Kwame Kilpatrick Sentenced to Up to 5 Years in Prison
A judge sent ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick back to prison for one and a half to five years this morning for lying about his finances and fighting orders to pay the city of Detroit $1 million in restitution.
"The defendant has continued to lie to this court about his ability to pay restitution," prosecutor Kym Worthy wrote in a 10-page sentencing memorandum, the AP reports. "This court cannot reward lies, deceit and fraud with more probation." The prosecution originally requested that Kilpatrick receive two to five years in prison.
Kilpatrick apologized and asked for forgiveness and leniency from the judge, who dismissed his pleas, saying "that ship has sailed." He was led from the courtroom in handcuffs.
Kilpatrick's journey from promising young black mayor to imprisoned, disgraced former mayor is a sad one. According to the AP:
Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in 2008, after sexually explicit text messages became public, showing he had lied under oath about an affair with a staff member in a whistle-blowers' lawsuit. He resigned, served 99 days in jail, agreed to give up his law license, repay the city $1 million and stay out of politics for five years.
After he was released from jail in February 2009, he found a job as a medical software salesman with Dallas-based Covisint. Since then, he has said he is working on his marriage and trying to be a better father to his three sons. He also has been making $3,000 monthly payments to the city of Detroit, saying he hopes to repay everything he owes.
But prosecutors contend he continues to lie -- that Kilpatrick could afford to give more and has intentionally hid assets. Groner agreed, saying Kilpatrick failed to disclose $240,000 in loans from prominent businessmen. He also said Kilpatrick failed to surrender nearly $23,400 in tax refunds and a share of cash gifts from two people.
I don't understand why Kilpatrick would continue to play games when his freedom is at stake. Going back to prison will only be a severe disruption in the efforts he says he is making to right things with his wife and with his family. Money, especially a few hundred thousand dollars, cannot ever replace freedom.
Kilpatrick is lucky that he only has to repay $1 million. His actions to settle a lawsuit in an effort to keep tawdry details about his affairs from coming out cost the city of Detroit more than $8 million. It is money that the struggling city can barely afford to lose. There are so many other worthwhile ventures that could have been completed with that money.
However, the sentence seems a bit too harsh. Five years, if he is forced to serve the full sentence, will effectively eliminate Kilpatrick's ability to repay the money in a timely fashion. It does not seem that the judge took in to account that Kilpatrick has already repaid Detroit $132,000.
When Kilpatrick does get out of prison, maybe he will finally have his priorities in order.
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Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick , already jailed for violating his parole , is now facing... Read Full Story »
