John Hinckley Jr. has walked free after over 40 years in prison.
The now 67-year-old was just 25 when he made an assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan in 1981. Now, after decades of treatment and institutionalization, he is a free man once again.
"After 41 years 2 months and 15 days, FREEDOM AT LAST!!!" the would-be assassin tweeted.
On March 30, 1981, Hinckley shot Reagan, White House Press Secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent, and a police officer in front of a Washington D.C. hotel. He had hoped to impress actor Jodie Foster, who he was infatuated with at the time.
After being found not guilty by reason of insanity, Hinckley spent decades undergoing psychiatric care at Saint Elizabeths Hospital in Washington D.C. In 2016, a judge approved his release with restrictions - these included mandatory therapy and treatment by doctors who monitored his medication.
In September 2021, U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman confirmed Hinckley's full release would take effect on June 15. Per the Associated Press, the judge explained that he had fulfilled every requirement for release.
"He's been scrutinized. He's passed every test. He's no longer a danger to himself or others," Friedman said, adding: "I am confident that Mr. Hinckley will do well in the years remaining to him."
"It took us a long time to get here. This is the time to let John Hinckley move on with his life, so we will," he concluded.
Hinckley will continue to reside in the Virginia community where he has been living with his family under considerable restrictions over the past few years.
While Judge Frieman was positive about Hinckley's future, not everyone was so pleased that the shooter had been set free. Reagan's daughter Patti Davis used her website to criticize the decision.
"When my father was lying in a hospital bed recovering from the gunshots that nearly killed him, he said, 'I know my ability to heal depends on my willingness to forgive John Hinckley,'" Davis wrote in a July 2016 post.
She continued: "I, too, believe in forgiveness. But forgiving someone in your heart doesn't mean that you let them loose in Virginia to pursue whatever dark agendas they may still hold dear.
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