Hinckley’s Sojourns Debated

Prosecutors and defense lawyers agreed John W. Hinckley Jr.’s mental health had improved but they differed Monday on whether he was well enough to safely take longer, unsupervised trips away from the psychiatric hospital he had called home since shooting President Reagan in 1981.

Hinckley lawyer Barry W. Levine said his client’s mental illness had been in remission for more than a decade. He accused the government of holding Hinckley to an unreasonable standard. “Absolute perfection isn’t good enough for the government when it comes to Mr. Hinckley.”

But government lawyer Robert Chapman said Hinckley had been deceptive about his relationship with a former girlfriend and warned a federal judge not to be lulled into a false sense of security because Hinckley had behaved during prior outings. “Although it may appear secure, a house built upon a foundation of sand will collapse.”

Both sides completed their arguments on the fifth day of a hearing on Hinckley’s request for permission to leave St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington for four-night stays at his parents’ house in Williamsburg, Va., about three hours from the nation’s capital.

U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman said he would try to issue a decision next week. Hinckley would like to spend Thanksgiving at his parents’ home but Friedman said any visit would not come that early.

Hinckley, 49, was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shootings of Reagan and three others outside a Washington hotel in March 1981. Reagan was nearly killed; press secretary James Brady was permanently disabled. Hinckley has said he shot Reagan to impress actress Jodie Foster.

The Reagan and Brady families strongly objected to Friedman’s ruling last year granting Hinckley shorter unsupervised visits with his parents. Secret Service agents would monitor Hinckley during the trips.