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U.S. President Reagan's shooter John Hinckley fully released after 41 years
John Hinckley Jr. arrives at the E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. District Court in Washington D.C. November 19, 2003. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/File Photo

The NPR reported that John Hinckley Jr., who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 in a failed assassination attempt, was fully released from court restrictions on Wednesday (June 15).

Hinckley tweeted: "After 41 years 2 months and 15 days, FREEDOM AT LAST!!!"

The Hinckley, who is now 67, was found not guilty by reason of insanity after shooting and wounding Reagan, as well as White House press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy and a Washington police officer Thomas Delahanty.

The acquittal meant Hinckley escaped serving jail time. But following the trial, he spent more than three decades at St. Elizabeths hospital in Washington.

Since 2003, the conditions of his confinement have been gradually eased.

U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman approved Hinckley's unconditional release in September. Friedman noted at the time that "very few patients at St. Elizabeths Hospital have been studied more thoroughly than John Hinckley."

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Hinckley was 25 at the time of the assassination attempt. The son of a wealthy oil family, he'd already undergone some psychiatric treatment before trying to kill the president.

The NPR noted that on the day of the shooting, Reagan had given a speech at a Washington hotel and was on his way into a limousine when Hinckley pushed a pistol through a crowd of people and fired six shots.

Source: npr