Reagan shooter to be freed after 35 years

The man who attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan will be allowed to leave a Washington mental hospital and live full-time in Virginia, a judge has ruled.

John Hinckley Jr. is ready to live in the community, Judge Paul L. Friedman ruled Wednesday, granting him full-time convalescent leave starting no sooner than Aug 5. Friedman's ruling comes more than 35 years after the March 30, 1981, shooting outside a Washington hotel in which Reagan and three others were injured.

Doctors have said for many years that the now 61-year-old Hinckley, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting, is no longer plagued by the mental illness that drove him to shoot Reagan in an effort to impress actress Jodie Foster.