Ousted Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick was sentenced this morning to 18 months to 5 years in prison for violating his probation.
The Detroit Free Press reported live from the courtroom where Kilpatrick was sentenced and says the ex-mayor pleaded with Wayne County Circuit Judge David Groner to go home saying,
“I respectfully humbly ask you, with everything that’s in me, to be free. I want to go home, your honor, where I belong.”
Judge Groner disagreed with Kilpatrick however and was quoted by the DFP as saying,
“Your testimony in this court amounted to perjury. 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.”
Kilpatrick will serve the minimum 1 ½ years in jail before its determined if he should serve the additional time.
His attorneys reportedly plan to appeal the judge’s decision.
Kilpatrick was ordered to pay the city $1 million in restitution after pleading guilty in 2008 to obstruction of justice.
The former official was forced to resign after a series of graphic text messages surfaced showing he lied under oath about an affair with one of staff members.
Judge Groner ruled that Kilpatrick, who now resides in a posh Texas neighborhood, was continuing to lie in court about his assets and failed to meet the terms of his probation.
