Washington (CNN) -- The sister of presidential assailant John Hinckley Jr. testified Tuesday that she has seen no sign that her brother represents a danger to himself or others. Diane Sims, who said she loves her brother, said she supports a proposal that would expand his visits to their mother's home in Williamsburg, Virginia, and might eventually allow him to live there as a full-time outpatient. But she said she does not think it would be a good option for him to move to the Dallas area, where she lives. "President Bush lives not 10 minutes from me and I think it would be a concern," said Sims, apparently referring to concerns the Secret Service might have. Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, moved to Dallas after they left the White House. Sims said she has no worries that Hinckley would be a risk to others in Dallas. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman asked if it is accurate she is worried about her brother's personal safety in Dallas, since that is the city where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. "That's a concern to me," Sims said quietly. She also said she thinks a move to Dallas would place Hinckley too far away from the medical experts who have cared for him for many years. Hinckley's sister testified on the fourth day of a multiple-day hearing to discuss his future. Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1981 shootings of President Ronald Reagan, press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy, and police officer Thomas Delahanty. All of those men survived, though Brady was shot in the head and left permanently disabled. Hinckley was staying at the home of his sister and her husband in Dallas on October 13, 1980, when, according to testimony in his 1982 trial, he went to a pawn shop to buy two .22-caliber revolvers, one of which he used to shoot Reagan and the others five months later. Only days before the purchase, three guns had been confiscated from Hinckley's luggage while he was trying to board a plane in Nashville. Hinckley posted bond, was released and flew to New York City, then spent the night in New Haven, Connecticut, where actress Jodie Foster was a college freshman student. He flew to Dallas to stay that weekend at his sister's home while she and her husband were away at a football game. On that Monday, Hinckley told her he was going out to look for a job, but, unknown to her, he bought the guns instead. The gun purchase was not mentioned in court Tuesday, and the government has not said it would be more dangerous for Hinckley to live in Dallas than anywhere else. Since his conviction, Hinckley has been living in St. Elizabeths, a government mental hospital in Washington. But in recent years he's been allowed to visit his mother's home with increasing frequency. Currently, he spends 10 days a month in Williamsburg. Under the proposal made by St. Elizabeths he would be granted two visits of 17 days each followed by six visits of 24 days. The hospital's recommendation for Hinckley's eventual release on convalescent leave asks the judge to allow Hinckley to live full time in Williamsburg "at the discretion of the hospital" once the eight longer visits have been completed successfully. The report was filed with the court under seal on July 29 and was not made public until Tuesday. The doctors signing the report said such leave would be permitted only upon an assessment, at the end of the new visits, that "Mr. Hinckley is experiencing a good mental status and that he does not present as [sic] a danger to himself or others." If so, the recommendation said, Hinckley would be "conditionally released to reside permanently on convalescent leave." He would be required to meet at least once a month with a psychiatrist who is already counseling him in Williamsburg and to continue his weekly visits to a therapist there. He would also be expected to continue his volunteer activities at Eastern State Hospital. However, the filing said, should Hinckley violate the terms of his convalescent leave, "the hospital will return him to total inpatient care with due notification of the court." If the judge were to grant convalescent leave at the hospital's discretion at the end of the eight longer visits now requested, it would be unlikely to happen until at least the fall of 2012, since as the filing requires a minimum two-week interval between each of the new visits. Hinckley would be expected at the outset to live with his widowed mother, who is turning 86 this week and is in good health. However, the hospital said should his "mother not be available" after Hinckley's release, his brother and sister had expressed interest "in the housing options of independent apartments as well as Assisted Living Facilities... in the Williamsburg area." Sims often spends time in Williamsburg when Hinckley is there and drives him back to St. Elizabeths. She was asked many questions about how the 56-year-old fits into the Virginia community. She said he feels comfortable there and has indicated he wants to stay there even when his elderly mother is no longer there. According to Sims, Hinckley likes working part time in the library of Eastern State Hospital and is comfortable with the psychiatrist and case manager/therapist he sees while in Williamsburg. Under questioning, Sims acknowledged the family does not permit a woman identified in court only as CB to visit the Hinckley home. Hinckley at one time told some of his caregivers at St. Elizabeths that he was engaged to CB, who had been a patient there. Hinckley later ended the engagement, doctors have said. Prosecutors described CB as being psychologically unstable and asked if it was accurate Hinckley's mother does not allow her to visit for fear she would have a mental breakdown at the home. Sims said that is the case. Sims said her brother never told the family he was engaged and -- quite to the contrary -- has said he's not engaged and has no plans to marry the woman. She said she is aware her brother still sees CB sometimes when the woman visits St. Elizabeths. Previously the court heard testimony that Sims had taken her brother to a singles group meeting in Williamsburg a number of years ago, and he was asked to leave. Sims said she wanted to set the record straight about what happened. She and her brother believed members of the group knew they were coming, but that was not the case, she said. The group was surprised to see Hinckley there, she said. But she said all the members were in their mid-70s and her brother would not have fit in. Sims said that when her brother goes out in the community he usually has no problems with people who recognize him. "He's not bothered by people, he's not pointed out," she told the court. She said, "He doesn't bother anybody" either. She said Hinckley and his family members find they are able to go to certain restaurants where people know who they are but are welcoming. "In general, the people in town have been very tolerant," she said. Last week, prosecutors said Hinckley had not told the truth about deviating from his approved itinerary to go to a movie while on his few hours of permitted unaccompanied time. According to a report by Secret Service agents who were watching Hinckley without his knowledge, on one outing last July, Hinckley did not attend a movie and instead went to a bookstore where he passed by an aisle of books that included an account of the day Reagan was shot. The judge noted the report did not indicate that Hinckley read that book or any similar books. "The subject was not observed picking up and looking at specific books," the report says. "One item of note is the subject stopped for a time and looked at the shelves in the American History area that contain several books about President Reagan and his attempted assassination." Hinckley's sister said she had accompanied him to bookstores and never saw him look at any books like that. She said he gravitated to books on music and art. But in response to questioning by a prosecutor, she said she wasn't aware Hinckley had failed to go to the movies as planned on two occasions, in July and in September. Sims was asked if she ever noticed Secret Service agents keeping an eye on Hinckley. She replied the only time she has noticed surveillance is when she drives Hinckley out of her mother's gated community and back to St. Elizabeths. She said agents are always waiting in a vehicle and follow along. But at the end of a March 2011 visit, the Secret Service was not waiting, she said. According to Sims, about midway through the trip to Washington, Hinckley's brother, Scott, got a call on his cell phone from an agent who said he had been late. Sims said the agent asked the Hinckley family's location and requested that they wait for him to catch up. Sims replied the family did and was happy to cooperate with the Secret Service. CNN's James Polk contributed to this report.
NEW: Hospital staff makes release recommendations .
John Hinckley's sister says she supports letting him eventually live in Williamsburg .
She says he feels comfortable there and is accepted by many community members .
Hinckley has been hospitalized since he shot President Reagan in 1981 .
Washington (CNN) -- The sister of presidential assailant John Hinckley Jr. testified Tuesday that she has seen no sign that her brother represents a danger to himself or others. Diane Sims, who said she loves her brother, said she supports a proposal that would expand his visits to their mother's home in Williamsburg, Virginia, and might eventually allow him to live there as a full-time outpatient. But she said she does not think it would be a good option for him to move to the Dallas area, where she lives. "President Bush lives not 10 minutes from me and I think it would be a concern," said Sims, apparently referring to concerns the Secret Service might have. Former President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, moved to Dallas after they left the White House. Sims said she has no worries that Hinckley would be a risk to others in Dallas. U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman asked if it is accurate she is worried about her brother's personal safety in Dallas, since that is the city where President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963. "That's a concern to me," Sims said quietly. She also said she thinks a move to Dallas would place Hinckley too far away from the medical experts who have cared for him for many years. Hinckley's sister testified on the fourth day of a multiple-day hearing to discuss his future. Hinckley was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the 1981 shootings of President Ronald Reagan, press secretary James Brady, Secret Service agent Timothy McCarthy, and police officer Thomas Delahanty. All of those men survived, though Brady was shot in the head and left permanently disabled. Hinckley was staying at the home of his sister and her husband in Dallas on October 13, 1980, when, according to testimony in his 1982 trial, he went to a pawn shop to buy two .22-caliber revolvers, one of which he used to shoot Reagan and the others five months later. Only days before the purchase, three guns had been confiscated from Hinckley's luggage while he was trying to board a plane in Nashville. Hinckley posted bond, was released and flew to New York City, then spent the night in New Haven, Connecticut, where actress Jodie Foster was a college freshman student. He flew to Dallas to stay that weekend at his sister's home while she and her husband were away at a football game. On that Monday, Hinckley told her he was going out to look for a job, but, unknown to her, he bought the guns instead. The gun purchase was not mentioned in court Tuesday, and the government has not said it would be more dangerous for Hinckley to live in Dallas than anywhere else. Since his conviction, Hinckley has been living in St. Elizabeths, a government mental hospital in Washington. But in recent years he's been allowed to visit his mother's home with increasing frequency. Currently, he spends 10 days a month in Williamsburg. Under the proposal made by St. Elizabeths he would be granted two visits of 17 days each followed by six visits of 24 days. The hospital's recommendation for Hinckley's eventual release on convalescent leave asks the judge to allow Hinckley to live full time in Williamsburg "at the discretion of the hospital" once the eight longer visits have been completed successfully. The report was filed with the court under seal on July 29 and was not made public until Tuesday. The doctors signing the report said such leave would be permitted only upon an assessment, at the end of the new visits, that "Mr. Hinckley is experiencing a good mental status and that he does not present as [sic] a danger to himself or others." If so, the recommendation said, Hinckley would be "conditionally released to reside permanently on convalescent leave." He would be required to meet at least once a month with a psychiatrist who is already counseling him in Williamsburg and to continue his weekly visits to a therapist there. He would also be expected to continue his volunteer activities at Eastern State Hospital. However, the filing said, should Hinckley violate the terms of his convalescent leave, "the hospital will return him to total inpatient care with due notification of the court." If the judge were to grant convalescent leave at the hospital's discretion at the end of the eight longer visits now requested, it would be unlikely to happen until at least the fall of 2012, since as the filing requires a minimum two-week interval between each of the new visits. Hinckley would be expected at the outset to live with his widowed mother, who is turning 86 this week and is in good health. However, the hospital said should his "mother not be available" after Hinckley's release, his brother and sister had expressed interest "in the housing options of independent apartments as well as Assisted Living Facilities... in the Williamsburg area." Sims often spends time in Williamsburg when Hinckley is there and drives him back to St. Elizabeths. She was asked many questions about how the 56-year-old fits into the Virginia community. She said he feels comfortable there and has indicated he wants to stay there even when his elderly mother is no longer there. According to Sims, Hinckley likes working part time in the library of Eastern State Hospital and is comfortable with the psychiatrist and case manager/therapist he sees while in Williamsburg. Under questioning, Sims acknowledged the family does not permit a woman identified in court only as CB to visit the Hinckley home. Hinckley at one time told some of his caregivers at St. Elizabeths that he was engaged to CB, who had been a patient there. Hinckley later ended the engagement, doctors have said. Prosecutors described CB as being psychologically unstable and asked if it was accurate Hinckley's mother does not allow her to visit for fear she would have a mental breakdown at the home. Sims said that is the case. Sims said her brother never told the family he was engaged and -- quite to the contrary -- has said he's not engaged and has no plans to marry the woman. She said she is aware her brother still sees CB sometimes when the woman visits St. Elizabeths. Previously the court heard testimony that Sims had taken her brother to a singles group meeting in Williamsburg a number of years ago, and he was asked to leave. Sims said she wanted to set the record straight about what happened. She and her brother believed members of the group knew they were coming, but that was not the case, she said. The group was surprised to see Hinckley there, she said. But she said all the members were in their mid-70s and her brother would not have fit in. Sims said that when her brother goes out in the community he usually has no problems with people who recognize him. "He's not bothered by people, he's not pointed out," she told the court. She said, "He doesn't bother anybody" either. She said Hinckley and his family members find they are able to go to certain restaurants where people know who they are but are welcoming. "In general, the people in town have been very tolerant," she said. Last week, prosecutors said Hinckley had not told the truth about deviating from his approved itinerary to go to a movie while on his few hours of permitted unaccompanied time. According to a report by Secret Service agents who were watching Hinckley without his knowledge, on one outing last July, Hinckley did not attend a movie and instead went to a bookstore where he passed by an aisle of books that included an account of the day Reagan was shot. The judge noted the report did not indicate that Hinckley read that book or any similar books. "The subject was not observed picking up and looking at specific books," the report says. "One item of note is the subject stopped for a time and looked at the shelves in the American History area that contain several books about President Reagan and his attempted assassination." Hinckley's sister said she had accompanied him to bookstores and never saw him look at any books like that. She said he gravitated to books on music and art. But in response to questioning by a prosecutor, she said she wasn't aware Hinckley had failed to go to the movies as planned on two occasions, in July and in September. Sims was asked if she ever noticed Secret Service agents keeping an eye on Hinckley. She replied the only time she has noticed surveillance is when she drives Hinckley out of her mother's gated community and back to St. Elizabeths. She said agents are always waiting in a vehicle and follow along. But at the end of a March 2011 visit, the Secret Service was not waiting, she said. According to Sims, about midway through the trip to Washington, Hinckley's brother, Scott, got a call on his cell phone from an agent who said he had been late. Sims said the agent asked the Hinckley family's location and requested that they wait for him to catch up. Sims replied the family did and was happy to cooperate with the Secret Service. CNN's James Polk contributed to this report.
Hinckley to live full time in Williamsburg "at Hinckley's release, his brother and sister had said he feels comfortable there and has indicated of Eastern State Hospital and is comfortable with happened. She and her brother believed members of books about President Reagan and his attempted assassination." Hinckley's sister said she had