# U.S. judge will grant unconditional release of would-be Reagan assassin John W. Hinckley Jr **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 27, 2021, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453 "2021-09-27T16:11:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453/1 "2021-09-27T16:11:39Z")
[https://www.wfmz.com/news/national/john-hinckley-jr-man-who-shot-president-reagan-will-be-granted-unconditional-release/article\_2914a6bd-5639-550d-949f-79721eb472e5.html](https://www.wfmz.com/news/national/john-hinckley-jr-man-who-shot-president-reagan-will-be-granted-unconditional-release/article_2914a6bd-5639-550d-949f-79721eb472e5.html) > **[Would-be Reagan assassin John W. Hinckley Jr. wins unconditional release](https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/legal-issues/john-hinckley-unconditional-release/2021/09/27/8e5f5286-1f9f-11ec-9309-b743b79abc59_story.html)** > > The agreement ends court supervision of Hinckley, 66, aof June 2022. He has been out on conditional release since 2016. Since he was mentally ill and is now cured it’s reasonable to do so. ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Cad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saint_cad/32/18907_2.png) [@Saint\_Cad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Cad)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453/2 "2021-09-27T17:52:10Z")
Jodie Foster’s waiting at the hospital gate for him is over. ---
**Author:** ![mtnmatt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a3d4f5/32.png) [@mtnmatt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mtnmatt)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453/3 "2021-09-27T18:35:33Z")
I still have that song he composed for her in my head, from the coverage at the time “In the middle of the night In the middle of the night I call your name Oh, Jodie…” (this last bit may not be accurate) ---
**Author:** ![E-DUB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/e-dub/32/403_2.png) [@E-DUB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E-DUB)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 6:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453/4 "2021-09-27T18:42:55Z")
Someone tell him that Donald trump is banging Jodie Foster. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [September 27, 2021, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453/5 "2021-09-27T18:58:05Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Someone tell him Thread 🏆 ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2021, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453/6 "2021-09-28T02:38:55Z")
Damn, beat me to it —- I’ve been making that joke all day… Every time I hear the news story, I add the sentence “Upon granting his release, the judge turned to Hinckley and said “Good luck, and by the way, Donald Trump’s screwing Jodie Foster. ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2021, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453/7 "2021-09-28T03:04:23Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > Since he was mentally ill and is now cured it’s reasonable to do so. Yes and no. The government never believed that he was mentally ill in the first place. They argued that he was not insane, that what he did was cold and calculating. Yet when the jury finds him insane, they spend nearly forty years arguing how insane he is and needs to stay locked up. His legacy will be that he got the laws changed so that people who are really insane go to prison instead of a mental hospital. ---
**Author:** ![Tilt-A-Whirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e79b87/32.png) [@Tilt-A-Whirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tilt-A-Whirl)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2021, 6:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453/8 "2021-09-28T06:54:59Z")
I’d like to take this opportunity to shoehorn in one of my favorite bits of ironic trivia: Not a single bullet Hinckley fired hit Reagan directly. The shot that hit him was a ricochet, off the bullet proof limo. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2021, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453/9 "2021-09-28T08:12:06Z")
That comes from this song [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/itk-ndTnNWc/maxresdefault.jpg "Oh Yoko! (Remastered 2010)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itk-ndTnNWc) ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2021, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453/10 "2021-09-28T09:04:59Z")
Jodie Foster had and has nothing to do with this. Her name was dragged into the story by a madman. As for the madman, I would suppose he is no longer a threat and so should be released. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [September 28, 2021, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453/11 "2021-09-28T21:55:58Z")
“I shot an actor for an actress But he lived to make a joke” –Wall of Voodoo, _Far Side of Crazy_ ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 9, 2021, 8:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453/12 "2021-10-09T20:42:24Z")
> [@E-DUB](#): > > Someone tell him that Donald trump is banging Jodie Foster. At the very least, hand him a map to Mar-a-Lago. ---
**Author:** ![Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Two_Many_Cats2)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2021, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453/13 "2021-10-12T23:03:35Z")
He’s not going to be popular at the assisted living facility. The elderly tend to revere Reagan. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2021, 12:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453/14 "2021-10-13T00:06:31Z")
> [@Two\_Many\_Cats2](#): > > The elderly tend to revere Reagan. This elderly doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2021, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/u-s-judge-will-grant-unconditional-release-of-would-be-reagan-assassin-john-w-hinckley-jr/951453/15 "2021-10-13T06:27:24Z")
I’m on the cusp of elderly, and I certainly don’t.