Ronald Reagan shooter John Hinckley Jr set to leave mental hospital

A judge says the man who attempted to assassinate president Ronald Reagan will be allowed to leave a Washington mental hospital and live full time in Virginia.

Judge Paul Friedman ruled that John Hinckley Jr is ready to live in the community.

His ruling comes more than 35 years after the March 30, 1981, shooting outside a Washington hotel in which then-president Reagan and three others were injured.

Doctors have said for years that Hinckley, now 61, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity, is no longer plagued by the mental illness that drove him to shoot Reagan.

The court order places dozens of detailed conditions on Hinckley’s “full-time convalescent leave” from St Elizabeths Hospital in Washington but said they can be phased out after a year to 18 months if he continues to make progress.