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May 25, 2010
Former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick gets long prison sentence for probation violation
As detailed in this local article, which is headlined "Judge sentences Kilpatrick 18 months to 5 years in prison," former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick got the book thrown at him this morning by a state judge at his sentencing for probation violation. Here are the basics:An audible gasp erupted in the courtroom as Judge David Groner sentenced former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick to 18 months to five years in state prison. Deputies rushed up to a row where Kilpatrick friends and relatives are sitting. They escorted one unidentified woman out.
"Your testimony in this court amounted to perjury," the judge told Kilpatrick. "Most compelling is that you lied to this court, continue to lie, after you pleaded guilty to lying.... "The initial 120 days incarceration did nothing to rehabilitate you."
After the gasp from the audience, Kilpatrick was ordered to sign papers. Some reporters saw his hands shaking. Groner asked Kilpatrick's lawyer, Schwartz, to assist the former mayor. As the courtroom began to buzz, Groner raised his voice and ordered Kilpatrick to be swift. "Sergeant could you secure the defendant please and put him in the back?" Groner said. A deputy then handcuffed Kilpatrick behind his back and led him to a side room. The former mayor kept looking over his shoulder, mouthing words toward his sister.
His attorneys vowed an immediate appeal of Groner's sentence.
Comment from Wayne County Assistant Prosecutor Athina Siringas: “We always felt a department of corrections sentence was appropriate. We are pleased.”
The judge’s order also raises questions about whether Kilpatrick will continue to have a job with a Compuware subsidiary in Texas. Compuware chief Peter Karmanos had given Kilpatrick a six-figure sales job with Covisint in an office just outside Dallas after the ex-mayor’s release from jail in February of last year. But Karmanos said at the time that Kilpatrick’s continued employment was contingent upon Kilpatrick staying out of further trouble.
May 25, 2010 at 11:16 AM | Permalink
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Comments
The stupid shall be punished.
Posted by: federalist | May 25, 2010 12:58:07 PM
I find it amazing (1) that he still has supporters other than close family and (2) that they would be surprised by his getting a prison sentence for such a probation violation. This was a violation directly related to the conditions that allowed him to avoid a lengthy prison sentence to begin with. It is almost as if he didn't understand that he had in fact been caught and that it was time to be squeaky clean if he wished to salvage anything.
Posted by: Soronel Haetir | May 25, 2010 2:26:29 PM
Soronel --
The reason he still has supporters is that there is a segment of the population so wrapped up with a sense of entitlement that swindling and stealing is just second nature. I believe Mrs. Conyers, the devoted wife of the Chairman of House Judiciary, is another such citizen.
It must help to be part of the Detroit power structure. With a sky-high murder rate, why SHOULDN'T they feel entitled?
Posted by: Bill Otis | May 25, 2010 4:57:14 PM
There's an update that he's been fired from his job, whch is hardly a surprise, as he'll be unable to work at it for at least another 14 months. One reason he still has supporters is because his mother is a member of the U. S. House of Representatives.
Posted by: Greg Jones | May 25, 2010 5:35:52 PM
I think it is as it should be. The only other thing Detroit needs to clear up is the murder of Tamara Greene and whether or not either of the Kilpatricks had anything to do with it. The lies will never turn into truths so Detroit needs to move on. Everything they can do has been done.
Posted by: Debbi | Jun 6, 2010 10:49:27 PM
