New Hearings to Examine Whether John Hinckley Can Spend More Time Outside Mental Hospital

A federal judge has ordered a new round of court hearings to determine whether the man who shot President Ronald Reagan in 1981 should be able to spend more time outside a D.C. mental hospital, reports NBC News' Pete Williams.

John Hinckley Jr. was found to be insane when he shot and wounded Reagan outside a downtown D.C. hotel more than 30 years ago.

In 2006, received permission to periodically leave St. Elizabeths Hospital to visit his mother's home in Williamsburg, Virginia. The length of those visits has expanded over the years.

Now the federal judge overseeing the case said the hospital has created a new set of recommendations for Hinckley, a plan currently sealed, Williams reported.

On Friday, Judge Paul L. Friedman ordered St. Elizabeth's to undertake a risk assessment by March 31 and set a schedule to receive responses from doctors, Hinckley's lawyers, and the Justice Department, with deadlines set throughout April.

Doctors at St. Elizabeth's had previously tried to let Hinckley spend roughly half the year in Williamsburg, divided into eight visits, but the government opposed that plan, according to Williams.

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