Treatment
Hinckley was confined at St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C. After being admitted, tests found that he was an "unpredictably dangerous" man who might harm himself or any third party. In 1983, Hinckley told Penthouse that on a normal day, he would "see a therapist, answer mail, play guitar, listen to music, play pool, watch television, eat lousy food and take delicious medication".
Around 1986, Hinckley and the hospital began seeking various conditional releases, which required judicial authorization. The Reagan family frequently spoke out against these requests. In 1986, a judge denied Hinckley's request to be transferred to a less restrictive ward. The following year, the hospital requested that Hinckley be given a 12-hour unescorted pass, allowing Hinckley to visit his parents on Easter. Glenn Miller, who had performed the initial evaluation of Hinckley, testified, "I do not believe he's suicidal, I do not believe he's a danger to Jodie Foster, I do not believe he's a danger to Mr. Reagan or Mr. Brady."
However, Miller also revealed that Hinckley had written to serial killer Ted Bundy, sought the address of Charles Manson, and received a letter from Manson family member Lynette Fromme. The hospital subsequently withdrew the request for "administrative" reasons, though it emphasized that the "clinical" assessment was unchanged. In 1992, Hinckley again submitted a request for additional privileges, but he later withdrew that request. During this period, St. Elizabeths gradually expanded Hinckley's privileges, by allowing off-site trips under custodial supervision.
In 2003, Hinckley, for the first time, received judicial approval for a release proposal: six local day visits under the supervision of his parents and, upon the successful completion and evaluation of those day visits, two local overnight visits under parental supervision. On June 17, 2009, Judge Friedman ruled that Hinckley would be permitted to visit his mother for a dozen visits of 10 days at a time, rather than six, to spend more time outside of the hospital, and to have a driver's license. The court ordered that Hinckley be required to carry a GPS-enabled cell phone to track him whenever he was outside of his parents' home. He was prohibited from speaking with the news media. Prosecutors objected to this ruling, saying that Hinckley was still a danger to others and had unhealthy and inappropriate thoughts about women. Hinckley had recorded a song, "Ballad of an Outlaw", which the prosecutors claimed was "reflecting suicide and lawlessness".
On March 29, 2011, the day before the 30th anniversary of the assassination attempt, Hinckley's attorney filed a court petition requesting more freedom for his client, including additional unsupervised visits to the Virginia home of Hinckley's mother, Jo Ann. On November 30, a hearing in Washington was held to consider whether he could live full-time outside the hospital. The Justice Department opposed this, stating that Hinckley still posed a danger to the public. Justice Department counsel argued that Hinckley had been known to deceive his doctors in the past. By December 2013, the court ordered that visits be extended to his mother, who lives near Williamsburg. Hinckley was permitted up to eight 17-day visits, with evaluation after the completion of each one.
Hinckley has been prescribed sertraline (Zoloft) and risperidone (Risperdal).
