ATLANTA (WXIA) -- Former Georgia state Sen. Ralph David Abernathy III died Thursday morning after a battle with liver cancer.
Abernathy was one of five children of civil rights pioneer Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, Sr., co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
He represented portions of the city of Atlanta in the state House of Representatives from 1987-to-1991 and in the state Senate from 1992-to-1999.
While in the Senate, Abernathy helped lead efforts to change the state flag to reflect its pre-1959 version, as well as crafting firearms legislation geared toward protecting minors.
Three years later, authorities more than a quarter-ounce of marijuana from Abernathy, which he had hidden in his underwear when returning from a trip to Jamaica in December 1997.
He was not arrested in that incident, but ended up paying a $500 fine. Republicans in the General Assembly called for his impeachment at that point.
His time under the Gold Dome also included scandal -- In 1994, Abernathy was stopped by police in East Point, and charged with running a red light, failure to yield to an emergency vehicle and reckless driving.
Later that month, Abernathy was indicted on 35 charges, including making false statements, violation of oath of office, theft by taking, forgery and witness tampering.
He was ultimately convicted on 18 felony counts in December 1999. In 2002, Abernathy was arrested on parole violations and charged with theft by deception after fellow inmates said he promised to secure early releases for them in exchange for money.
Abernathy was 57 years old.
