Shooter who injured Ronald Reagan to be freed

Washington, Sep 28 John Hinckley Jr., who shot and wounded then US President Ronald Reagan in 1981, is set to be freed from the strict conditions of release that he's been living with for several years, local media reported.

A federal judge has approved the "unconditional release" of Hinckley, who is now 66 years old, next year, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday citing NPR as saying.

According to NPR, the Justice Department agreed to a settlement but wanted to monitor Hinckley for the next nine months because of two big changes in his life: he's living on his own for the first time in about 40 years; and because one of his primary doctors is preparing for retirement and disbanding Hinckley's therapy group.

However, the JDepartment would file a motion with the court before June if it had fresh concerns about Hinckley, said the NPR report.

Barry Levine, a longtime lawyer for Hinckley, said his client has followed the rules and the law for years.

"There is no evidence of danger whatsoever," Levine said.

Hinckley wounded Reagan and three others in a shooting outside a Washington, D.C., hotel in 1981.

In 1982, a jury found Hinckley not guilty by reason of insanity.

After the verdict, Hinckley was committed to a hospital in Washington, D.C., where he resided for more than three decades.

Starting in 2003, restrictions on Hinckley gradually lessened.

He was released from hospital in 2016 and has lived in Williamsburg, Virginia, with his mother who died this year at 95.