John Hinckley, who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981, will be granted an unconditional release from prison effective June 2022 providing he continues to meet criteria in the next nine months, a federal judge announced Monday morning, the Washington Post reports.
To qualify, Hinckley, who has been living in supervised release in Virginia since 2016, must adhere to provisions he has met since his release from a mental hospital. Prosecutors and case supervisors must sign off on the release, but the court will have no role in future judgements.
“At this point the ball is in Mr. Hinckley’s hands. The government agrees if the continues to do what he is doing between now and June 2020, he would be granted his unconditional release,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Kacie Weston said.
Hinckley was acquitted of attempting to kill Reagan outside the Hilton Hotel in Washington, D.C. in April 1981, months after Reagan was inaugurated. He seriously wounded Reagan, press secretary James Brady, and two law enforcement officers: Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy and Metropolitan DC police officer Thomas Delahanty.
The 66-year-old Hinckley had been living with his mother in Williamsburg,Virginia since his release from a mental hospital in 2016. Doctors at that time had determined he was no longer a threat to himself of others. Hinckley’s mother died earlier this year at the age of 95.