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AMERICAN MORNING

Hinckley Decision

Aired December 18, 2003 - 07:10   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: New freedoms for the man who tried to assassinate President Reagan in 1981. A judge is granting John Hinckley a limited number of unsupervised visits with his parents away from the mental hospital where he's lived for the past 20 years.
In a statement, Nancy Reagan said: "My family and I are very disappointed by the judge's ruling. Although he limited Mr. Hinckley's travel to the Washington area, we continue to fear for the safety of the general public."

CNN's senior legal analyst, Jeff Toobin, joins to us to talk about this case.

Good morning.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Hi.

O'BRIEN: No surprise there?

TOOBIN: It's really not. Remember, John Hinckley has had more than 200 supervised visits over the past -- supervised visits to the community over the past several years. So, he's been out and about a good deal. All the judge did today was say that some of these visits in the future can be supervised only by his parents, and the judge did that because all of the mental health professionals who testified at the hearing, including those hired by the government, said Hinckley's mental illness was in remission and that he didn't present a danger.

O'BRIEN: So, the actual technical difference for John Hinckley of what he had access to months ago and what he has the ability to do now is essentially the same, except that his parents become the people in charge of his visits.

TOOBIN: That's right, and that is substantial. There is no more government or mental health authority with him at all times, although the Secret Service can certainly keep a loose tether on him. But it is really not that dramatic a change, and the government really couldn't present much evidence that said he was a danger.

O'BRIEN: He wants full freedom. When could he get that, do you think?

TOOBIN: This is a gradual process. He can go back at any time to ask for more freedoms. And since he was incarcerated more than 20 years ago, he's gone back several times. It will probably be a couple years until he asks for additional opportunities to travel.

O'BRIEN: All right, Jeff Toobin, thank you. We'll continue to check in with you throughout the morning.

TOOBIN: OK.

O'BRIEN: Appreciate it.

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