The man who tried to assassinate Ronald Reagan has been completely released 41 years after the shooting.
John Hinckley Jr., now 67, seriously injured the president of the United States during an attack in 1981.
He spent decades in a Washington mental health unit after being acquitted of insanity in a 1982 trial.
Image: President Ronald Reagan was introduced to his limousine after being shot by Hinckley. Image: AP
He has now been released from judicial supervision, officially ending ongoing supervision by mental health and legal professionals after doctors who examined Hinckley said the risk of violence was remote, and federal prosecutors accept.
Hinckley Jr. posted on Twitter: “After 41 years, 2 months and 15 days, finally freedom!”
Restrictions were expected to be lifted from September last year.
U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman previously said he would release Hinckley Jr. on June 15 if he remained mentally stable in the Virginia community, where he has lived since 2016.
Restrictions, including limits on social media, have gradually eased, and Hinckley Jr. has now gained more than 28,000 followers on Twitter.
During a hearing on June 1, Judge Friedman said Hinckley had not shown any signs of active mental illness since the mid-1980s and had shown no violent behavior or interest in weapons.
“I’m sure Mr. Hinckley will do well in his remaining years,” the judge said.
Referring to the battle between lawyers representing the U.S. government and Hinckley over how much freedom should be granted to him, Judge Friedman said there is now a unanimous agreement.
“It took us a long time to get here,” he said.
“This is the time to let John Hinckley go on with his life, so we’ll do it.”
Hinckley Jr. became a household name after pointing to the 40th president of the United States and three more outside a Washington hotel.
Mr. Reagan recovered quickly after surgery for a punctured lung.
However, his press secretary, Jim Brady, was left with permanent disabilities after the first of six bullets fired by Hinckley hit his head, shattering his brain cavity.
Image: Art Print by Hinckley Jr. and his parents in court in 2004. Photo: AP
Reagan’s biographer HW Brands said: “If Hinckley had succeeded in killing Reagan, then he would have been a key historical figure.
“As it is, it’s a wrong soul that history has already forgotten.”
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President Reagan’s daughter, Patti Davis, opposed Hinckley’s release, calling him a narcissist whose remorse he did not believe.