John Hinckley Jr. To Be Released

Washington Post reporting:

John W. Hinckley Jr. is a man of routine. On warm days, he likes to sit on a bench outside the John Howard Pavilion on the grounds of St. Elizabeths hospital, and work his way through a stack of newspapers and magazines. He’s often seen walking alone on the hospital grounds or ducking into Martin’s, a nearby carryout, to pick up four-packs of 9 Lives to feed stray cats.

At 54, the one-time presidential assailant lives like a kid on perpetual spring break. The closest thing he has to a 9-to-5 job is a volunteer gig at the hospital library. He fills his free time strumming on his guitar, crafting pop songs about ideal love or going on supervised jaunts to the beach or a bowling alley.

After 28 years at St. Elizabeths, however, the realities of middle age have begun to set in. His father, Jack Hinckley, died in 2008, inspiring the son to pen a tribute song titled “Hero.” His mother, Jo Ann, is 84. His siblings, Scott and Diane, live in Dallas. Over the government’s steadfast objections, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman, who oversees his case, and Hinckley’s doctors are slowly preparing him for what they see as inevitable: His release from St. Elizabeths — life on his own.

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