Maine elects woman convicted of killing Canadian tourist to city council
Angela Walker was elected as a Bangor city councilmember on Tuesday, more than twenty years after she pleaded guilty to manslaughter with her brother, Benjamin Humphrey. The case involved the 2002 death of Canadian tourist Derek Rogers.
Walker, who previously served a prison sentence of ten years, was convicted in 2003 after Rogers was found beaten and suffocated with sand at Old Orchard Beach. The confrontation reportedly started after Rogers used a racial slur against Walker, who is of Native American heritage.
According to the Bangor Daily News, Walker, who now goes by her married name, ran as an independent candidate and was one of three people chosen to serve a three-year term on the Bangor City Council. Her campaign was supported by Food and Medicine, a progressive nonprofit organization in Maine.
“I don’t live there anymore and I’m a different person,” Walker said regarding her past conviction.
Her election drew public attention, as Bangor served as the inspiration for the fictional town in Stephen King’s novel “It.”
Author’s Summary
Angela Walker, once convicted of manslaughter, has reentered public life as a Bangor city councilmember, emphasizing personal change and new beginnings.