The Texan who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan in 1981 to impress actress Jodie Foster will be released from institutional care.

John Hinckley Jr. (pictured) on March 30, 1981 shot President Reagan, Press Secretary James Brady, U.S. Secret Service agent Tim McCarthy and Washington, D.C. police officer Thomas Delahanty. All four survived the attack, but Brady was partly paralyzed.

According to ABC News, Hinckley has been granted a "full-time convalescent leave" from St. Elizabeth's Hospital in Washington, D.C. Hinckley's release could start in early August and he will be allowed to reside in Williamsburg, Virginia with his mother at her home.

The process for Hinckley's release has been ongoing for almost a year-and-a-half.  In April 2015, the Washington Post reported on the arguments' Hinckley's attorney presented for his release:

Officials at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Southeast Washington joined Hinckley’s request to be set free and treated as an outpatient, with conditions.

“The psychosis and major depression that made Mr. Hinckley dangerous in 1981 have been in full and stable remission for over two full decades,” his attorney, Barry Wm. Levine, told U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman in Washington. “There is no dispute that Mr. Hinckley is clinically ready for the next step in treatment, which is convalescent leave.”

 

John Hinckley Jr. graduated from Highland Park High School in suburban Dallas in 1973 and started attending Texas Tech University later that year. Hinckley attended Texas Tech off-and-on up until the Summer of 1980, according to LubbockCentennial.com.

Hinckley was 25 years old at the time of the assassination attempt. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity in June 1982 by a federal jury.


However, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation condemned the release.

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