The Nation : Secret Service Opposes Hinckley Outing

The Secret Service vowed to block any plan to grant presidential assailant John W. Hinckley Jr. a supervised day’s outing from the psychiatric hospital where he has lived for the last six years. St. Elizabeths Hospital proposed a recreational day trip for Hinckley, 33, in a letter dated July 19. Hospital officials believe the trip could be the first in a series of outings for Hinckley, who was committed to the hospital in 1982 after he was found innocent by reason of insanity in the March 30, 1981, shooting of President Reagan, White House Press Secretary James S. Brady, a Secret Service agent and a District of Columbia policeman. The Secret Service contends that Hinckley remains a threat to Reagan and others. The proposed outing would, except for court appearances, be Hinckley’s first trip off the hospital grounds since Dec. 28, 1986, when he received a 12-hour pass to have dinner with his parents.