Coalition Seeks Early Prison Release For Former Detroit Mayor

DETROIT, MI — A coalition of activists and local pastors are making yet another push to free Kwame Kilpatrick, the former Detroit mayor who is currently serving a lengthy prison sentence after being convicted of fraud charges in 2013.

Ebony and local pastors held a Zoom news conference Friday morning, pleading for the release of Kilpatrick.

"We are respectfully calling upon you to consider freeing former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick," The Rev. Keyon Payton said in the news conference. "My request for his freedom is simply meant to express our opposition to the excessive nature and length of his sentence. Mr. Kilpatrick's punishment of a 28-year sentence simply does not fit the crime for which he was convicted."

Kilpatrick, 49, was Detroit's mayor from 2002-08. He was convicted in 2013 of racketerring conspiracy, fraud, extortion and tax-related crimes. The government called it the “Kilpatrick enterprise,” according to The Associated Press, a long scheme to shake down contractors and reward allies.

Kilpatrick has served only a quarter of his 28-year prison sentence. With good time credits, he’s been listed for release in 2037, according to The Associated Press. Kilpatrick's sentence ties the record for the longest sentence in American history for an elected official, according to Ebony.

"This clear case of excessive sentencing is emblematic of the victimization of black men by the criminal justice system," Ebony wrote in a news release.

More than 20 people spoke during the course of the news conference, the latest of many efforts to release Kilpatrick. Other efforts have been spearheaded by Democratic state Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo and Kilpatrick himself.

There was speculation previously that President Donald Trump would pardon Kilpatrick when he was pardoning a slew of former officials around the country. However, those rumors never resolved, in part due to political reasons, the Detroit Free Press reported previously.

In June, additional speculation surfaced after reports that Kilpatrick was set to be released from prison due to concerns surrounding the safety of inmates amid the coronavirus pandemic.

However, as of Friday, Kilpatrick remains an inmate in a federal prison in Louisiana, where he has been placed in solitary confinement after being identified as at high risk for contracting the coronavirus, according to Ebony.

"We're not suggesting today that there's not a price to be paid for mistake made," said Bishop T.D. Jakes. "We're calling on the president and all those who have the power to reconsider the sentence, made in the heat of passion of an angry city to the detriment of a very young man who deserves and needs and opportunity to recycle his lies."

Reporting and writing from The Associated Press was included in this report.