agent Timothy J. McCarthy into an ambulance after he was shot during an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan outside a Washington, D.C., hotel on March 30, 1981.
AP
Vice President George Bush, followed by White House chief of staff Edwin Meese III, arrives for an appearance before reporters at the White House in Washington, D.C. on March 30, 1981. The vice president interrupted a trip to Texas and returned to Washington after the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan.
Charles Tasnadi/AP
Two people hang a sign on a building near the George Washington University Medical Center in Washington, March 31, 1981, where President Ronald Reagan is being treated for gunshot wounds he received on Monday in Washington.
Wolfgang Rattay/AP
A woman reads a Munich newspaper carrying the headline “Reagan in danger after attempt on his life!” in West Germany, March 31, 1981. The attempted assassination of the president of the United States was the number one story in Munich’s media.
White House via AP
President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan seen for the first time in photos on April 3, 1981, at the George Washington University Hospital after a 25-year-old gunman attempted to assassinate the president.
Jeff Taylor/AP
Five members of the jury, which found John Hinckley Jr. not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting of President Ronald Reagan, testify before the Senate Judiciary Committee’s Criminal Law subcommittee on Capitol Hill, June 24, 1982. The panel held a hearing to study the insanity defense. From left: Glynis Lassiter, Lawrence Coffey, Woodrow Johnson, Maryland Copelin, and Nathalia Brown.
Ira Schwartz/AP
John Hinckley, Jr. peers from a car window after a court appearance in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 4, 1984. A federal judge refused to give Hinckley uncensored access to telephone and reporters, and also refused Hinckley’s request that he be allowed to walk around his hospital grounds for an hour a day.
Doug Mills/AP
With an emotional James Brady in the foreground, President Bill Clinton speaks in the East Room of the White House, Nov. 30, 1993, prior to Clinton signing the Brady bill. The bill, named after Brady, the former White House Press Secretary who was shot and injured during the 1981 assassinated attempt on Ronald Reagan, requires a five-day waiting period and background check on handgun buyers.
Marcy Nighswander/AP
President Bill Clinton signs the Brady Bill in the East Room of the White House, Nov. 30, 1993. Looking on is former press secretary James Brady, Vice President Al Gore and Attorney General Janet Reno.
Hinckley's longtime lawyer, Barry Levine, said the case had “started with a troubled young man who inflicted great harm” and but that, in the end: “I think we have salvaged a life.”
“John worked hard. He wanted to correct something that he was unable to erase, and this is the best outcome that one could imagine,” Levine said after the hearing, adding that "His regrets will always be with him with respect to the families of those he injured.”
Levine said his client hopes to pursue a career in music and has “real talent.” In July, Hinckley — who plays guitar and sings and has shared his music on a YouTube channel — plans to give a concert in Brooklyn, New York. Appearances in Connecticut and Chicago for what he has called the “John Hinckley Redemption Tour” have been canceled.
John Hinckley Jr. soon will be released from all restrictions 40 years after attempting to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. News4’s Scott MacFarlane reports on a story he broke Monday morning on Twitter.
Reagan recovered from the March 30, 1981, shooting, but his press secretary, James Brady, who died in 2014, was partially paralyzed as a result. Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty were also wounded. Reagan died in 2004.
In the 2000s, Hinckley began, with the judge's approval, making visits to his parents’ home in Williamsburg, Virginia. His father died in 2008, but in 2016 he was given permission to live with his mother full time. Still, he was required to attend individual and group therapy sessions, was barred from talking to the media and could only travel within a limited area. Secret Service would also periodically follow him.
Hinckley's mother died in 2021. He has since moved out of her home. In recent years, Hinckley has made money by selling items at an antique mall and by selling books online.
Hinckley has said on his YouTube channel that he has started a record label, Emporia Records, and that his first release will be a 14-song CD of his music. He also promotes his music on Twitter.
It's been four decades since the attempt on President Ronald Reagan's life. News4's Pat Collins looks back on March 30, 1981: the day that shook the country.
