Free Republic

WASHINGTON — The man who shot President Ronald Reagan wants more than anything to “fit in” and be “a good citizen.” He tried to get a fast-food job, and loves to drive. His musical tastes run from Elvis and Paul McCartney to Nirvana. John Hinckley Jr. has been barred for years from talking to the media, but court documents made available this week contain rare snippets of his voice. A federal judge is deciding whether to allow Hinckley to live full-time outside St. Elizabeths, the mental hospital that has been his home since he was found not guilty by reason...

THE Vatican said today it accepted the decision by a Turkish court to release Mehmet Ali Agca, the Turk who attempted to kill the late pope John Paul II in 1981. "With legal issues, the Holy See leaves it up to the courts with competence in these areas," Vatican spokesman Joaquin Navarro-Valls said. He said the Vatican had only learned of the court's decision from press agencies and had not been given prior notice. Agca, 48, is expected to be released between Tuesday and Sunday, Turkish officials told the Anatolia news agency. He was a 23-year-old far-right militant on the...