A recent editorial cartoon provided a perfect response to why John W. Hinckley, would-be presidential assassin, shouldn’t be allowed to leave a psychiatric hospital for unsupervised outings.

It was 21 years ago that Hinckley fired the shots that nearly killed President Ronald Reagan and left presidential aide Jim Brady with permanent disabilities.

The cartoon paired an image of Hinckley walking around with a caricature of Brady seated in a wheelchair unable to do likewise. The gist of the caption was “why should one walk when the other can’t?”

A number of people are contending that Hinckley no longer is a danger to society and that he is stable enough to make periodic sorties outside the hospital, presumably to be with his parents.

The Hinckley case goes beyond rehabilitation and understanding. The man committed what he intended to be a deadly crime and left one person an invalid. Punishment must be combined with the traditional effort to reconstruct the life of the perpetrator. What about the rights of victims, particularly in crimes of this nature that could have cost the nation its chief executive?

As it is, Hinckley has been allowed some freedoms with hospital staff escort, able to move around far better than Brady will ever be able to do. The original jury in the case found him not guilty by reason of insanity, an approach that in most cases needs to be revised to “guilty, but insane.” The first implies a crime wasn’t committed; the second recognizes the crime but notes extenuating circumstances.

We keep hearing from Hinckley proponents that “he deserves a chance.” One sympathizer from the original jury commented: “After all this time, he should be in another state of mind.” Was the disabled Jim Brady given that option?

“If he did it once, there’s a chance he could do it again,” said a 64-year-old ex-juror. “I’m not so sure it’s a good idea,” he added about the 48-year Hinckley.

In today’s politically charged climate, who’s to say Hinckley won’t snap again and decide to relieve society of some official he considers out of order? Heaven knows he would get more than enough encouragement to do so from some extremists. Supposedly he tried to kill Reagan to impress actress Jodie Foster. Who will be used for the new alibi?

There are those who contend Hinckley should be covered by Secret Service personnel and allowed to roam freely, at least to the home of his elderly parents. But why spend the kind of money that would require when Hinckley has been a costly guest of the state for 21 years?

Hinckley is one of three people who have attempted to kill presidential personalities and were found not guilty by reason of insanity. There was a house painter who tried to kill Andrew Jackson in 1835 and John Schrank who shot then-candidate Theodore Roosevelt in the chest in 1912. Both men were retained and died inside mental hospital walls.

John Hinckley should know the same fate.