Chuck Colson, Watergate Felon to Christian Leader, Dead at 80

Charles W. Colson, Watergate Felon Reborn as Evangelical Leader, Dies at 80

Charles W. Colson, who served as a political saboteur for President Richard M. Nixon and masterminded some of the dirty tricks that led to the president’s downfall, then emerged from prison to become an important evangelical leader, saying he had been “born again,” died Saturday. He was 80. The cause was complications from a brain hemorrhage, according to a statement on his organization’s Web site.

Mr. Colson was sent to prison after pleading guilty to obstructing justice in the Watergate affair. After having what he called his religious awakening behind bars, he spent much of the rest of his new life ministering to prisoners, preaching the Gospel and helping to forge a powerful coalition among Republican politicians, evangelical church leaders and Roman Catholic conservatives, changing the very dynamics of American politics.


-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary