Judgment

Just before the inevitable verdict came down last week, a gaggle of Jim Bakker's faithful backers defiantly held aloft a King James Bible opened to Psalm 17: 3: "Thou hast tried me, and shalt find nothing." But the jury sang a different psalm: Guilty as charged on all 24 counts of defrauding the public of $3.7 million via TV, phone and mail. Testimony about one of the ripest scandals in U.S. religious history had consumed 25 days; the jury needed less than eleven hours to decide.

Fittingly, the proceedings ended on a theatrical note. In the bail hearing, Federal Judge Robert Potter said he could not forget the parade of 35 Bakker loyalists who had spoken for the defense. "They have a Jim Jones mentality," he said, in a bizarre reference to the cult leader responsible for 900-plus deaths by mass suicide. "I've seen these people out here who think he could walk on water." Despite fears that Bakker's fans might spirit him out of the country, Potter freed the telefelon on a $250,000 secured bond; he must report daily to an Orlando parole officer.

Bakker, who will appeal, managed a trademark smile as he told reporters after the trial, "I come out today still innocent of the charges against me . . . My faith is still in God." Wife Tammy Faye tried to put the best face on the situation by singing a hymn and cooing, "It's not over till it's over."

Nor did the trial want for drama. Bakker was led away for psychiatric evaluation, one witness collapsed, and Hurricane Hugo interrupted the proceedings. The usual details emerged about Bakker's lavish spending habits (motorized bedroom draperies, a $500 shower curtain). The prosecution's star witness turned out to be Bakker himself. Jurors endured eight hours of videotape showing his histrionic money pitches and then heard the ex-preacher describe himself on the witness stand as a "minister of the gospel," not a "professional businessman."

Although Bakker will almost certainly not get the maximum penalty (120 years and $5 million in fines) when he is sentenced Oct. 24, he is likely to spend time behind bars. Potter had earlier meted out a tough eight years in prison and a $200,000 fine to former Bakker aide Richard Dortch, even though Dortch testified for the prosecution. Two other staffers who provided evidence drew draconian prison terms for tax evasion.