America


Reagan Shooter Still a Dangerous Threat


A former U.S. attorney says the presidential assailant deserves to be committed for life.


W


hen john w. hinckley jr. was found not guilty by reason of insanity for shooting President Ronald Reagan, everyone thought he would be imprisoned in a


mental institution for life. Incredibly, that has not been the case. Presently confi ned to Saint Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, Hinckley is allowed periodic visits to stay with his mother in the Williamsburg, Va., area. His lawyer has been pushing to have him freed entirely. That would be a “disaster waiting to happen,” Joe diGenova, the former U.S. attorney in Washington who was the principal assistant U.S. attorney during Hinckley’s prosecution, tells Newsmax. DiGenova says a new law is needed to make sure Hinckley and others like him never get out. He adds that because the Secret Service considers


Hinckley to be a continuing threat, agents are assigned to follow him during his furloughs — a colossal waste of taxpayer money. He says that as a result of the surveillance, “agents are taken away from protecting Barack Obama, our current president.” DiGenova doesn’t mince words when it comes


to Hinckley’s possible release: “It is disgraceful that anyone can possibly think about releasing a man who so obviously continues to be severely mentally ill. “That is not acceptable in


a free society.” Hinckley was found not


RONALD KESSLER


WASHINGTON 22 NEWSMAX | FEBRUARY 2012


guilty by reason of insanity in the March 30, 1981 shooting of Reagan, Reagan press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy, and D.C. police offi cer Thomas Delahanty. Under a civil or involuntary commitment,


WOULD-BE ASSASSIN Hinckley, above, after his arrest. Inset: Timothy McCarthy, Thomas Delahanty, and James Brady, wounded.


a judge is bound to consider the recommendations of psychiatrists to determine if Hinckley can be let out permanently or released temporarily for furloughs. Based on recommendations of his doctors, U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman has been allowing Hinckley to visit his mother. As noted in my book In the President’s Secret Service:


Behind the Scenes with Agents in the Line of Fire and the Presidents They Protect, the Secret Service compiles a list of possible threats. A Class III threat is defi ned as an individual who wants to carry out an assassination and has the capability. These individuals are constantly checked on. Hinckley is classifi ed as a Class III threat.


HINCKLEY/UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE


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