John Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity for shooting President Reagan and three others in 1981. So why is he still institutionalized? Roger Simon makes the argument to free him in Politico. Since 1985, Hinckley’s doctors have said his psychosis and depression are in “full remission.” The average sentence for murder in the United States is 12 years. Hinckley, who didn’t end up killing anyone, has now been locked up for 27. Simon concludes, “John Hinckley is a political prisoner. Or, at the very least, he is a prisoner of politics.”
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