The Latest: Man wounded by Hinckley hopes judge is right

The Latest: Man wounded by Hinckley hopes judge is right


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WASHINGTON (AP) — The Latest on a judge's ruling that the man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan, John Hinckley Jr., can live full-time outside a mental hospital (all times local):

8 p.m.

The Secret Service man who took a bullet during the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan says he hopes a federal judge is right that John Hinckley is no longer a threat and can be released to live with his mother.

Timothy McCarthy, now the police chief of the Chicago suburb of Orland Park, says he is a bit perturbed he didn't get a notification of the judge's decision to allow the 61-year-old Hinckley to go free.

McCarthy noted that he's never been asked for an opinion on whether Hinckley should be released.

During the March 30, 1981 assassination attempt, the then 32-year-old McCarthy was shot in the right chest. He says he spent a little more than three months recuperating before returning to the president's security detail.

McCarthy spent 22 years with the Secret Service.

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3:40 p.m.

The longtime attorney for John Hinckley Jr. says his client "recognizes that what he did was horrific" but that shooting President Ronald Reagan and three others "was not an act of evil."

Barry Levine said in a statement Wednesday that Hinckley is "profoundly sorry for what he did 35 years ago." He says the shooting was "caused by mental illness, an illness from which he no longer suffers."

A judge ruled Wednesday that Hinckley can live full-time with his mother at her home in Williamsburg, Virginia. Hinckley has been spending 17 days a month there for over two years.

Levine says he's "gratified" by the ruling, calling it "correct based on the law and the facts." He says "the mental health system and the judicial system worked and worked well."

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2:40 p.m.

President Ronald Reagan's daughter is criticizing a judge's decision to allow the release of John Hinckley Jr. from the psychiatric hospital where he's been confined for more than 35 years after he tried to assassinate Reagan.

Patti Davis says in a lengthy statement on her website that she will "forever be haunted" by the day her father almost died in 1981.

Davis says she believes in forgiveness. But she says forgiving someone doesn't mean letting them "loose in Virginia to pursue whatever dark agendas they may still hold dear."

Davis also says she's not surprised by the decision, but says her "heart is sickened."

A judge ruled Wednesday that Hinckley is no longer a danger and can live full-time with his mother in Virginia.

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1:00 p.m.

A former Secret Service agent who took John Hinckley Jr. into custody after Hinckley shot President Ronald Reagan says a court's decision to allow the man to live full time in the community is disappointing.

Danny Spriggs, who now works for The Associated Press, called the shooting the most "horrific incident" of his career. Spriggs said he believes Hinckley should remain under close scrutiny in a mental institution.

Hinckley shot Reagan and three others in 1981. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity. A judge ruled Wednesday that he's no longer a danger and can live full-time with his mother in Virginia.

Spriggs spent nearly three decades with the Secret Service. He now works as vice president of global security for The AP.

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12:20 p.m.

The foundation honoring President Ronald Reagan's legacy says it "strongly opposes" the release of John Hinckley Jr. from the psychiatric hospital where he's been confined for more than 35 years.

Hinckley shot Reagan and three others, including presidential press secretary James Brady, in 1981. He was found not guilty by reason of insanity. A judge ruled Wednesday that Hinckley is no longer a danger and can live full-time with his mother in Virginia.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute issued a statement Wednesday that read, in part, "Contrary to the judge's decision, we believe John Hinckley is still a threat to others and we strongly oppose his release."

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump also called it a "mistake" to release Hinckley, whom he misidentified as "David Hinckley."

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10:35 a.m.

The man who tried to assassinate President Ronald Reagan will continue to live under a number of restrictions when he leaves a Washington mental hospital next month.

Judge Paul Friedman ruled Wednesday that John Hinckley Jr. will have to attend individual and group therapy sessions and is barred from talking to the media. He can drive, but there are restrictions on how far he can travel. The Secret Service also periodically follows him.

Hinckley will be required return to Washington once a month for doctors to check on his mental state and his compliance with the conditions of his leave. He'll also be barred from trying to contact surviving victims and their families, along with actress Jodie Foster, whom he was trying to impress when he shot the president.

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9:32 a.m.

A judge says the man who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan will be allowed to leave a Washington mental hospital and live full-time in Virginia.

Judge Paul Friedman ruled Wednesday that John Hinckley Jr. is ready to live in the community. Friedman's ruling comes more than 35 years after the March 30, 1981, shooting outside a Washington hotel in which Reagan and three others were injured.

Doctors have said for years that the now 61-year-old Hinckley, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting, is no longer plagued by the mental illness that drove him to shoot Reagan.

For more than a year he's been allowed to spend 17 days a month at his mother's Virginia home. He will now live there full-time.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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