DanMargarita.com

In 1981 Hinckley shot President Ronald Reagan and three others in an attempt to impress actress Jodie Foster. Hinckley was found to be not guilty by reason of insanity and has spent the past 21 years at St. Elizabeth's Hospital while Foster has gone on to become a successful actress and director as well as a single mom. Gee, they seemed so right for each other.

Hinckley has been in the news lately because his lawyers are requesting that he be allowed ten unsupervised visits to his parents house. He has been taking supervised day trips to his parents since 1999 and now his attorneys argue that he is no longer a threat to anyone and should be allowed five daylong and five overnight stays without someone standing nearby with a syringe and a straightjacket.

Heck, if that goes well, perhaps he can contribute to society by becoming a Boy Scout leader.

The would-be assassin had made several previous attempts to gain his release but was denied on various occasions because he was found to have numerous pictures of Foster in his room, and for having corresponded with serial killer Ted Bundy and Lynette "Squeaky "Fromme, who had attempted to assassinate President Gerald Ford in 1975. I guess if you're a would-be presidential assassin, your ability to find someone you have something in common with is limited.

According to a Washington Post report, Hinckley's lawyers cite statements from five doctors that if released, Hinckley would not pose a danger to himself or others. The doctors were not identified, so for all we know they could be a dentist, a podiatrist, a doctor of philosophy, Dr. Who and Dr. J. The USA Today states that Hinckley initially made this request three years ago, but was denied a hearing when prosecutors said that he still had a "continued interest in violently themed books and music." If that's the standard for insanity, they might as well lock up a good portion of high school students across the country.

"The legal standard is Mr. Hinckley must be released if he is no longer a danger to himself or others" said Hinckley's lawyer, Barry Levine.

Extrapolating that logic, if he's not a threat to himself or others, he should be released completely. Of course he would have to eventually work his way back into society. Hinckley would soon find out that the job market has changed since 1981. Many companies now do random drug testing as well as psychological profiles on prospective employees. I'd love to be a fly on the wall for that interview.

"OK, Mr. Hinckley. I'm going to show you some inkblots and I want you to tell me the first thing that comes to mind. Here's the first one. What do you see?"

"Jodie Foster."

"How about this one?"

"Jodie Foster."

"And this?"

"Jodie Foster."

"What about this one?"

"Tatum O'Neal."

It's not as though employers aren't going to know who he is and even if they don't, most companies are supposed to check references. I don't imagine that Hinckley's been able to cultivate a lot of good references in the past 21 years, unless you count Mark David Chapman, Sirhan Sirhan and Charles Manson.

The government is opposed to this move even though two of their own psychiatrists examined Hinckley and agreed that with medication, Hinckley's psychotic and depressive disorders are in remission and he is not violent and dangerous as long as they "just keep the nut away from me." Of course doctors have been known to be wrong. A misdiagnosed inflamed appendix might prove fatal to a patient, but a misdiagnosed psychotic disorder could be fatal to others. Well, I guess if your driving a bus full of people when your appendix burst, it could prove fatal to others.

There's no reason Hinckley couldn't capitalize on his fame upon his release. After all, the man has to make a living somehow and advertisers don't seem to have many scruples if it means selling a product. Perhaps it would only be a matter of time before we see this commercial:

"Hey John Hinckley, you've just been deemed unthreatening to society and have been released from a mental institution. What do you plan to do now?"

"I'm going to Disneyworld!"

Hopefully his hearing has been tested and is OK, because the last thing anybody wants to hear John Hinckley say is "Are you talkin' to me?"