Reagan Foundation Decries Plan To Release Hinckley From Hospital

SIMI VALLEY (CBSLA.com) — The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation is condemning a plan to release would-be presidential assassin John Hinckley Jr. from a psychiatric hospital to live with his mother.

"John Hinckley is responsible for the shooting of President Reagan and three other brave men," the Simi Valley-based foundation said Wednesday in a statement. "One died two years ago from the wounds he received. Contrary to the judge's decision, we believe John Hinckley is still a threat to others and we strongly oppose his release. They are all lives that matter dearly to us."

U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman in Washington, D.C., ruled earlier Wednesday that Hinckley should be released from a psychiatric hospital and be allowed to live with his mother in Williamsburg, Virginia. The judge ordered that he can be released as early as Aug. 5, subject to a list of conditions, including continuing treatment and monitoring.

Hinckley, now 61, shot Reagan and three others in a failed assassination attempt on March 30, 1981, while the president was walking out of the Washington Hilton. Reagan was wounded but recovered.

His press secretary, James Brady, was shot in the head, leaving him paralyzed. Brady died in 2014.

Also shot were U.S. Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy and Washington, D.C., police officer Thomas Delahanty.

Hinckley, who said he shot Reagan in an attempt to impress actress Jodie Foster, was found guilty by reason of insanity in 1982.

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