Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was released from prison on January 20, according to a federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman in an Associated Press [AP] article recently. This comes after President Donald Trump commuted his sentence on his last day in office.
In one of his last presidential acts, Trump used his presidential pardon to grant clemency to 140 federal prisoners including the former mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick.
Kwame Kilpatrick, who was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison on charges of extortion, racketeering and bribery in his city corruption case, served seven years of his total sentence before President Trump commuted the remainder of his sentence.
The White House issued a statement around 1 a.m. Wednesday morning that said: “President Trump commuted the sentence of the former Mayor of Detroit, Kwame Malik Kilpatrick. This commutation is strongly supported by prominent members of the Detroit community, Alveda King, Alice Johnson, Diamond and Silk, Pastor Paula White, Peter Karmanos, Representative Sherry Gay-Dagnogo of the Michigan House of Representatives, Representative Karen Whitsett of the Michigan House of Representatives, and more than 30 faith leaders. Mr. Kilpatrick has served approximately seven years in prison for his role in a racketeering and bribery scheme while he held public office. During his incarceration, Mr. Kilpatrick has taught public speaking classes and has led Bible Study groups with his fellow inmates.”
According to the article, back in November, Ayanna Kilpatrick, sister of Kwame Kilpatrick, said that her brother would get an “early COVID-19 compassionate release from federal prison.”
Kilpatrick was not expected to be released from federal prison until January 18, 2037, per the article.
Kilpatrick rose to great heights on the national political scene in 2002 after becoming the youngest mayor in Detroit’s history. He was eventually convicted on 24 counts, including racketeering, extortion, attempted extortion, bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud and filing false tax returns.
Unlike most white-collar convictions, Kilpatrick was denied bond while his case was on appeal and was imprisoned shortly following his conviction where he has served time since the day his guilty verdict was on March 11, 2013.
Megan Kirk contributed to this story.
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