John Hinckley Jr, the man who tried to kill US President Ronald Reagan in 1981 to impress actress Jodie Foster, could be completely free in June 2022. According to court documents, a federal judge on Monday ruled an agreement between the Department of Justice and John Hinckley, who was released from a mental hospital in 2016 after more than thirty years of internment.
The rules of his judicial control (restriction of movements, medical visits, etc.) will be completely lifted in nine months on condition that he continues to respect them and that he remains "mentally stable", said Judge Paul Friedman during a audience reported in the American media.
"If he had not tried to kill a president, he would have been granted total freedom a long, long time ago," said the magistrate.
Statement by the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute on John Hinckley, Jr. pic.twitter.com/5Hf1mBX3ma
- The Reagan Foundation and Institute (@RonaldReagan) September 27, 2021
"We strongly oppose his release"
“Unlike the judge, we believe that John Hinckley still represents a threat to others and we strongly oppose his release,” reacted the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation in a statement. His lawyer Barry Levine, quoted by the Fox channel, on the contrary hailed "a great day for mental health". funM. Hinckley, now 66, shot the US president as he left the Washington Hilton hotel on March 30, 1981.
He said he wanted to impress actress Jodie Foster, whom he had seen in the movie "Taxi Driver".
He had been declared criminally irresponsible by the courts.
One of his bullets ricocheted off the armored presidential limousine and hit Ronald Reagan in the chest, passing very close to the heart.
Three other people were injured, including James Brady, then White House spokesman, who remained partially paralyzed and with speech problems.
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