July 17th

White-gloved state troopers carried the casket of Georgia's 77th governor to the Capitol today with a bagpiper leading the way.

George Busbee will lie in state as dignitaries and members of the public honor him following his death on Friday. He was 76.

Gov. Perdue and former governors Carl Sanders and Joe Frank Harris led the state's official delegation on the Capitol steps as the flag-draped coffin was carried from curbside to the Capitol rotunda.

Busbee is lying in state in a place where just a year ago former Gov. Lester Maddox also was given state honors.

The casket was placed on a bier flanked by the American and state flags. Busbee's official portrait, moved from the Capitol halls to the rotunda, stood nearby, draped in black.

Members of the public will be able to pay their respects later today.

A public memorial service is scheduled for Tuesday, with a private funeral to follow in Duluth, where Busbee had lived in recent years.

State flags will remain at half-staff until sunset Tuesday.

Busbee is being remembered for his steady hand and friendly, low-key manner as governor for two terms, from 1975 to 1983.