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United States: the man who tried to kill President Ronald Reagan soon completely free


John Hinckley Jr, the man who tried to kill US President Ronald Reagan in 1981 to impress actress Jodie Foster, may be completely free in June 2022.

According to court documents, a federal judge on Monday ratified an agreement between the Justice Department and Mr. Hinckley, who was released from a mental hospital in 2016 after more than 30 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.

Declared criminally irresponsible

“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”.

John Hinckley, now 66, shot the American president outside the Washington Hilton hotel on March 30, 1981. He said he wanted to impress actress Jodie Foster, whom he had seen in the film “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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