WASHINGTON (AP) – The man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan has been released from a Washington mental hospital, more than 35 years after the shooting.
A federal judge ruled in late July that the 61-year-old Hinckley is not a danger to himself or the public and can live full-time at his mother’s home in Williamsburg, Virginia.
A spokeswoman for the District of Columbia’s Department of Mental Health said Saturday that all patients scheduled to leave St. Elizabeths Hospital had been discharged. Hinckley was among those scheduled for discharge.
An Associated Press reporter saw a hired car pull into the driveway of the Hinckley home at around 2:30 p.m. EDT. Officers from the Kingsmill Police Department chased reporters away.
Hinckley will have to abide by a number of restrictions and a work requirement.
For at least the first six months he’ll see his psychiatrist twice a month and he’ll have to attend weekly group therapy sessions. He’ll also see a therapist individually. He’ll return to Washington once a month to St. Elizabeths’ outpatient department to discuss his mental health and compliance with the conditions of his leave.