Jim Bakker Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===PTL=== [[File:HeritageUSASign.jpg|thumb|Heritage USA sign in 2007. The site is now mostly demolished.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Remnants Of This Abandoned Theme Park In South Carolina Are Hauntingly Beautiful|last1=Jarvis|first1=Robin|url=http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/south-carolina/abandoned-theme-park-sc/|publisher=onlyinyourstate|website=onlyinyourstate.com|date=June 3, 2017|access-date=February 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213022309/http://www.onlyinyourstate.com/south-carolina/abandoned-theme-park-sc/|archive-date=February 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref>]] While under TBN, the Bakkers moved to [[Charlotte, North Carolina|Charlotte]], [[North Carolina]], where in May of 1973 they launched an east coast version of ''Praise The Lord'' under TBN's umbrella. Less than a year later the Bakkers formed their own non profit organization, registered the [[The PTL Club|PTL]] trademark, left the umbrella of TBN and the Crouches, and continued their show on 36 [[WCNC-TV|WRET]] Charlotte, 16 [[WGGS]] [[Greenville, South Carolina]], and a few other stations. In 1975, they nationally debuted their own [[late-night talk show|late night]]-style talk show, known as ''[[The PTL Club]]''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Tammy Faye: Faith & Flamboyance |work=Biography (TV) |date=August 7, 2000 |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1682420/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170210075814/http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1682420/ |archive-date=February 10, 2017 }}</ref> Bakker founded the [[PTL Satellite Network]] in 1974, which aired ''The PTL Club'' and other religious television programs through local affiliates across the U.S.<ref name="buzzfeed"/> Throughout the 1970s, Bakker built a headquarters for PTL in [[the Carolinas]] called Heritage Village.<ref name="buzzfeed"/> Over time, the Bakkers expanded the ministry to include the [[Heritage USA]] theme park in [[Fort Mill, South Carolina|Fort Mill]], [[South Carolina]], which became the third most successful theme park in the U.S. at the time. Viewer contributions were estimated to exceed $1 million a week, with proceeds to expand the theme park and ''The PTL Club''{{'s}} mission.<ref name=Time06-2001 /><ref>{{cite news|title=Televangelists Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker's fall from grace|last=Connelly|first=Sherryl|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/televangelists-jim-tammy-faye-bakker-fall-grace-article-1.3387060|newspaper=[[New York Daily News]]|date=August 5, 2017|access-date=February 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213022105/http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/televangelists-jim-tammy-faye-bakker-fall-grace-article-1.3387060|archive-date=February 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Bakker responded to inquiries about his use of mass media by saying: "I believe that if [[Jesus]] were alive today, he would be on TV".<ref>{{cite web|last=Shepherd|first=Steve|title=Submit Yourselves To God|url=https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/submit-yourselves-to-god-steve-shepherd-sermon-on-authority-166240|website=Sermon Central|quote=I believe that if Jesus were alive today, he would be on TV|date=April 17, 2012|access-date=February 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213195629/https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/submit-yourselves-to-god-steve-shepherd-sermon-on-authority-166240|archive-date=February 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Two scandals brought down PTL in 1987: Bakker was accused of [[sexual misconduct]] by church secretary [[Jessica Hahn]], which led to his resignation, and his illegal misuse of ministry funds eventually led to his imprisonment.<ref name="buzzfeed"/> Bakker was dismissed as an [[Assemblies of God]] minister on May 6, 1987.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/05/06/Assemblies-of-God-defrocks-Bakker/6768547272000/|publisher=[[United Press International]]|title=Assemblies of God defrocks Bakker|date=May 6, 1987|access-date=February 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213022246/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/05/06/Assemblies-of-God-defrocks-Bakker/6768547272000/|archive-date=February 13, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1990, the biographic television movie ''[[Fall from Grace (1990 film)|Fall from Grace]]'', starring [[Kevin Spacey]] as Bakker, depicted his rise and fall.<ref>{{cite web|title='Stars of'Fall From Grace' Go Beyond Caricature in Portrayal of the Bakkers|url=https://articles.latimes.com/1990-04-23/entertainment/ca-323_1_jim-and-tammy-faye/|date=April 23, 1990|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=February 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305214751/http://articles.latimes.com/1990-04-23/entertainment/ca-323_1_jim-and-tammy-faye|archive-date=March 5, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> On January 18, 2019, [[American Broadcasting Company|ABC]]'s ''[[20/20 (U.S. TV program)|20/20]]'' aired a two-hour special, entitled ''Unfaithfully Yours'', about the PTL scandal.<ref>{{cite web|title= See Exclusive Clip From '20/20' Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker Special|url= https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/tammy-faye-jim-bakker-special-2020-clip-779879/|date= January 16, 2019|magazine=[[Rolling Stone]]|access-date= January 23, 2019|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20190123223854/https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/tammy-faye-jim-bakker-special-2020-clip-779879/|archive-date= January 23, 2019|url-status= live}}</ref> ==== Early investigations ==== In 1979, Bakker and PTL came under investigation by the [[Federal Communications Commission]] (FCC) for allegedly misusing funds raised on the air. The FCC report was finalized in 1982 and found that Bakker had raised $350,000 that he told viewers would go towards funding overseas missions but that was actually used to pay for part of Heritage USA. The report also found that the Bakkers used PTL funds for personal expenses.<ref name="FCC1">{{cite web|title=Federal report: PTL president abuses donations|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/01/27/Federal-report-PTL-president-abuses-donations/7682507186000/|work=[[United Press International]]|date=January 27, 1986|access-date=December 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101002748/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1986/01/27/Federal-report-PTL-president-abuses-donations/7682507186000/|archive-date=January 1, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> FCC commissioners voted four to three to drop the investigation, after which they allowed Bakker to sell the only TV station that he owned, therefore bypassing future FCC oversight.<ref name="FCC2">{{cite news|title=PTL Fund Raising A Tangled Saga|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1987/05/23/ptl-fund-raising-a-tangled-saga/e659bb79-63e3-4a98-bfc6-c27dfec4fc07/?noredirect=on|last1=Isikoff|first1=Michael|author-link1=Michael Isikoff|last2=Harris|first2=Art|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]| date=May 23, 1987|access-date=December 31, 2018}}</ref> The FCC forwarded its report to the [[United States Department of Justice|U.S. Department of Justice]], which declined to press charges, citing insufficient evidence.<ref name="FCC1"/> Bakker used the controversy to raise more funds from his audience, branding the investigation a "[[witch-hunt]]" and asking viewers to "give the Devil a black eye".<ref name="FCC2"/> A confidential 1985 [[Internal Revenue Service]] (IRS) report found that $1.3 million in ministry funds was used for the Bakkers' personal benefit from 1980 to 1983. The report recommended that PTL be stripped of its [[tax-exempt]] status, but no action was taken until after the Jessica Hahn scandal broke in 1987. Art Harris and [[Michael Isikoff]] wrote in ''[[The Washington Post]]'' that politics may have played a role in the three government agencies taking no action against PTL despite the evidence against them, as members of the [[Reagan administration]] were not eager to go after television ministers whose evangelical followers made up their base.<ref>{{cite news|title=PTL's Missing Millions|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/opinions/1987/06/21/ptls-missing-millions/553aa246-42b9-49bd-954e-0c3b85349514/?noredirect=on|last1=Isikoff|first1=Michael|author-link1=Michael Isikoff|last2=Harris|first2=Art|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]| date=June 21, 1987|access-date=January 12, 2019}}</ref> ====Sexual misconduct and resignation==== A $279,000 payoff for the silence of [[Jessica Hahn]], who alleged that Bakker and former ''PTL Club'' co-host [[John Wesley Fletcher]] [[Date rape|drugged and raped]] her, was paid with PTL funds through Bakker's associate [[Roe Messner]].<ref name=Time12-1988 /><ref>{{cite news |title=Larry King Live Interview with Jessica Hahn (rush transcript) |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0507/14/lkl.01.html |publisher=[[CNN]] |work=[[Larry King Live]] |date=July 14, 2005 |access-date=July 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070821011040/http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0507/14/lkl.01.html |archive-date=August 21, 2007 |url-status=live}}</ref> Bakker, who made PTL's financial decisions, allegedly kept [[two sets of books]] to conceal accounting irregularities. Reporters for ''[[The Charlotte Observer]]'', led by Charles Shepard, investigated PTL's finances and published a series of articles.<ref>{{cite magazine| first=Richard N.| last=Ostling| title=Enterprising Evangelism| date=August 3, 1987| url=http://www.time.com/time/printout/0,8816,965155,00.html| magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]| access-date=January 27, 2007| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070212091610/http://www.time.com/time/printout/0%2C8816%2C965155%2C00.html| archive-date=February 12, 2007| url-status=dead}}</ref> On March 19, 1987, after the disclosure of a payoff to Hahn, Bakker resigned from PTL.<ref name=Time12-1988>{{cite magazine | last=Ostling | first=Richard N. | author-link=Richard N. Ostling | title=Jim Bakker's Crumbling World | date=December 19, 1988 | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,956551,00.html | access-date=December 5, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080220084524/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,956551,00.html | archive-date=February 20, 2008 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Although he acknowledged that he had a sexual encounter with Hahn at a hotel room in [[Clearwater, Florida]], he denied raping her.<ref name=Ostling/> Bakker was also the subject of [[homosexual]] and [[bisexual]] allegations made by Fletcher and PTL director Jay Babcock, which Bakker denied [[under oath]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Report: Former Co-Host Fletcher Says Bakker Bisexual|url=https://www.apnews.com/1edbfbf8ad79965c9a80bcc1f98c97bf/|date=December 5, 1988|website=[[AP News]]|access-date=January 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190123223106/https://www.apnews.com/1edbfbf8ad79965c9a80bcc1f98c97bf/|archive-date=January 23, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Ex PTL Employee Testifies He Had Sex With Bakker|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/09/22/ex-ptl-employee-testifies-he-had-sex-with-bakker/33c99727-bffe-43c0-ac57-c1dc9751fe51/|date=September 22, 1988|newspaper=[[Washington Post]]|access-date=January 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190419162329/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1988/09/22/ex-ptl-employee-testifies-he-had-sex-with-bakker/33c99727-bffe-43c0-ac57-c1dc9751fe51/|archive-date=April 19, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Rival televangelist [[John Ankerberg]] appeared on ''[[Larry King Live]]'' and made several allegations of moral impropriety against Bakker, which both Bakkers denied.<ref>{{cite web|title=Bakker Issues Denial of Rival TV Minister's New Sex Allegations|url=https://articles.latimes.com/1987-04-26/news/mn-1576_1_jim-bakker/|date=April 26, 1987|newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]]|access-date=February 18, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160529055750/http://articles.latimes.com/1987-04-26/news/mn-1576_1_jim-bakker|archive-date=May 29, 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> Bakker was succeeded as PTL head by the Rev. [[Jerry Falwell]] of [[Thomas Road Baptist Church]] in [[Lynchburg, Virginia]].<ref name=Ostling>{{cite magazine|last=Ostling|first=Richard N.|author-link=Richard N. Ostling|title=Taking Command at Fort Mill|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964322-1,00.html|date=May 11, 1987|access-date=November 9, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090308110637/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,964322-1,00.html|archive-date=March 8, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref> Bakker chose Falwell as his successor because he feared that fellow televangelist [[Jimmy Swaggart]], who had initiated an Assemblies of God investigation into Bakker's sexual misconduct, was attempting to take over his ministry.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/03/24/Fire-and-brimstone-evangelist-Jimmy-Swaggart-admitted-today-he-instigated-a/5623543560400/|work=[[United Press International]]|title=Fire-and-brimstone evangelist Jimmy Swaggart admitted today he instigated a...|date=March 24, 1987|access-date=January 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101193824/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/03/24/Fire-and-brimstone-evangelist-Jimmy-Swaggart-admitted-today-he-instigated-a/5623543560400/|archive-date=January 1, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Bakker believed that Falwell would temporarily lead the ministry until the scandal died down,<ref name="ATC"/> but on April 28, 1987, Falwell barred Bakker from returning to PTL upon hearing of allegations of illicit behavior which went beyond the Hahn allegations.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/15/AR2007051501365.html?noredirect=on|last=Harris|first=Art|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|title=Falwell Takes Control, Bars Bakker From PTL|date=April 29, 1987|access-date=January 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101145401/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/15/AR2007051501365.html?noredirect=on|archive-date=January 1, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Later that summer, as donations declined sharply in the wake of Bakker's resignation and the end of ''The PTL Club'', Falwell raised $20 million to keep Heritage USA solvent and took a promised [[water slide]] ride at the park.<ref>{{cite magazine | url=http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,965543,00.html | title=American Notes: Fund Raising | magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]] | date=September 21, 1987 | access-date=November 29, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050212141215/http://www.time.com/time/archive/preview/0,10987,965543,00.html | archive-date=February 12, 2005 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Falwell and the remaining members of the PTL board resigned in October 1987, stating that a ruling from a [[bankruptcy court]] judge made rebuilding the ministry impossible.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/09/us/falwell-quits-warning-ptl-ministry-may-end.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Falwell Quits, Warning PTL Ministry May End|date=October 9, 1987|access-date=January 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101145239/https://www.nytimes.com/1987/10/09/us/falwell-quits-warning-ptl-ministry-may-end.html|archive-date=January 1, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> In response to the scandal, Falwell called Bakker a liar, an [[embezzlement|embezzler]], a sexual deviant, and "the greatest scab and cancer on the face of Christianity in 2,000 years of church history".<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=W-vkVdJPN4wC&pg=PA126|title=The Cross and Reaganomics: Conservative Christians Defending Ronald Reagan|first=Eric R.|last=Crouse|year= 2013|publisher=[[Rowman & Littlefield#Imprints|Lexington Books]]|via=[[Google Books]]|isbn=9780739182222}}</ref> On [[CNN]], Swaggart stated that Bakker was a "cancer in the body of Christ".<ref name="ATC">{{cite news |title=Son of Jim and Tammy Faye Finds His Own 'Grace' |quote=Jim Bakker is a cancer in the body of Christ |url=https://www.npr.org/2011/01/15/132864466/jim-and-tammy-fayes-son-finds-his-own-grace |work=[[All Things Considered]] |publisher=[[NPR]] |date=January 15, 2011 |access-date=February 12, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180213084653/https://www.npr.org/2011/01/15/132864466/jim-and-tammy-fayes-son-finds-his-own-grace |archive-date=February 13, 2018 |url-status=live }}</ref> In February 1988, Swaggart became involved in a sex scandal of his own after being caught visiting prostitutes in [[New Orleans]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/22/us/swaggart-says-he-has-sinned-will-step-down.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Swaggart Says He Has Sinned; Will Step Down|last=King|first=Wayne|date=February 22, 1988|access-date=January 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190101145243/https://www.nytimes.com/1988/02/22/us/swaggart-says-he-has-sinned-will-step-down.html|archive-date=January 1, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> The Bakker and Swaggart scandals had a profound effect on the world of televangelism, causing greater media scrutiny of TV ministers and their finances.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/crystal-cathedral-founder-robert-schuller-dies-at-88/2015/04/02/61b96702-d970-11e4-bf0b-f648b95a6488_story.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|title=Crystal Cathedral founder Robert Schuller dies at 88|last1=Singh|first1=Lisa|last2=Banks|first2=Adelle M.|date=April 2, 2015|access-date=January 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190412034441/https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/religion/crystal-cathedral-founder-robert-schuller-dies-at-88/2015/04/02/61b96702-d970-11e4-bf0b-f648b95a6488_story.html|archive-date=April 12, 2019|url-status=live}}</ref> Falwell said that the scandals had "strengthened broadcast evangelism and made Christianity stronger, more mature and more committed."<ref>{{cite news | title=Preacher Scandals Strengthen TV Evangelism, Falwell Says | newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] | date=March 19, 1988 | url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73577139.html?dids=73577139:73577139&FMT=ABS&FMTS | access-date=December 5, 2007 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121103120420/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73577139.html?dids=73577139:73577139&FMT=ABS&FMTS | archive-date=November 3, 2012 | url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/10/09/The-Rev-Jerry-Falwell-returning-to-Heritage-USA-to/8017560750400/|title=The Rev. Jerry Falwell, returning to Heritage USA to ...|work=[[United Press International]]|date=October 9, 1987|access-date=December 2, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171203153805/https://www.upi.com/Archives/1987/10/09/The-Rev-Jerry-Falwell-returning-to-Heritage-USA-to/8017560750400/|archive-date=December 3, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> ====<span class="anchor" id="Fraud conviction and incarceration"></span>Fraud conviction and imprisonment==== ''The PTL Club''{{'}}s fundraising activities between 1984 and 1987 were reported by ''[[The Charlotte Observer]]'', eventually leading to criminal charges against Bakker.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Miller|first1=Hunter|title=How a Sexual Assault Scandal Led to the Uncovering of a $158 Million Crime in a Televangelist Empire|url=http://popculture.com/tv-shows/2017/09/28/jessica-hahn-sex-scandal-jim-bakker-ptl-club/#3|website=popculture.com|date=September 28, 2017|access-date=February 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180214142046/http://popculture.com/tv-shows/2017/09/28/jessica-hahn-sex-scandal-jim-bakker-ptl-club/#3|archive-date=February 14, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> Bakker and his PTL associates sold $1,000 "lifetime memberships", entitling buyers to an annual three-night stay at a luxury hotel at Heritage USA during that period.<ref>{{cite web|last=Schmidt|first=William|title=For Jim and Tammy Bakker, Excess Wiped Out a Rapid Climb to Success|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/16/us/for-jim-and-tammy-bakker-excess-wiped-out-a-rapid-climb-to-success.html?pagewanted=all|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=May 16, 1987|access-date=February 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215084321/http://www.nytimes.com/1987/05/16/us/for-jim-and-tammy-bakker-excess-wiped-out-a-rapid-climb-to-success.html?pagewanted=all|archive-date=February 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> According to the prosecution at Bakker's fraud trial, tens of thousands of memberships were sold but only one 500-room hotel was ever finished.<ref>{{cite web|last=Harris|first=David|title=Former Heritage USA resort is again up for sale|url=https://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/1997/09/29/story4.html|work=[[The Business Journals]]|date=September 29, 1997|access-date=February 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040521172657/http://www.bizjournals.com/charlotte/stories/1997/09/29/story4.html|archive-date=May 21, 2004|url-status=live}}</ref> Bakker sold "exclusive partnerships" which exceeded capacity, raising more than twice the money needed to build the hotel. Much of the money paid Heritage USA's operating expenses, and Bakker kept $3.4 million.<ref>{{cite web|title=Top 20 Church Scandals: #9 Jim Bakker PTL Scandal|url=http://pimppreacher.com/post/122919285600/top-20-church-scandals-9-jim-bakker-ptl-scandal|quote=Bakker kept $3.4 million in bonuses for himself|publisher=PimpPreacher.com|date=July 1, 2015|access-date=February 14, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180215083819/http://pimppreacher.com/post/122919285600/top-20-church-scandals-9-jim-bakker-ptl-scandal|archive-date=February 15, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> After a 16-month federal [[grand jury]] probe, Bakker was [[indicted]] in 1988 on eight counts of [[mail fraud]], 15 counts of [[wire fraud]] and one count of [[Racketeering|conspiracy]].<ref name=Time12-1988 /> In 1989, after a five-week trial which began on August 28 in [[Charlotte, North Carolina]], a jury found him guilty on all 24 counts. Judge [[Robert Daniel Potter]] sentenced Bakker to 45 years in [[Federal Bureau of Prisons|federal prison]] and imposed a $500,000 fine.<ref>{{cite news |last=Applebome |first=Peter |title=Bakker Is Convicted on All Counts; First Felon Among TV Evangelists |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/06/us/bakker-is-convicted-on-all-counts-first-felon-among-tv-evangelists.html |access-date=November 23, 2019 |work=The New York Times |date=October 6, 1989 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217032132/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/06/us/bakker-is-convicted-on-all-counts-first-felon-among-tv-evangelists.html |archive-date=December 17, 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Applebome|first=Peter|title=Bakker Sentenced to 45 Years For Fraud in His TV Ministry|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/25/us/bakker-sentenced-to-45-years-for-fraud-in-his-tv-ministry.html|work=[[The New York Times]]|date=October 25, 1989|access-date=March 22, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180309054358/http://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/25/us/bakker-sentenced-to-45-years-for-fraud-in-his-tv-ministry.html|archive-date=March 9, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Peifer | first=Justice Paul E. | title=Jim Bakker's Federal Court Appeal | publisher=Supreme Court of Ohio website | date=April 12, 2000 | url=http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/Justices/pfeifer/column/2000/jp041200.htm | access-date=November 29, 2007 | url-status=dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080430221259/http://www.sconet.state.oh.us/Justices/pfeifer/column/2000/jp041200.htm | archive-date=April 30, 2008 |df=mdy-all}}</ref> At the [[Federal Medical Center, Rochester]] in [[Rochester, Minnesota]], he shared a cell with activist [[Lyndon LaRouche]] and skydiver [[Roger Nelson (skydiver)|Roger Nelson]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Witt |first=April |title=No Joke |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/2004/10/24/no-joke/882986fd-53f1-4443-95f8-f4f265d38f61/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=October 24, 2004|access-date=March 11, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180428093533/https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/magazine/2004/10/24/no-joke/882986fd-53f1-4443-95f8-f4f265d38f61/|archive-date=April 28, 2018|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit]] upheld Bakker's conviction on the fraud and conspiracy charges, voided Bakker's 45-year sentence and $500,000 fine and ordered a new sentencing hearing in February 1991.<ref name="U.S. v. Bakker">{{cite web |url=https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?q=%22James+O.+Bakker%22&hl=en&as_sdt=3,44&case=1832676487785187662&scilh=0 |title=U.S. v. Bakker |year=1991 |access-date=October 31, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170312135825/http://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?q=%22James+O.+Bakker%22&hl=en&as_sdt=3,44&case=1832676487785187662&scilh=0 |archive-date=March 12, 2017 |url-status=live}}</ref> The court ruled that Potter's sentencing statement about Bakker, that "those of us who do have a religion are sick of being saps for money-grubbing preachers and priests",<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/29/opinion/jim-bakker-s-startling-sentence.html |department=Opinion |title=Jim Bakker's Startling Sentence |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=October 29, 1989 |access-date=June 9, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180613005011/https://www.nytimes.com/1989/10/29/opinion/jim-bakker-s-startling-sentence.html |archive-date=June 13, 2018}}</ref> was evidence that the judge had injected his religious beliefs into Bakker's sentence.<ref name="U.S. v. Bakker"/> A sentence-reduction hearing was held on November 16, 1992, and Bakker's sentence was reduced to eight years. In August 1993, he was transferred to a minimum-security federal prison in [[Jesup, Georgia]]. Bakker was [[parole]]d in July 1994, after serving almost five years of his sentence.<ref>{{cite news |title=Jim Bakker freed from jail to stay in a halfway house |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/02/us/jim-bakker-freed-from-jail-to-stay-in-a-halfway-house.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=July 2, 1994 |access-date=March 11, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180311081429/https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/02/us/jim-bakker-freed-from-jail-to-stay-in-a-halfway-house.html |archive-date=March 11, 2018}}</ref> His son, Jay, spearheaded a letter-writing campaign to the parole board advocating leniency.<ref>{{cite book |last=Bakker |first=Jay |author-link=Jay Bakker |title=Son of a Preacher Man: My Search for Grace in the Shadows |year=2001 |publisher=Harper Collins |isbn=006251699X}}</ref> Celebrity lawyer [[Alan Dershowitz]] acted as Bakker's parole attorney, having said that he "would guarantee that Mr. Bakker would never again engage in the blend of religion and commerce that led to his conviction."<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/24/us/judge-cuts-bakker-s-prison-term-making-parole-possible-in-4-years.html |title=Judge cuts Bakker's prison term, making parole possible in 4 years |last=Applebome |first=Peter |date=24 August 1991 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=15 April 2020 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515161918/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/08/24/us/judge-cuts-bakker-s-prison-term-making-parole-possible-in-4-years.html |archive-date=May 15, 2020}}</ref> Bakker was released from [[Federal Bureau of Prisons]] custody on December 1, 1994,<ref>{{cite news |last=Smothers |first=Ronald |title=Ex-television evangelist Bakker ends prison sentence for fraud |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/02/us/ex-television-evangelist-bakker-ends-prison-sentence-for-fraud.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |date=December 2, 1994 |access-date=February 21, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180216030215/http://www.nytimes.com/1994/12/02/us/ex-television-evangelist-bakker-ends-prison-sentence-for-fraud.html |archive-date=February 16, 2018}}</ref> owing $6 million to the IRS.<ref>{{cite news | last=Krotz | first=Daniel | url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-krotz/jim-bakker-and-other-coun_b_795822.html | work=[[Huffington Post]] | title=Jim Bakker and the counterfeit hell robbers | date=December 20, 2010 | access-date=February 18, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170204062348/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/daniel-krotz/jim-bakker-and-other-coun_b_795822.html | archive-date=February 4, 2017 | url-status=live}}</ref> <!--The reporting is problematic. First is the claim of parole. Parole at the Federal level was eliminated by the Sentencing Act of 1984 <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.congress.gov/bill/98th-congress/house-bill/5773 |title=H.R.5773 - Sentencing Reform Act of 1984 |publisher=United States Congress |access-date=January 21, 2021 }}</ref> In addition the federal sentencing method was based on a system of points, where points were added or subtracted depending on various factors including the particular crimes. Using a chart prepared by the US Sentencing Commission the total of the points indicated the sentencing range. A change of eight years to 45 years is way outside the range of any one total of points.<ref>[https://www.ussc.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/guidelines-manual/2016/Sentencing_Table.pdf ussc.gov]</ref> For the 4th Circuit to require a resentencing, that required that the District Court to modify the convictions. The 4th Circuit could not require a significant adjustment simply because the trial judge supposedly demonstrated bias. District Court judges were extremely limited in the range of sentencing. The sentences were computer based upon the determination of Probation officers who calculated the points and then determined the sentencing range based on the total points. This was mandatory until maxinimum sentencing was made optional in the Supreme Court case of United States v. Booker<ref>United States v. Booker, 543 U.S. 220 (2005).</ref> --> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! 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