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John Hinckley Jr.: Man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 granted 'unconditional release'

John Hinckley Jr. assassination attempt
Posted at 11:41 AM, Sep 27, 2021
and last updated 2021-09-27 12:11:29-04

A federal judge has approved the unconditional release of John Hinckley Jr., the man who shot President Ronald Reagan and three others in a failed assassination attempt in 1981.

According to NPR and WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., Hinckley will be eligible for "full release" in June 2022.

Hinckley, 66, shot Reagan, press secretary James Brady, secret service agent Timothy McCarthy and policeman Thomas Delahanty as Reagan left the Hilton Hotel in Washington on March 30, 1981. Brady was permanently paralyzed following the shooting.

Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity in 1982.

According to NPR, Hinckley remained at a Washington area hospital for decades following the trial. Starting in 2003, restrictions on Hinckley's activities began to lessen.

According to WRC, he was granted convalescent leave from the hospital in 2016 and currently lives in Williamsburg, Virginia. He currently lives under court-imposed conditions that require him to attend individual and group therapy sessions and which monitor his psychiatric medications.

Last year, the Department of Behavioral Health asked that Hinckley be released with no conditions because he posed a "low threat for future violence."