Carl Christopher Perkins (born August 6, 1954) is an American

lawyer A lawyer is a person who is qualified to offer advice about the law, draft legal documents, or represent individuals in legal matters. The exact nature of a lawyer's work varies depending on the legal jurisdiction and the legal system, as w ...

and

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as the

United States representative The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...

from the 7th district of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

from 1984 to 1993. Perkins was convicted on three federal felony corruption charges in relation to the

House banking scandal The House banking scandal broke in early 1992, when it was revealed that the US House of Representatives allowed its members to overdraw their House checking accounts without the risk of being penalized by the House bank, which was actually a cle ...

Biography

Perkins is the son of Carl D. Perkins, who represented Kentucky in the House of Representatives from 1949 to 1984. Perkins was born in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and graduated from

Fort Hunt High School Fort Hunt High School was a public secondary school in Fairfax, Virginia, Fairfax, Virginia, United States, from 1963 until 1985, when it was converted to a middle school. Constructed at a cost of $2.5 million, Fort Hunt High opened its doors at ...

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

in 1972. He earned his B.A. from

Davidson College Davidson College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina, United States. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after American Revolutiona ...

in 1976. In 1978, he earned a J.D. degree from the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

. He worked for some time as a lawyer in private practice. From 1982 to 1984, he was a member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form a ...

, representing Kentucky's 92nd House district. Perkins was elected simultaneously as a Democrat to the 98th and the 99th Congress by

special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...

to fill the vacancy caused by the death of his father. Perkins was reelected to the three succeeding Congresses (November 6, 1984 – January 3, 1993). The seat that he held, Kentucky's 7th district, was eliminated by redistricting and became Kentucky's 5th district and some counties in Kentucky's 4th district. He did not seek re-election to Congress in 1992 from the new 5th district, in part due to the

. In 1994, Perkins agreed to plead guilty on three

felony A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "''félonie''") to describe an offense that r ...

charges in connection with the House banking scandal. The following year, he was sentenced to 21 months in federal

prison A prison, also known as a jail, gaol, penitentiary, detention center, correction center, correctional facility, or remand center, is a facility where Prisoner, people are Imprisonment, imprisoned under the authority of the State (polity), state ...

for misusing hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and improperly obtaining bank loans. He was also placed on three years' supervised

probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offence (law), offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incar ...

, ordered to perform 250 hours of

community service Community service is unpaid work performed by a person or group of people for the benefit and betterment of their community contributing to a noble cause. In many cases, people doing community service are compensated in other ways, such as gettin ...

, and told to complete any treatment for

alcoholism Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World He ...

deemed necessary by his probation officer. After his release from prison, Perkins attended Louisville Seminary where he received his

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

in 2003 and

Master of Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

in 2008. He became an

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

minister, and served a church in

Ezel, Kentucky Ezel (also Ecell and Ezell) is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Morgan County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 209. It has a small post office, with the ZIP code 41425. His ...

, before becoming pastor of Enslow Park Presbyterian Church in

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

References

External links

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Perkins, Chris 1954 births American Presbyterian ministers Davidson College alumni American politicians convicted of federal public corruption crimes Democratic Party members of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky Kentucky lawyers Kentucky politicians convicted of crimes Living people Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary alumni Democratic Party members of the Kentucky House of Representatives People from Knott County, Kentucky University of Louisville alumni 20th-century members of the Kentucky General Assembly 20th-century members of the United States House of Representatives

Biography

See also

References

External links