A bad call

The public should share with prosecutors in Maine and Massachusetts their surprise, disappointment, and outright astonishment at the decision of a Bay State court judge who Friday released on bail the man convicted in 1988 for setting a fire that destroyed the Tunk Lake summer home of Admiral Robert Byrd to collect an $820,000 insurance policy.

William Berkley (a.k.a. William B. Strong), 49, of Belmont, Mass., walked out of a Middlesex County courtroom this week, free on bail, despite efforts by the office of Hancock County District Attorney Michael Povich, Gov. John McKernan, Gov. Michael Dukakis, and the state prosecutor’s office in Massachusetts to have him extradited to Maine where he has yet to serve one day of jail time on an 18-month sentence. (See today’s Page One story.)

“He’s guilty and we want him back,” said District Attorney Povich, who was astonished by the way a governor’s warrant, signed by both state chief executives, was ignored by the court.

This episode could be attributed to a spasm of judicial self-indulgence — the bail order reflecting the superior instincts of a solitary jurist over the considered opinions of prosecutors and elected officials in two states. It also could be interpreted as a warning in the way it exposes a serious lack of reciprocity between Maine and Massachusetts. Had the situation been reversed, Berkley would in all likelihood have made the trip south.

But the real issue here is fundamental. It is one of judgment.

A man is convicted of arson, a very serious crime. He is sentenced by a Maine superior court to serve five years in prison, with all but 18 months suspended. He unsuccessfully appeals the conviction to the Maine Supreme Court. Instead of going to jail, Berkley sends a note to a Maine superior court justice asking for a stay in execution of the sentence. The justice rejects the request and orders him to begin serving his time. Berkley defies the order and is later arrested on a fugitive warrant at a Bedford, Mass., Ramada Inn where he had registered under the name of Strong. A Massachusetts judge then turns him loose.

Berkley exhausted every legal recourse in Maine (he has, however, yet to hear from the U.S. Supreme Court), but has demonstrated a complete lack of respect for the decisions rendered through its judicial process. Under the circumstances, he is a proven bad risk, and should have been returned to this state to await the decision of the Supreme Court.