If one is found to be not guilty by reason of insanity, he is not necessarily institutionalized for life. If medical experts show the person is still mentally ill and a danger to society, the court orders him to a secure psychiatric facility. The person is held at a psychiatric facility until he no longer presents a danger to society. There is no set release date like a traditional prison sentence. A person may be hospitalized for days, weeks, months, years, decades, or life. John Hinckley spent nearly 30 years in a psychiatric facility before his release.
