Thirty-five years ago, John Hinckley Jr. attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan and in August, he will be released from the mental hospital where he has lived ever since.

Now 61, Hinckley's psychiatric treatment was deemed by a federal judge as "no longer clinically warranted or beneficial." As early as August 5, this would-be assassin will move in with his elderly mother in Williamsburg, Virginia and remain there for the next year. Since 1999, Hinckley has been allowed supervised visits to his parents with the frequency increasing throughout the years. Once in 2000, Hinckley was granted an unsupervised release but had them revoked when he smuggled items relating to the target of his obsession, Jodie Foster, back into St. Elizabeth's Hospital.

As part of his final release, there are conditions that must be met in order not to return to the hospital, including no contact with the Reagan family or Foster. Neither will he be allowed to be anywhere near a president or member of Congress at anytime and can never own a weapon or use drugs or alcohol. If he abides by these rules, Hinckley will be allowed to move into a group home or live on his own after one year. 

It was March 30, 1981, in Washington D.C. when Hinckley waited outside the Washington Hilton Hotel and fired six rounds from his .22 caliber pistol at President Reagan who had just left an AFL-CIO speech. The crazed gunman had been stalking Foster and wanted to impress her by killing the president. His obsession with the actress began after watching Taxi Driver, in which she plays a child prostitute alongside Robert DeNiro, who played Travis Bickle, a crazed man plotting an assassination on a presidential candidate.

Reagan wasn't hit directly, but a bullet ricocheted off of the presidential limousine and hit him in the chest. The president suffered heavy blood loss and spent nearly two weeks recovering in the hospital. James Brady, Reagan's press secretary, was shot in the right side of the head and was paralyzed until his death in 2014, ruled as a homicide due to Hinckley's actions. A DC police officer, Thomas Delahanty, and Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy were also wounded in the shooting.

Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity at his trial the next year. 

Reagan's daughter, Patti Davis, told NPR last year that she believes Hinckley knew right from wrong when he attempted to kill her father.

"The verdict of not guilty by reason of insanity was a bad verdict," she said.

The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute released a statement following the announcement of the shooter's upcoming release:

Contrary to the judge's decision, we believe John Hinckley is still a threat to others and we strongly oppose his release.

But his doctors insist that Hinckley's depression and psychosis are in full remission, as noted by NPR. He's just a man that sits around and plays guitar and goes to the movies, his long-time lawyer, Barry Levine, stated. 

Neighbors of Hinckley's mother are concerned that he is being forced to fit into their elderly community.

"What I think of is Hinckley may be OK as long as he is on his drugs," neighbor Joe Mann told NPR. "What goes off when he misses a dose or two? Or decides, 'I don't need this stuff'?"

But according to Levine, Hinckley is remorseful of the "pain he caused his victims, their families and the nation."

"This case shows that people who are ravaged by disease, mental disease, can get well and become productive members of society without imposing any threat of danger," Levine assured.

Reagan's son, conservative talker Michael Reagan, said his father forgave Hinckley and encouraged others to do the same:

The gun control organization behind the famous Brady bill, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun violence, released a statement saying what Americans should be outraged about is how easy it will be for Hinckley to get his hands on another gun:

We may all feel differently about releasing back into society a man who tried to kill the President of the United States and permanently disabled James Brady. But virtually all Americans should be outraged that it will be just as easy for Jim's would-be killer to buy a gun today than it was 35 years ago.