Judge considers whether to allow Hinckley to make unsupervised trips

Star Tribune ^ | 12-04-03 | Associated Press

[yonif]

WASHINGTON (AP) - Lawyers for the former Colorado man who shot President Reagan said Thursday that psychiatrists support letting him leave a mental hospital for visits with his parents. Government attorneys insisted the would-be assassin was still dangerous and trying to deceive his doctors.

Both sides completed their arguments on the fifth day of a hearing on John Hinckley Jr.'s request for permission to leave St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington for the visits.

U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman declined to say when he would issue a ruling.

Hinckley, 48, has been at the hospital since he was acquitted in 1982 by reason of insanity in the shootings of Reagan, presidential press secretary James Brady, and two law enforcement officers. Reagan was nearly killed and Brady was permanently disabled. Hinckley said he shot Reagan to impress actress Jodie Foster.

In closing arguments attended by Hinckley, his lawyer said Hinckley's mental illness was in remission and that he would pose no threat on such visits.

Attorney Barry Levine said that all the mental health professionals who testified, even those representing the government, supported unsupervised visits. They only disagreed on the conditions of the trips, and Levine has said he would support all of them.

''The government has offered no evidence that contradicts the unanimous opinion in this case,'' Levine said.

In addition, Levine said, Hinckley is sure to be watched by the Secret Service, which has shadowed him when he leaves the hospital grounds on supervised trips to the theater, shopping mall and bowling alley.

''The fact that the Secret Service may be there ought to supply the court with a greater level of comfort,'' Levine said. ''They've been there 100 percent of the time.''

Government lawyer Robert Chapman maintained that Hinckley remained a threat and was hiding his true mental conditions from his psychiatrists. They noted that he had stopped reading and writing, two activities that helped professionals determine his mental health.

''The hospital cannot get enough information to fairly evaluate all the information because Mr. Hinckley has shut down, has closed the blinds,'' Chapman said.

Chapman said there is no guarantee the Secret Service will continue to watch Hinckley. The law enforcement agency ''cannot provide a private security detail for Mr. Hinckley,'' Chapman said.

Reagan's family and Brady's wife, Sarah Brady, have publicly opposed the request. Sarah Brady sent a letter to the judge. Reagan's children, Patti Davis and Ron Reagan Jr., made their opposition known in the media.

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On the Net:

U.S. District Court: http://www.dcd.uscourts.gov

[alwayzright]

This dirtbag should be in jail. But since that didn't happen, keep him in a rubber room for the rest of his life.

[Prime Choice]

Yep...the Left would love nothing more than to give Hinckley a second chance. (Funny how they don't want to extend Sirhan Sirhan such generosity...)