NATION : Bid to Release Bakker Rejected
A federal appeals court panel today refused to release jailed television evangelist Jim Bakker while he appeals his conviction for fleecing millions from PTL followers.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals said a motion on behalf of the defrocked minister was not sufficient to refute evidence that he might flee if released.
The judges said hundreds of letters from loyal followers did not provide a basis for releasing Bakker. The letters were received in U.S. District Court in Charlotte, N.C., where Bakker was convicted Oct. 5 of 23 counts of mail and wire fraud and one count of conspiracy.
Bakker, 49, was sentenced Oct. 24 to 45 years in prison and fined $500,000. He was immediately taken into custody and is serving his time at a federal prison in Minnesota.
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