Hinckley v. United States

Section 24-301 of the District of Columbia Code (section 301) requires that someone like *657appellant John W. Hinckley, Jr., who has been acquitted of a crime “solely on the ground that he was insane at the time of its commission, ... shall be committed to a hospital for the mentally ill until such time as he is eligible for release.” § 301(d)(1). Subsection (e) specifies the circumstances under which a person so committed is entitled to “release from the hospital,” either conditionally or unconditionally. A “conditional release” is authorized only on the hospital superintendent’s certification…