Only On 10: John Hinckley Jr., released from all federal conditions, wants to perform his folk music

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. (WAVY) — John Hinckley Jr., the man who tried to kill then-President Ronald Reagan, speaks out about his mental illness and how he wants to move on.

It’s been two years since a judge granted him unconditional release. He had been living under conditional release since 2016 up until 2022. WAVY News 10 talked with him about those conditions and his mental state in 1981.

“Yes, I’m very sorry, I have tremendous remorse for what I did in 1981,” John Hinckley Jr. said.

March 30, 1981, Reagan came very close to dying. Hinckley shot the president, with the bullet coming within an inch of his heart. Three other bullets paralyzed White House Press Secretary James Brady, and wounded Officer Tom Delahanty and Secret Service Agent Tim McCarthy.

What kind of person was Hinckley at 25?

“I was a mixed up, confused 25-year-old,” Hinckley said. “I was dropping in and out of college. I was isolated from my family, isolated from God, I was living on my own and not doing well at all.”

That frame of mind, and an obsession with actress Jodie Foster, led to his shooting Reagan as he left the Washington Hilton Hotel.

“I always thought he was a great man,” Hinckley said. “It was all just a delusional thing I had going on in my head that led me to President Reagan.”

He was found not guilty by reason of insanity and spent the next 34 years in a Washington D.C. psychiatric hospital, attending numerous therapy sessions and taking prescribed medication.

“I had a lot of therapy,” Hinckley said. “I had a lot of time outside on the grounds. I developed a cat colony at the hospital when I was out on my grounds privileges. I took care of a lot of cats, and they helped me get through my day.”

He was released in 2016 under condition that he live with his mother in Williamsburg, perform volunteer work and record any browser history on his computer. Over time, the court granted him more freedom.

“From 2003 until 2016, I was getting incremental steps out of the hospital,” Hinckley said. “Three days, five days, seven days. So I was getting acclimated as the years went on.”

But now, Hinckley wants to move on from his past and asks the biggest of all — can you forgive me?

“I don’t dwell on the past, I try not to,” Hinckley said. “I mean, I rarely even think about the person I was back then because it’s such a depressing scene. But I just try to stay in the here and now.”

Doctors who evaluated him testified in 2022 that Hinckley was no longer a violent threat. He believes that is reason enough why he should be able to perform the music he says he loves to create.

Though Hinckley is not mandated to take any form of medication anymore, he said he still takes it daily because he feels it helps.

And the man who took aim at Reagan nearly 43 years ago is setting his sights on a music career.

“I’m living in Williamsburg and I’ve got a good life,” Hinckley said. “I take care of my cat; I take care of myself. I don’t bother anybody, I’m just a good neighbor, I believe.”

Remorseful for what he’s done, he’s eager to do what he’s loved doing since youth. Inspired by the Beatles coming to America, he bought a guitar and has been writing songs ever since he was 10. He claims he’s a different person than he was at 25, when he came close to killing Reagan.

“I tell people if they want to get to know me, listen to my songs,” Hinckley said.

Should they forgive him?

“I hope they will,” Hinckley said. “I have a lot of people who write to me and say listening to my songs help them get through my day. And I think that’s a very nice thing for them to say and that makes me keep going on with my songwriting.”

Streaming music on Spotify, YouTube and iTunes, he’s accumulated a following. He also sells paintings of his cat on eBay and has just enough income, he said, to pay his bills.

But he’d like to perform publicly. He’s booked few venues, some sold-out shows, but all have canceled — security, being the main issue after one hotel was threatened. But he said he’ll carry on even if he can’t perform face-to-face with those who appreciate his lyrics.

“Yes, if I never do a gig ever,” Hinckley said, “I will still be writing my songs and putting them out there for people to hear.”

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