Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, August 22, 1995                   TAG: 9508220094
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: ROBERT O'HARROW JR. THE WASHINGTON POST
DATELINE: FAIRFAX (AP)                                  LENGTH: Medium

AFTER YEARS IN MENTAL HOSPITAL, HIJACKER BACK IN FAIRFAX COURTROOM

It was a quarter-century ago that Auther Barkley, fueled by a bitter dispute with the IRS, hijacked a Trans World Airlines jet, demanded $100 million from the U.S. government and ordered the plane to fly from Phoenix to Washington.

The ordeal attracted national attention and ended in a gunbattle on the tarmac of Dulles International Airport. At his trial in Fairfax County, Barkley was found innocent by reason of insanity and sent to a Southwest Virginia mental institution. He has long protested that he was the victim of an insidious plot by the IRS, which in 1964 angered Barkley by ruling that he owed $471.78 in back taxes.

Barkley, now 74, returned to Fairfax last week for the first time since his trial, saying he finally was willing to put aside his conspiracy theories in exchange for freedom.

``I want to go home,'' said Barkley, wrinkled from age and seemingly worn down by what a doctor described as chronic schizophrenia.

It was an eerie reprise of one of the most sensational cases in Fairfax history. In court arguing against Barkley's release was Commonwealth's Attorney Robert F. Horan Jr., who had handled the Barkley case in 1971, at the beginning of his career as a prosecutor.

``Talking to Barkley is like compressing history for 25 years, because he talks about [the hijacking] like it was yesterday,'' Horan said during a break in the hearing before Fairfax Circuit Judge Marcus Williams. ``It was really a bizarre case from the word go.''

After hearing testimony from doctors, Barkley's family members and Barkley himself, Williams denied Barkley's request for release. He called the hijacking and Barkley's mental illness ``a tragedy'' but said Barkley remains a threat to society.

Williams had ordered the hearing after getting an annual report about Barkley's condition. Under a 1992 state law, insanity cases must be reviewed every several years.

On June 4, 1970, Barkley, a former bakery truck driver, decided to draw attention to a dispute he had been having with his union, his former employer and the federal government. He especially was angry at the IRS over the tax ruling.

Armed with a gun, a straight-edge razor and a container full of cooking gas, Barkley boarded a TWA flight carrying 51 passengers from Phoenix to Washington. During the flight, he forced his way into the cockpit and told the pilots to fly nonstop to Dulles. Along the way, he sent out a radio message from the plane to the Supreme Court, saying he wanted $100 million.

When the plane touched down, a new captain was sent on board with $100,000 in cash that had been collected from local banks. Once Barkley realized that he had not received $100 million, he had the plane take off again and ordered that another message be sent. ``You don't know the rules of law,'' he said on the radio in a message to President Nixon. ``You don't even know how to count money.''

After flying over the East Coast for several hours, the plane returned to Dulles. Federal agents shot out the plane's tires and, after a short time, stormed the plane. Barkley was wounded in the hand; the original pilot was wounded in the stomach while wrestling Barkley to the floor. No passengers were injured.

In court last week, Horan asked Barkley about the incident. Though Barkley acknowledged that he had been on the plane, armed with a gun and razor, he claimed he was not responsible for shooting the pilot. And at one point, he told Horan there was no hijacking.

As for the hastily collected bag of money he had been given 25 years ago, Barkley said it didn't really exist. ``It was sacks of garbage,'' he testified.

Two mental health experts testified Wednesday about Barkley's condition. Hadley C. Osran, a psychiatrist who recently evaluated Barkley, described him as a chronic paranoid schizophrenic. Richard W. Mears, director of psychological services at Southwestern Virginia Mental Health Institute, said Barkley has not improved significantly in recent years. He continues to be ``delusional,'' sometimes refuses to take medication and often writes bizarre letters to people he does not know, Mears said.

Barkley's wife and one of his sons made the strongest appeal for his release. ``He's wanting to come home,'' said a tearful Larry Barkley, who sat near his father. ``I'd like my husband home,'' said Sue Barkley.

But Williams said that releasing Auther Barkley was too much of a risk, and scheduled another hearing for next August, when the case will be reviewed again.