JOHN HINCKLEY, ATTEMPTED ASSASSIN, TO BE RELEASED FROM PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITAL

President Reagan’s attempted assassin will be a free man again after a federal judge signed off on John Hinckley Jr.’s release from a psychiatric hospital. Hinckley was found not guilty by insanity for the the 1981 shooting that left Reagan with a chest injury. Reagan’s press secretary, James Brady, was paralyzed, and a Secret Service agent, and a police officer were also hit in the shooting. Why did he do it? At the time, he said it was to “impress Jodie Foster”. Hinckley has been in a psychiatric hospital since his trial. Wednesday morning Judge Paul Friedman said it was a difficult decision, but “The court finds by a preponderance of the evidence that Mr. Hinckley presents no danger to himself or to others in the reasonable future if released.” He must continue treatment and have no contact with the Reagan family or Jodie Foster.
* America: the land of second chances, and don’t you forget it.
* I’ll lay money down right now: he will end up with a commentary show on FoxNews.
* He’s “no danger to himself or to others in the reasonable future”? The reasonable future? What does that mean? He’s okay now, but we’re not ruling out that if he’s free long enough he’ll probably snap again?
* Shouldn’t they at least keep him off the streets ’til after the election?
* How do we know he’s not thinking, “If at first you don’t succeed …”
* Great, something else for Charles Manson to flip out over.
* Can’t you argue that James Brady eventually died – years later – as a result of his wounds? So why wasn’t that murder?
* Remember, at the time they announced Brady had died – that’s how serious his head wounds were.
* This is where it’s probably a good thing that I’m not a judge.
* So how does this work in this PC world we’re in now? Do we owe Hinkley an apology for thinking bad things about him?
* That’s it. He’s the victim here, right? A victim of having to live in a world where people don’t accept assassins.