charles walker senior was very well-known in georgia, a very divisive figure on the confederate flag issue. that may have played a factor in his prosecution, particularly when an activist judge in his judicial wisdom thought that we should expand the jury pool outside of the normal bounds of agusta and poland some of these rural areas. i am not saying that that specifically proves guilt or innocence. a trial, as you all know, it has many different factors. it is those kinds of factors that we are going to examine today in depth. i also think it is good to try to think of our forces that pull us apart, these passions, and look at what can pull us together. as a look around the room, i see a good crowd for this early in the morning at the press building. i also see some folks who have come from -- who are here from alaska. they're very concerned that the republican senator ted stevens got a raw deal from prosecutors. i also see a couple of people that have driven all night from alabama to be here bright and early, because they think that democratic governor got a raw deal by the same

and our next speaker is charles "champ" walker. former congressional candidate in georgia. he's also the son of charge w. walker sr. who i mentioned at the beginning was a state senator from georgia, actually the first african-american state senator majority leader in the united states history. and as you'll hear a little bit more, he's currently serving a ten-year sentence in georgia on corruption charges. and champ, who is a businessman involved in technology. he was independent of this just last week, speaking at the white house and his businesses and as a leader in his own right. but he's going to talk to you about his father's case, give some sense of what that's like, and also some wider thoughts about what it means for perhaps hundreds of others around the country. so champ, look forward to hearing what you have to say. >> good morning. first of all, i would just like to thank god for allowing me to be here today and to see all of these faces and all of the experts who have used their time to come far and near to just convene and give their thoughts about this grave