Ronald Reagan attacker to be freed from psychiatric unit
John Hinckley Jr. spent 35 years in prison after attempting to murder the the former president in 1981
- US courts say experts have found that Hinckley no longer poses a threat
Updated : 16:55
The would-be assassin of former US president Ronald Reagan is set to be released from a psychiatric hospital after experts deemed him to no longer be a threat.
John Hinckley Jr. attempted to kill Reagan in 1981 in Washington DC as he emerged from giving a speech in the Hilton hotel, excaped jail after he was determined insane in a trial the year after.
In a 103-page court order, U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman of Washington wrote that Hinckley, 61, no longer poses a danger to himself or others.
The assailant will have to live at home with his mother when he is released, but could be removed from house arrest in as little as a year. A judge ruled that Mr Hinckley, now 61, could reside full-time there on "convalescent leave" from 5 August.
Hinckley must also hand in information about his mobile phone and vehicles he will be driving, and is prohibited from using social media.
He displayed an obsession with actress Jodie Foster at the time, and said that the attempt to kill Reagan was his method of trying to impress her.
Three others were shot by Hinckley on the same day as the former president was attacked. His press secretary James Brady was shot in the head, suffered brain damage and used a wheelchair for the rest of his life.