Former mayor of Detroit, Kwame Kilpatrick, has been sentenced to twenty-eight years in prison for public corruption. Kilpatrick was only thirty-one years old when he was elected mayor and has been in jail three times since that time. He has been found guilty of criminal enterprise, bid-rigging, extortion, and most recently bribery which make up twenty-four counts. Known as the “hip-hop mayor,” he has secured his reputation as being, according to The Huffington Post, “One of America’s worst mayoral leaders of the past decade.” He was even once considered a potential presidential candidate, but has all since eclipsed that possibility with his on-going criminal shenanigans. His criminal activity has continued to flourish during his six year tenure as Detroit mayor and he has reportedly stolen millions of dollars from the desperate city. He may have even been guilty of criminal activity during his time in the Michigan legislature. His wife and children did not appear in court during his sentence.
Kilptraick also did not commit these crimes alone. There are at least thirty-four other people convicted for crimes involving Kilpatrick and his partner, Bobby Ferguson, has also been under legal scrutiny, with convictions for at least nine out of eleven counts and is currently awaiting sentencing. The two are guilty of committing the crimes in the basis of Detroit’s City Hall. Both Kilptraick and Ferguson may be required to pay back all the money they stole from the city and from the people of Detroit.
His attorney has made a request that Kilpatrick only serve fifteen years or less in prison for his crimes. His thievery of city funds has also been superficial. Kilpatrick is guilty of using the city assets to buy a new car for his wife. In 2008, he was also the center of a sex scandal and was forced to resign as mayor and that was only one incident in a whirlpool of many more. The reporter who broke that story was awarded a Pulitzer Prize. Kilpatrick has already served one year in prison and in 2012, he violated his probation by refusing to participate in community service. According to federal defense attorney, Christopher Andreoff, and USA Today, Kilptraick is “going to appeal no matter what.” The twenty-eight year sentence has been viewed as harsh and unfair and Kilpatrick himself has been quoted for saying, “Detroit, you done set me up for a comeback.” However, it is doubtful that he will be back anytime soon in the near future.