Man who shot Ronald Reagan in 1981 to be released

John Hinckley Jr arriving at a court in Washington in 2003 Credit: Reuters

A man who shot former US president Ronald Reagan in a failed assassination attempt is to be released from a mental hospital.

John Hinckley Jr made the attempt on the former president's life in March 1981, shooting Reagan in the chest. Three others were injured in the attack, including Reagan's press secretary who was left permanently disabled.

Judge Paul Friedman ruled that John Hinckley Jr is ready to live in the community and may leave a Washington mental hospital.

Doctors have said for years that the now 61-year-old Hinckley, who was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting, is no longer plagued by the mental illness that drove him to shoot the president.

Ronald Reagan was shot in the chest during the failed assassination attempt Credit: PA

For more than a year he has been allowed to spend 17 days a month at his mother's Virginia home where he will now live full-time.

Hinckley must live with his mother for at least the first full year of his release, wrote the judge. He may then be allowed to live in a separate home either alone or with roommates, provided that members of his treatment team approve.

The judge said he is confident Hinckley's family has enough money to continue treatment and care while he is out of the hospital, and noted he will be able to apply for government benefits once he becomes a resident of Virginia.