anyone anything ever happens to me, you will have a second family. >> i said, really bobby? he said, you have no idea. >> he was right. >> truly. >> that's all for this edition of "dateline" i'm, natalie morales. thank you for watching. i'm natalie morales, and this is dateline. >> i hear this, pop pop, pop. >> it was one of the most harrowing days in our history. the attempted assassination of president reagan. >> screaming, yelling. it's chaos. >> now, an unprecedented look into the mind and new life of the gunman, john hinckley junior. stories you haven't heard before. the cop, who questioned him, speaks out in his first nationally televised interview. >> i just didn't think he realized the magnitude of what he had done.

>> from behind the hospital walls. he >> turned to her and said, will you marry me? >> secrets from his diary uncovered by dateline. his obsession with actors, jody foster. >> the letters were sent to -- >> and the most controversial question of all, is hinckley really fit to be free? >> he's a potential k -- dangerous character. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> hello, welcome to dateline. he shot a president and shook the country. since that day, more than 40 years ago, gunman, john hinckley jr. has remained an enigma. now, we're about to reveal an extraordinary trove of his most private thoughts and feelings, and provide a firsthand look at his contentious second act as a free man. here's special contributor, troy roberts, with hinckley, diary of a dangerous mind. >> charming small town,

williamsburg, virginia. people visit from all over the world for a taste of americas colonial history. this man came for something more. a new life, one that would be quietened normal. he >> volunteers at a church, she plays a lot of music, goes on walks. >> but, his journey to get here was a long one, filled with violence, mental illness and confinement. >> this is a violently insane person, so you need to put him somewhere where he can harm anybody. >> no one would guess it now, but the senior citizen casually walking around town is an infamous figure, a man who once tried to kill the president of

the united states over a movie star. john hinckley junior. today, after being institutionalized for more than three decades, he is pretty much a free man. it was a rainy spring monday in washington, d. c., just a few months after ronald reagan was elected president. >> march 30th, 1981, 70 days into reagan's first term. it's a nothing day. he's giving a speech at the washington hill. >> and nothing day that was about to turn into a day no one would ever forget. los angeles times reporter interviewed well over 100 people for his book -- rawhide, the secret service code name for president reagan. >> we're going to convince the

city that the power begins and ends with the people. >> he gives a speech, he's walking out, it's 2:27 pm. >> i was part of the press pool, which is a small group of reporters who follow along in the motorcade. >> pbs news our anchor and managing editor was a white house correspondent for nbc news. >> he came out the door and was waving. i remember, he raised his arm to wave to people there. >> 15 feet away was a rogue line, which separated a small crowd of reporters and bystanders from the president. in that crowd, a sandy blonde hail 25-year-old named john hinckley junior. moments later -- [noise] >> it sounded like firecrackers. you knew in an instant that it couldn't be. you then assumed it was a gun. >> he unleashes six shots and 1. 7 seconds.

>> everybody yelled, get down, get down! all i saw was a jumble of people, shoving the president. i couldn't tell who else into a car. >> he seemed to shoot recklessly, almost randomly, in reagan's direction. all three network set camera crews at the event, which later allowed reporters to break down every horrifying moment. >> first shot his jim brady in the head, he hits the ground. the second shot hits -- d. c. police officer, he falls to the ground. fourth shot hit him mccarthy, secret service agent, who turned in took a shot in the vest, without a vest. >> i remember yelling. they said, i don't think so. >> did you see john hinckley outside of the hotel? >> i saw police on top of a man, had wrestled him to the ground

and i couldn't really see anything. >> we looked at footage from that day with del wilbert. >> that's a secret savers agent with the aussie. that's hinckley, so they're hustling them over to this car. president reagan son, ron, was in lincoln, nebraska when he was told about the shooting. >> i see you across the room -- coming towards me and the very quietly told my wife that shots of environ. they didn't think he was hit. >> we now have an announcement from the white house. the president was not hit. >> inside the presidential limo, a different story was playing out. >> reagan's increasingly -- right here. it really hurts. he pulls a napkin out of his right coat pocket, taken from the hilton, david's lips, look out, and there's bright blood. president reagan had been shot and his life was in danger.

wilbur explains exactly how he was wounded. >> we're watching the slow motion replay of the shooting. right around here, boom. look how close he is. look at the gun. the way to reagan is clear, and right here, the bullet hits right there and gets through that little gap. through the tiny gap created by the open door of the bulletproof car, hitting the president. an incredible fluke. it was hinckley's sixth, and final shot. secret service agents raced him to george university hospital, where doctors found the bullet dangerously close to reagan's heart. >> judy, i'm sorry to interrupt -- >> nbc cut into her report with the news. >> in front of me now are to bulletins that both say president reagan was shot in the chest. >> the president was rushed into surgery. meanwhile, the fbi was desperately trying to find out what happened. retired fbi agent, thomas

baker. >> we didn't know, was as part of a conspiracy? where they're gonna be other people shot? >> the answers would be much stranger, and more chilling than they could possibly imagine. and it turned out, the clothes were hiding in plain sight. >> a nation is rocked as details emerge about the presidents precarious condition, and the gunman who pulled the trigger. coming up -- the first nationally ties levi's interview with the detectives who questioned hinckley, minutes after the attack. >> he just said matter-of-factly, like it wasn't a big deal. >> when dateline continues.

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president ronald reagan had been shot in washington, d. c.. >> there's still absolute confusion and a terrible sinking feeling that america has lived through so many times in the past. >> president reagan in the three men shot were all taken to nearby hospitals. some with life-threatening injuries. brady had a catastrophic brain injury. mccarthy shot in the liver. delia hannity, a bullet lodged near his spine. and the president, with one lodged only an inch from his heart. >> how close did you come to

dying? >> a couple minutes of dying. >> meanwhile, the man who shot him was in the custody of the washington, d. c. police. retired homicide detective, eddie myers, was the first person to question angrily. more than 38 years since that day, this is his first national television interview. >> he looked like a college student. he didn't seem to fit the profile of what i thought a presidential assassin would be like. >> what was john hinckley's demeanor when you are about to begin your interview? >> he seemed matter-of-factly, like this wasn't a big deal. >> meyers said higbee told him his name, his parents address and the room number at the hotel where he had been staying. he also assure the detective, he acted alone. did you asking that question directly? >> yes, i did.

something to the effect of, are you by yourself? he responded, i'm with no one. >> did he ask any questions about the condition of the president or mr. brady? >> no, he never did. he never seemed concerned. >> no remorse? >> no remorse at all. >> desperate for any clue or evidence that could explain the motive for the shooting, meyers searched hinckley's wallet and found photos. >> i notice three or four of them for magazines. >> did you ask him who this person was? >> yeah. >> what did he say? >> he says, you will find out when you get to read the letter in my room. >> at that point, my reset hinckley shut down and refused to say more. what struck him most, hinckley seemed arrogant, almost smog. >> i said, you're gonna be charged with attempted assassination of the president of the united states. as i'm writing this in my notes, i'm having a hard time spelling assassination, and he says, ill

spell it for you. >> soon after, hinckley was turned over to the fbi. by evening, word of hinckley's arrest was public. >> the man who fired the shots today has been identified as jon warnock hinckley, of evergreen colorado. >> i'm thinking to myself, that's so weird, that the guy who shot the president has the same name as my friend, john hinckley. >> as kids, evan price, kurt duly and will francis were friends with hinckley. growing up in the same, wealthy texas suburb. they didn't believe the shooter was their john, until they heard where he went to school. >> i was in disbelief. i thought to myself, i know this guy. friendly person, good-natured person. this can't be happening. >> it was hard for all of them to square the would-be assassin, but the friend that they had known for more than a decade. >> look how happy he looks. >> he's handsome, happy, and looks great. >> there's john. >> they met hinckley in the 60s,

and bonded over sports and music. >> he was a very well liked guy. we would go to record shops, music stores, places that burger. >> at home, john hinckley was the youngest of three. his father, jack, the owner of an oil and gas business. his friends say, the family seemed perfect. straight out of the tv classic, leave it to beaver. >> i would spend the night over there and it was a great family. -- and she was just june cleaver. his dad was more like warden. >> what's changed for the kid who grew up with everything? back in washington, the fbi was wondering the same thing. that night, agents were at the park central hotel, where hinckley had been saying. >> we executed a search warrant of his hotel room. >> thomas baker was the agent in charge and oversaw the search. >> they are on the desk, we

found the letter, the statement of why he was doing this. >> the ledger revealed that hinckley didn't try to kill the president for political reasons. he did it because of a dark and twisted obsession with a woman. >> hinckley's bombshell motive thrusts a young hollywood actress into the spotlight. with those close to the president are left reeling. coming up -- raw pain for the reagan family. hinckley second fixation on actress, jody foster. >> the letters were assumed to be love letters. >> when dateline continues.

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the nation could finally breathe a sigh of relief. >> president reagan's reported in stable in good condition. >> mccarthy, brady and -- also survived searching some miraculously. >> brady surgery was very complicated. it took the dark all day to stop the bleeding and hemorrhaging, and get the bullet fragments out of brady's brain. the >> public still had no idea why john hinckley tried to kill president reagan. even the president's family hadn't been told anything. his son, ron, struggled with his anger. >> somebody shoots your father, and you are a 22-year-old guy, your first thought is, let me get my hands on this --

>> were you thinking, what would drive john hinckley to try and kill my father? >> you figure, it's some sort of political motive, or he's just crazy. >> but, fbi agents who found that letter in hinckley's hotel room we're learning his motives weren't at all political. hinckley was fueled by an obsession with actress, jodie foster. the letter was written to her. >> dear jody, there's a definite possibility that i will be killed in my attempt to get reagan. it is for this very reason that i'm writing you this letter now. >> retired fbi agent, thomas baker. >> he explained he was doing this great act of love to impress her, and winner heart. >> i've got to do something now to make you understand, in no uncertain terms, then i'm doing all of this for your sake. >> the fbi needed to talk to foster. when agents arrive it yale university, where she was a

student, the actress was visibly upset. she told him that hinckley started writing her soon after she arrived at campus, the previous fall. and hadn't stopped. >> was he threatening, what was it like? >> i'm not allowed to say. >> foster held a press conference few days later. >> the letters were assume to have been love type letters. have >> you ever seen hinckley? >> no. not to my knowledge, i've never met him. >> the fbi learned that hinckley had told his parents he was attending at yale writers program, but that was a lie. he >> wasn't in a reuters program, he was there living in a hotel, and stocking jody foster. he was slipping notes under her door, love notes. >> this note was left for her just weeks after the shooting. jody, goodbye. i love you six trillion times. don't you may be like me just a little bit? you must admit, i am different. it would make all of this worthwhile. >> when did this obsession with jody foster begin? >> 1976.

he was in l. a., trying to be a songwriter. failing at it. he saw the movie taxi writer, he saw more than a dozen times. remember, she plays a prostitute, an adolescent prostitute in the movie, and he became obsessed with her. >> robert de niro played the main character, travis -- a socially awkward taxi driver, who plans to kill a presidential candidate. >> he identified with him. he thought he was gonna shoot reagan, and she diana hail of bullets. >> investigators quickly discovered, hinckley considered other options first. like hijacking a plane, and even killing the woman he claimed to love. >> his plan was to kill jody foster, shoot her, shoot himself, or kill himself in front of her. >> hinckley's lawyers thought all of this could be the basis of an insanity defense. >> doctor carpenter was -- >> and they hired psych our trust, william carpenter, in hopes he could provide

testimony that would convince the jury. carpenter met with hinckley for months, and charted his unraveling. >> what was his relationship with like his parents? >> there wasn't anything that seemed like childhood neglect, or trauma. >> but, carpenter learned that hinckley started to withdraw with from friends in high school, and then completely isolate him self in college. his parents were worried and took him to see a psychiatry just. they told him that hinckley was simply a mature, and needed tough love. >> more than once, they had gotten involved. >> the strategy backfired. hinckley's hopelessness showed in his poems, songs and journals. >> they're kind of dark. it certainly compatible with an unhappy, and lonely life. >> hinckley's poem, guns are fun, they're foreshadowing the shooting. >> if i wish, the president will fall on the world will look at me in disbelief. >> by the end of his evaluation,

carpenter concluded that hinckley was legally insane. his official diagnosis -- >> the diagnostic clothes that we used, the most suitable one would be schizophrenia. >> could the defense convince the jury? the prosecution had their own experts and planned to argue hinckley was perfectly sane. >> he was legally sane because he knew it was wrong. because he knew he was shooting at humans in a way that could harm them. >> the trial would be us -- a seven-week battle of the experts over whether hinckley was sane or not. potential answers to that question were buried in a remarkable diary that hinckley wrote, and that dateline uncovered.

>> coming up -- >> we recovered news footage of carter at different rallies during the election, where hinckley's in the crowd. >> evidence that ronald reagan wasn't his only target. was in tingly's only target. >> john hinckley had plans to kill president jimmy carter. >> yes. >> when dateline continues. ontinues

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here's what's happening. police in mississippi have identified the man accused of stealing a plane and threatening to crash it into a walmart. cory stole the plane saturday morning and -- hours before landing. he was charged with grand larceny and making terrorist threats. the u.s. state department has approved a potential 1.1 billion dollar sale of military equipment to taiwan. as tensions with china continue. it includes 16 anti-ship missiles and 100 air missiles. now back to dateline!

now back to welcome back to dat. i'm natalie morales. john hinckley junior shot president reagan in a twisted attempt to impress actress, jodie foster. his state of mind was a hotly debated topic. we now have new insight from hinckley himself, thanks to an astonishing document, written in his own hand but, that after all these years is seeing the light of day. here again is troy roberts with hinckley, the diary of a dangerous mind. but >> on the night he was arrested, hours after trying to kill the president, john hinckley began to keep a diary but. >> march 30th, -- spent three hours handcuff to desk. >> he would continue writing in it for 14 months, up to and through his trial. uncovered by dateline, the diary is a remarkable insight into hinckley's troubled mind. >> i have such an empty, sad

feeling. where are you, jody? >> hinckley titled it, the diary of a person we all know. at times, it's a chronicle of despair. >> why go on? i'm in mortally infamous, equal to john wilkes-barre with. but i've had enough. >> days after that entry, hinckley tried to commit suicide. his second attempt. after he recovered, he seemed to have a moment of clarity about the shooting. >> there are many times were i thoroughly regret the incident, and in many times where i think about whatever accomplished, and feel satisfied. >> by the spring of 1982, hinckley seemed ready, almost giddy for the nation to hear his story. >> everyone is excited now! i'm a little excited. let's get it on! it will be a miracle, and nothing short of a miracle if i'm found not guilty. >> a year had passed since the shooting, but the damage frankly caused was still fresh in peoples minds.

he could've changed the course of history? >> absolutely. this foolish, unstable young man could've change the course of history. >> president reagan and secret service agent, mccarthy, took weeks to fully recover from their injuries. while, officer -- suffered permanent nerve damage, that forced him to retire early. it was james brady who suffer the most. his brain injuries caused permanent paralysis, and severe challenges for the remainder of his life. as testimony began, both sides knew the defense had the advantage. the law stated, they didn't have to prove a thing. nbc news legal analyst -- >> at the time of the hinckley trial, the prosecution had the burden to prove each and every element of the --

including the defendant sanity. >> prosecution began by showing jurors footage of the shooting. they argued, hinckley was not mentally ill when he pulled the trigger. just a sad, narcissistic loner, fixated on achieving worldwide fame. psychiatrist, but dr. dietz. he >> told me his goal was to be on the cover of time magazine. >> hinckley's fixation on the film, taxi driver, prosecutors argued, it didn't mean he was insane. the movie's plot was merely inspirational. >> he was already interested and committing some high-profile crime. he fell upon taxi driver, and he did try to imitate aspects of it. >> his diary revealed, hinckley thought the trial was the perfect stage for his story. >> jody, jody, everyone in the whole wide world knows about us. i think that it was worth it.

>> in the courtroom, prosecutors argue that hinckley knew exactly what he was doing when he shot the president. that it was a premeditated plan, months in the making. originally, the different target. >> he had actually been stalking the previous president, jimmy carter. >> in the fall of 1980, hinckley bought guns, one target shooting and followed carter on the campaign trail. >> we recovered news footage of carter at different rallies in the fall. during the election, hank leads in the crowd. >> john hinckley had plans to kill president jimmy carter? >> yes. and it never worked out for him, so he switched his attention to president reagan, after he became president. >> when it was the defense teams turn, they told jurors that hinckley did not understand his violent actions were wrong, because his judgment was impaired by schizophrenic delusions.

>> the only meaningful thing in his life is his delusional attachment with jody foster. >> dr. carpenter testified, hinckley created an entire fantasy world, where that attachment could exist. >> he developed this grandiose view of jody and him as a couple. he felt this is something that everybody should know about. killing carter, killing reagan, he needed something that would call attention to this. >> is attempts to connect with foster were his way of trying to convince her that they were meant to be. the defense had jurors listened to a phone call. hinckley recorded between himself and actress. >> john who? oh no, not you again. look, i really can't talk to, okay? you understand why can't, you know, carry on these conversations with people don't know. but >> jody foster did not appear a trial, but her testimony was

videotaped weeks earlier. hinckley was present for it, and for the first time, came face to face with the objectivity obsession with. only a transcript was released to the media. >> how would you describe your relationship with john hinckley? >> i don't have any relationship with john hinckley. her words infuriated him. in his diary that night, he wrote that he threw upended her -- i'm still going to kill you. he went on to right. >> oh my god, what have i done? i'm insane aren't i? i want to far this morning. everyone's angry with me. jodi hates me. oh, i'm so famous, but i'm so damn is rubble. >> would define jury -- a calculating would be killing. or a mad man, who couldn't tell right from wrong?

the verdict would leave the nation outraged. >> coming up! >> you are confident that the jurors were gonna see things your way? >> yes. i did for a moment think it could be otherwise. >> the jury speaks. >> to say america was shocked by the verdict is an understatement. >> and then hinckley makes in a connection with a serial killer. when dateline continues! ine continues! symptom relief from over 200 indoor and outdoor allergens, day after day. feel the clarity and make today the most wonderful time of the year. live claritin clear. announcer: type 2 diabetes? discover the power of 3 in the ozempic® tri-zone. in my ozempic® tri-zone, i lowered my a1c, cv risk, and lost some weight. announcer: ozempic® provides powerful a1c reduction. in studies, the majority of people reached an a1c under 7 and maintained it. ozempic® lowers the risk of major cardiovascular events

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jr. was sequestered. they deliberated for days with no signs of a verdict, despite the weight. the leader psychiatrist was not worried. >> we were confident that the jurors were going to see it your way? >> yes, i did not for a moment think it would be other ways. >> by the fourth day, the verdict was in. >> the verdict was not guilty by and sadie. it turned the country upside down with using anger, outrage, disbelieve, with little premise. >> we cannot wrap our heads around how a jury could get it so wrong. >> to say we were shocked by the verdict was an understatement. they were furious! >> i think that the outcome so far was outrageous. >> not everyone was up in arms. surprisingly, president reagan had found peace with hinckley.

>> my father had forgiven him long before. within a day or so he had forgiven him. >> more than they are so? >> yes. my mother would have killed him if she could have gotten her hands on. my father had forgiven him. he just said that he knew that he had to. >> they celebrated the verdict in the final entry of his diary. >> no one can believe it. it's all over. i am not responsible for shooting the president and three others. what must jody foster be thinking right now? >> the verdict did not mean that hinckley was off the hook. >> you are going to a treatment facility. only when you are better would you be released. >> hinckley was sent to st. elizabeth's hospital in washington d. c., one of the oldest psychiatric institutions of the country. he was put on an intense regiment of counseling and medication, including antipsychotic drugs. overtime, he seemed to change and part of the reason for that

was a woman. >> john and leslie met at a halloween party. >> leslie deval was her name. she was a fellow patient at st. elizabeth. writer elsa walsh interviewed them for the magazine about her romantic relationship with frankly. >> leslie deval was described by neighbors, family, friends, and her ex husband as a wonderful and perfect mother. she had killed her child. >> deval was also found not guilty by reason of insanity for her horrifying crime. she was sent to the psychiatric hospital. today, the old grounds are closed. buildings are abandoned. >> what was it like when you came here the first time? >> it was clearly different than what it was now. we had a lot of broken windows. leslie and john used to communicate from a window. not of this building but a

similar one of three forms up where he was. >> she was a decade older than hinckley. she came from an upper middle class background and was educated. when they met, she not know who hinckley was. when he told her, she did not care. >> she said to me that what i did was so much worse that would john that. i killed my child. >> they found young aaron dead in an upstairs bedroom of the family home. one morning, devote took her shotgun and shot and killed her ten-year-old daughter erin as she slept. she then shot herself. the injuries were so severe that they had to amputate her left arm. she told walsh she never understood peoples shock over her love for hinckley. >> when people wonder, why would i have a relationship with him? why would have why would he have a relationship with me? >> in the beginning, they left

secret notes in the cafeteria talked at chaperones events or talked by the window. by the following year, hinckley was in love and it was something that no one ever expected, he proposed. she accepted. walsh says that they became each other's confidants. hinckley trusted her with his darkest moments. >> she said, he went through this terrible period of feeling enormous shame and guilt. >> how is it going? you feeling well today? >> especially when he had seen the press secretary, the one he had shot. >> after three years of treatment, she was released from saint elizabeth. she got a job at the hospital so that handily could see her regularly. >> the staff at the mental hospital condoned this relationship even supported it? >> initially, yes, they did. they saw it as a healthy growth. >> the staff learned that

hinckley was also in an astonishing relationship with someone else, a relationship that raised serious questions about his progress. it was the notorious serial killer and rapist, ted bundy, on death row in florida. bundy sent this letter to hinckley. >> dear john, i think we have something going here john. is always a pleasure to find someone i feel comfortable writing. >> the secret service discovered that hinckley started the correspondence. the two men had been writing each other for months. hinckley wrote this letter to bundy. dear ted, i read about the new death order and it upsets me. i am against the death penalty. i value you as a friend. >> hinckley wrote a letter. >> doctors became more concerned after learning that hinckley still seemed to be obsessed with jody foster, and had 20 photos of her in his room. he also considered writing to convicted killer, charles manson, and received from

manson disciple lynette "squeaky" fromme, trying to assassinate forward in 1975. despite the letters, after four years, the hospital trusted hinckley enough to let him leave the building and roamed the grounds freely. he and deval were still engaged and could walk outside together and have privacy. >> she said they went up to this little spot on the hill. they did not have a sex the first time there but soon after that they did. >> on the grounds? >> on the grounds. >> a few years later, hinckley went to court to make a bid for more freedom. would a judge allow a man who stopped to presidents and tried to kill one of them back into society? >> we should not be allowed to just roam around on his lonesome out there. he is a potentially dangerous character and he has proven that. >> coming up. the eye-popping gated community where he proposed to live.

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advanced security that helps protect your devices in and out of the home. i mean, can i have a bite? only from xfinity. nah. unbeatable internet. in 1997, john hinckley junior made to do anything so you can do anything. was back in court. this time, fighting for a bit of freedom.

he spent 15 years in a psychiatric hospital, and believed he was a changed man. his parents believed it too. >> john's whole demeanor has changed, and he's a more open, loving person. >> to them, hinckley was no criminal. he was being treated for mental illness, and deserved compassion. >> he wasn't a sniper on a rooftop, he was just a pathetic figure, trying to impress a movie star that he never met. >> after so many years of treatment, he wanted permission to visit his family, off of hospital grounds. hinckley's doctors told the court, his psychosis and depression were in remission, and had been for years. >> i think what they observed is that he was less preoccupied with the psychotic delusions. >> but, federal prosecutors didn't buy it. they believe, hinckley was still a threat to society.

and had evidence to prove it. a hospital pharmacist complained that hinckley was stalking her. >> he would go over to her office, and they would chat and talk, and then he started bugging her. he'd come every day, or he'd call. >> the judge denied hinckley's request and he lost any chance of leaving the hospital grounds for a long time. by 2003, he had stayed out of trouble for years. his doctors felt he was ready to inch back into society. >> he began gradually, out in the city. >> by 2006, his treatment team recommended that he be allowed to stay with his parents for days at a time, the court agreed. >> -- rehabilitate, right? they have no justification to really hold him. >> but, not everyone was happy about hinckley's increasing freedom.

the house his parents had retired to was in an upscale, gated community, in williamsburg, virginia. it was overlooking the 13th hole of the king's mill championship golf course. when we sat down with retired fbi agent, thomas baker, he told us that concerned the secret service. >> in the past few years, who's played on the tee, it's people like president barack obama, former president clinton. these are the people who played golf in williamsburg. this fellows only 50 feet away. >> despite federal prosecutors protests, the judge followed saint-elizabeth's recommendations and, granted hinckley more and more time with his parents. time that no longer included his fiancée, leslie deveau. after 22 years, the relationship was over. do you know why the relationship ended? >> being identified publicly as his girlfriend was very hard for her. the secret service was always coming to her door. it became too much.

>> hinckley's focus was now solely on being permanently released from saint elizabeth 's. in 2016, a judge granted his request. >> the man who attempted to assassinate president ronald reagan is now free from a mental hospital, after decades. >> hinckley's father had died, so he would live with his 90 -year-old mother, at least for a year. not all of hinckley's new neighbors were convinced that was a good idea. >> bring him here and put him in the care of his 90-year-old mother seems like a foolish decision. >> timothy mccarthy, the secret service agent who took a bullet shielding president reagan was also skeptical. >> we know medicine is not an exact science, few things are. i just hope they're right.

>> i'm a layperson, i'm not a psychologist, but it doesn't seem to me like people with this kind of severe mental problems are ever really truly cared. >> still, hinckley wasn't completely free. the secret service would keep an eye on him. there was a long list of court mandated rules he had to follow. among them, therapy. medication, limited travel, no media interviews or contact with his victims relatives, or jody foster. but ron reagan was still concerned. >> my worry is that his narcissistic personality disorder will be affronted by somebody. he will not get the respect, or attention that he feels he's owed, and he will act out again in some violent way. >> today, there is greater awareness and empathy for those who suffer from mental illness, but insanity defense laws have become much stricter.

>> states were in a rush to change their insanity defenses after the hinckley trial. some got rid of the defends altogether, some states instituted guilty, but mentally ill. >> in federal court, the burden of proof has now shifted to the defense team, who must prove the defendant is insane. if hinckley were tried under the new law, many believe he would be convicted. >> you know what he's doing with himself? >> yeah. i know he volunteers at a church, he walks, he's establish a bunch of friends overtime. >> he also got a job of sorts buying and selling antiques at a local mall. and, it appears, found romance again. >> i trust the doctors and the people who have been treating him. i trust their decision. >> hinckley's childhood friends believe he's earned a second chance, and wish him well. >> i don't expect we'll see him at her high school reunion, but if we did, i'd welcome him.

>> but, president reagan son believes a man who tried to assassinate the president, even if found insane, should never go free. >> i don't dispute that it was insane, he did what he did. but, the crime that he committed was not just a crime against another person, it was also a crime against the state. the penalty has to be drastic and i would say, permanent. >> in 2020, the court relaxed the conditions of his hinckley 's release even further. among his new freedoms, hinckley was now able to publicly display his artwork, and publish music, using his own name. as he eased into a normal life, hinckley seemed content. during one of his mental health evaluations, he told doctors, this is the happiest i've been in my life. i'm happy as a clam, to be honest. i really am. >> in 2022, a federal judge

concluded that hinckley's mental illness was in full remission, and granted his unconditional release, it's a new chapter in the life of john hinckley junior, who for decades after shooting an american president, appears at peace with his past. >> that's all for this edition of dateline. i'm natalie morales. thank you for watching. >> i am natalie morales, and this is dateline. >> i can't even believe he would meet someone at a park at 3 am. i think that you knew the second got in his car that something was wrong. >> a new chapter in a heartbreaking story. >> i think you have done a wellness check on my daughter? >> a secret life, uncovered. >> she was a dating site, looking for sugar daddies. >> going into it blindly is not somethin