Nation : Bakker Dons Jail Jumpsuit
Evangelist Jim Bakker donned an orange jumpsuit today for the first day of his 45-year prison term for fraud, and his 83-year-old mother sobbed that “the best years of his life” will be spent behind bars.
“The judge is so mean. He’s just unfair. He was so prejudiced against Jim,” said Furnia Bakker, after her youngest son was sentenced to 45 years in prison and ordered to pay a $500,000 fine.
The 49-year-old evangelist arrived at the Talladega Federal Correctional Institution on Tuesday night to share a cell with a lawyer who is also awaiting permanent placement in a federal prison.
Prison officials said he could spend as little as two days at Talladega, a medium-security prison surrounded by razor wire and patrolled by armed guards, or two or three weeks while permanent placement is decided on.
Brian Ross, executive assistant to the warden, said Bakker was offered a hearty lunch today--hamburgers, french fries, fresh salad, soup, pudding for dessert and a fruit drink--and will be allowed visits from family members.
Ross said he can use the prison’s libraries and will be allowed a Bible in his cell but will not be allowed to preach.
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