In Williamsburg, questions about Hinckley's fate

WILLIAMSBURG

Oh, it's that time of year in Colonial Williamsburg.

Folks talking about this weekend's Grand Illumination and the deals at Williamsburg Premium Outlets.

When asked, though, residents do mention the other subject that seems to appear annually like holiday wreaths around here: Should John Hinckley Jr., the man who shot President Ronald Reagan 30 years ago, be allowed longer visits with his mother in Williamsburg and eventually be released from the mental institution where he lives?

Locals point out that Hinckley already visits and that his strolls through the shopping centers don't stop the coffeehouse chatter as they once did. But the idea that he's out at all still bothers a lot of folks.

"I know that if I did anything like that, anything remotely close, I wouldn't be allowed to see the light of day," said Kenneth Roberts, who works at a tea store across the street from the gated Kingsmill community where Hinckley's mother, Jo Ann, lives.

"Some way or another, he should be sitting in an asylum for the rest of his life."

Hearings began this week to determine whether Hinckley, who shot the president and three others, should be allowed more time outside St. Elizabeths Hospital in Washington, D.C.

When Hinckley, now 56, shot Reagan in March 1981, he was said to be suffering from major depression and a psychotic disorder that led him to commit the crime to gain the attention of actress Jodie Foster, whom he was obsessed with. A 1982 trial ruled that he was not guilty by reason of insanity, and he was transferred to a mental hospital.

The hearings in Washington are expected to continue through next week. Hinckley's lawyer has argued that his client is no longer dangerous, that his disorder is in remission and that he still takes medication but in low doses. The lawyer said Hinckley should be allowed longer visits and eventually be transitioned to living outside the hospital full-time.

Prosecutors, however, say that Hinckley has lied about his activities during his recent visits. For example, prosecutors noted Wednesday that Hinckley had said he was going to a movie but that Secret Service agents saw him at a store reading books about Reagan and presidential assassinations.

Hinckley lied, his lawyer said, but that does not make him violent.

The questions over Hinckley's actions are what trouble some in Williamsburg.

"Problem is, if he gets out, who is going to make sure he takes his medication?" asked James Stancil, who works near the Kingsmill resort area. "His mom? She's 85, 86. He might've been off of his medicine that weekend that he was supposed to go to the movies - who knows?"

Others wondered whether a compromise would be possible: Could Hinckley be sent to Eastern State Hospital in Williamsburg and be closer to his mother?

Then there are those, the under-30-set, who know of Reagan, who died in 2004, but have never heard of Hinckley.

"He did what?" asked Michele Lutz, 28, who lives about 10 miles from Kingsmill.

She said that if Hinckley would remain under the watch of the Secret Service and that he wasn't a danger, she wouldn't have a problem with him being in the area.

"If it's his mom, I think it's important that he has a relationship with her."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Denise Watson Batts, (757) 446-2504, denise.batts@pilotonline.com