Would-be Reagan assassin John Hinckley Jr. to be freed

RP Members what are your thoughts on this individual being released I'm tryion to stay away from politics, but this story hit me this morning when I read it? How does it affect you if you served under this President like I did?

John W. Hinckley Jr., who spent more than 35 years in a psychiatric hospital for attempting to assassinate President Reagan in 1981, will be released into his mother's care as early as next month under a federal court order.

In a 103- page court order, U.S. District Judge Paul L Friedman of Washington writes that Hinckley, 61, no longer poses a danger to himself or others. He could be freed as soon as Aug. 5.

The release, cast as "convalescent leave," is subject to strict guidelines. He must live at his mother's home in Williamsburg, Va., and must inform his doctors before going to any private residence.

The order will require that Hinckley undergo treatment and monitoring that could be phased out in as soon as a year, removing him from court control.

Hinckley shot President Reagan and three others outside the Washington Hilton hotel on March 30, 1981.

Under the court's strict guidelines, Hinckley must undergo treatment at St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C., facility no less than once a month.