Charles Walker (Georgia politician) explained

Charles W. Walker Sr. (born November 8, 1947) is a former state senator in the legislature of the state of Georgia. He was first elected in 1990. In 1996, he became Georgia's first African-American Senate Majority Leader. Walker is a Democrat and is from Augusta, Georgia.

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.

Walker started a newspaper called The Augusta Focus that 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.

Walker was released from custody in late 2016.

Notes and References

1. News: Walker judge recuses himself . . May 20, 2009.
2. News: Charles Walker gets early release from federal probation. The Augusta Chronicle. November 1, 2016. 2017-01-17. 2017-01-18. https://web.archive.org/web/20170118052408/http://chronicle.augusta.com/news/crime-courts/2016-11-01/charles-walker-gets-early-release-federal-probation. dead.
3. News: augustachronicle.com . December 17, 2013 . Ex-state Sen. Charles Walker being moved from federal prison . Susan McCord .
4. Web site: Inmate Locator - Locate Federal inmates from 1982 to present . . 2010-08-26 . 2012-09-12 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120912134138/http://www.bop.gov/iloc2/InmateFinderServlet?Transaction=NameSearch&needingMoreList=false&FirstName=Charles&Middle=W.&LastName=Walker&Race=B&Sex=M&Age=62&x=44&y=17 . dead .
5. News: ajc.com . From Georgia power broker to prison; ex-Sen. Charles Walker's comeback . James Salzer, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
6. U.S. v. Walker (11th Cir. 2007).
7. Web site: Charles Walker Reports to Prison. Wrdw.com. 25 October 2014.
8. News: 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 . Appeals from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Georgia . https://web.archive.org/web/20100528001636/http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200516756.pdf . 2010-05-28 .