Charles Walker (Georgia politician)
Charles Walker | |
|---|---|
| Majority Leader of the Georgia State Senate | |
| In office January 13, 1997 – January 13, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Sonny Perdue |
| Succeeded by | Tom Price |
| Member of the Georgia State Senate from the 22nd district | |
| In office January 14, 1991 – January 13, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | Thomas Allgood |
| Succeeded by | Randy Hall |
| Member of the Georgia House of Representatives from the 85th district | |
| In office January 10, 1983 – January 14, 1991 | |
| Preceded by | R.A. Dent |
| Succeeded by | Henry Howard Sr. |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Charles Will Walker November 8, 1947 Augusta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | August 18, 2026 (aged 78) Augusta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
Charles Will Walker (November 8, 1947 – August 18, 2026) was an American politician who was a state senator in the legislature of Georgia. He was first elected in 1990. In 1996, he became Georgia's first African-American Senate Majority Leader. Walker was a Democrat and was from Augusta, Georgia.
Life and career
[edit]Walker owned a myriad of small enterprises under the name The Walker Group. One of Walker's first ventures was a convenience store called "Reklaw's", which is Walker spelled backwards.
He started a newspaper called the Augusta Focus which served Augusta's black community. It often expressed opposing viewpoints to Augusta's only daily newspaper, the Augusta Chronicle.
Convicted in 2005 by a federal court in Augusta on charges including tax evasion, mail fraud, theft, misusing campaign funds, and conspiracy (127 counts, in all),[1][2][3] Walker was serving a ten-year sentence at a Federal Correctional Institution in Estill, South Carolina. His projected release date was September 26, 2022.[4][5]
An appeal of his convictions was rejected on July 6, 2007.[6][7][8]
Walker filed a petition for habeas corpus in March 2009. The federal judge who presided over his trial recused himself from presiding over Walker's petition in May 2009.[1]
Walker was released from custody in late 2016.[2] He died on August 18, 2026, at the age of 78.[9]
References
[edit]- 1 2 "Walker judge recuses himself". The Augusta Chronicle. May 20, 2009.
- 1 2 "Charles Walker gets early release from federal probation". The Augusta Chronicle. November 1, 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-01-18. Retrieved 2017-01-17.
- ↑ Susan McCord (December 17, 2013). "Ex-state Sen. Charles Walker being moved from federal prison". augustachronicle.com.
- ↑ "Inmate Locator - Locate Federal inmates from 1982 to present". Federal Bureau of Prisons. Archived from the original on 2012-09-12. Retrieved 2010-08-26.
- ↑ James Salzer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "From Georgia power broker to prison; ex-Sen. Charles Walker's comeback". ajc.com.
- ↑ U.S. v. Walker Archived May 28, 2010, at the Wayback Machine (11th Cir. 2007).
- ↑ "Charles Walker Reports to Prison". Wrdw.com. Retrieved 25 October 2014.
- ↑ Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia (July 6, 2007). "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, Plaintiff-Appellee, Versus CHARLES W. WALKER, SR., No. 05-16756, D. C. Docket No. 04-00059-CR-001-1" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2010-05-28.
- ↑ "Former Georgia Senate Majority Leader Charles Walker dies". The Augusta Press. 18 August 2026. Retrieved 18 August 2026.
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
- 1947 births
- 2026 deaths
- African-American state legislators in Georgia (U.S. state)
- Democratic Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators
- Politicians convicted of mail and wire fraud
- American people convicted of tax crimes
- Georgia (U.S. state) politicians convicted of crimes
- Politicians from Augusta, Georgia
- 21st-century African-American politicians
- 20th-century African-American politicians
- 21st-century members of the Georgia General Assembly
