More Freedom For John Hinckley

Posted December 20, 2013 18:30 by Alan

The man who attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan will have more time outside of the mental hospital where he’s lived for most of the last 30 years.

Hinckley will be allowed to visit his mother’s home in Williamsburg, Va., for up to 17 days at a time. Hinckley has been allowed to spend increasing amounts of time at his mother’s house in recent years, but previous visits were capped at 10 days. Hinckley must make at least eight successful 17-day visits away from the hospital before any requests to increase his time in Williamsburg beyond that will even be considered, U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman said in his ruling.

In court hearings before the ruling, Hinckley’s lawyer, Barry Levine, had asked for his visits to be expanded to 17 and 24 days, arguing that there is no evidence Hinckley is a danger to himself or others. Attorneys for the U.S. government, however, argued that Hinckley is “capable of great violence” and told the judge that granting expanded privileges was “premature and ill conceived.”