JUDGE REDUCES EX-SKIPPER'S BAIL

The Associated Press

RIVERHEAD, N.Y.- The fired captain of the Exxon Valdez walked out of jail Thursday after a judge reduced his bail from $1 million to $25,000, calling the higher amount "unconstitutionally excessive."

Capt. Joseph Hazelwood posted bail and left the Suffolk County jail. He did not speak and showed no emotion as he walked off.

On Wednesday, another judge set bail for Hazelwood at $1 million bond or $500,000 cash, comparing the effect of the oil tanker wreck in Alaska to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima.

Justice Thomas Stark, the supervising judge of Suffolk County Criminal Court, Thursday reduced the bail to $25,000 bond or cash.

"The amount of bail is not commensurate with the seriousness of the crime or the effect of the crime on the community," Stark said of the figure.

Hazelwood, who faces three misdemeanor charges in Alaska, is accused of being drunk when he relinquished command of the Exxon Valdez to an officer not certified to pilot the ship through Prince William Sound. The vessel then hit a reef March 24, gushing 10.1 million gallons of crude oil into the Sound and creating North America's worst oil spill.

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