Ex-Detroit Mayor Out After 99 Days In Jail

Kwame Kilpatrick, 25 Pounds Lighter, Calls Jail Stay "Incredibly Purifying"

(AP)  Kwame Kilpatrick regained his freedom early Tuesday morning, emerging from jail after a 99-day sentence and stepping back onto the streets of the city he once ruled as mayor.

The 38-year-old Kilpatrick, about 25 pounds lighter than when he entered jail at the end of October, left the downtown Detroit facility wearing a dark suit just after 12:30 a.m.

On the sidewalk, Kilpatrick stood for a long moment amid bright television camera lights, a crush of awaiting reporters and swirling snowflakes, smiling occasionally to those in the crowd who called his name and shouted: "We love you, Kwame! Detroit loves you, baby!"

Kilpatrick made no statements to the media during his release. He flew to Dallas later in the day to reunite with his family. His attorneys say he has a job interview in Texas on Wednesday.

Tuesday night, Kilpatrick told Dallas-Fort Worth television station WFAA his 99-day jail stay was "an incredibly purifying process" and the most time he's had to be with himself and God.

Standing next to wife Carlita, Kilpatrick it was hard to be separated from her and his three young sons. "You caught me crying. This is something I don't usually ... don't do," he said. "My guys look so much older."

It's been more than a year since a text-messaging sex scandal started the long process that ended in Kilpatrick's arrest, plea, jailing and release. Now, the man who quickly rose from a state representative to mayor of a city of 900,000 people simply is looking for work.

A judge has ordered that he return from Texas by Monday. In his television interview Tuesday night, Kilpatrick didn't offer specifics about the job possibility.

"The job prospect is very, very, very favorable," defense attorney Willie E. Gary told reporters in Detroit as Kilpatrick was released. "We want to make sure he can get, and land, the job. That's his first thing. He wants a job. That's what he is concerned about now. He wants to get with his family, get with his kids so he can start his life again."

The next five years, though, will be spent on probation and paying off the bulk of $1 million in restitution to the city. He also has had his law license revoked.

If Kilpatrick lands the job in Texas, he must first get permission to transfer his probation from Michigan to that state.

Kilpatrick was into the middle of his second term as mayor when sexually explicit text messages with his then-Chief of Staff Christine Beatty were published by the Detroit Free Press.

The messages from Beatty's city-issued pager also contradicted testimony that she and the married mayor gave during a 2007 whistle-blowers' trial when they denied having a romantic relationship. The messages also indicated they lied about their roles in the firing of a police official.

The cash-strapped city, now facing a deficit believed to be more than $200 million, eventually settled the civil suit with three former officers for $8.4 million.

Kilpatrick and Beatty were charged last March with perjury, misconduct and obstruction of justice.

Before his trial on those charges was to begin in September, Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and no contest to assault for allegedly shoving a detective who was trying to serve a subpoena in the text-message case.

He stepped down as mayor on Sept. 18. Beatty, who resigned last February, was sentenced early last month to 120 days in jail after pleading guilty to obstruction of justice.

[bwlewis1964]

Didn''t we have eight years of lies and deception
from Bush and Cheney.

[wvu74621]

Maybe he can write a song about it. I have a tiny violin he could use.

[tbbaot]

This *** is typical of a growing majority of crooked politicians who take office solely to advance their own wealth and feed their overgrown egos.
The media could better serve the public by ignoring them once they are forced out of office.
The fact he has a job interview already reflects on the decay of our values and our society as a whole.

[honestabe8]

KwaME Salami is a self-absorble pile of dung. Neither he nor his posse (no, I am not speaking of his former chief of staff, that is spelled differently) nor the rest of his thug like inner circle gave a *** about Detroit. I don''t know who paid for the limos or the security or the private jet when he escaped to Texas. He is a slimy creep, and will show up scamming people, likely in the name of God. He has already "apologized" to the people of Detroit from a church when all the poop hit the fan. Why is it that shysters hide behind a holy book or a flag? Good riddance, Kwame. This will not be your last time incarcerated in the gray bar hilton, the old stripey hole.

[downsteamjm]

Sounds like he is now qualified to be in Obama''s cabinet.

[lloydbest1]

"Typical Democrat...............fsw3
Look Bill Clinton lied to the American people
Bill Clinton lied to a Federal Grand Jury.
The little white spot on Monica''''s dress was 99.9% linked to Bill Clinton''''s DNA.
Bill Clinton broke the LAW which is why the State of Arkansas took away his law licence.
..............Let''''s stop making EXCUSES for those that "actually" break the law."
Posted by perceptions5 at 07:45 AM : Feb 03, 2009

So, Clinton lied about boinking some intern.
GWB lied about WMD''s in Iraq, KNEW that he lied and started a war-for-oil that has killed some 4000 Americans and possibly as many as 100,000 Iraqis.
If you are going to throw darts at Slick Willie, you better reserve some for our not-to-be-lamented ex President Bush who at MINIMUM should be indicted as an accessory for 4000+ counts of murder.

As far As "Kwummy" is concerned....His career as a politician is done. No one will ever elect him to anything again.

[promaclaura]

S.e.xual relations between consenting adults is nobody''''s business, including yours.


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Posted by fsw3 at 09:02 AM : Feb 03, 2009

Kwame made it the peoples business when he cost them millions in taxpayer dollars.

[promaclaura]

I''''m sure they''''ll just re-elect him at some point


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Posted by Guyfrompa09 at 07:08 AM : Feb 03, 2009

A nail in the coffin of embarrassment for my beautiful State.

[louiville2]

You know full well this did not deal with pedophilia. These were two grown people, adults. S.e.xual relations between consenting adults is nobody''''s business, including yours.


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Posted by fsw3 at 09:02 AM

So how are you on that rape thing?

[fsw3]

Hmmm so a pedophile would be alright with you since it''''s all about S.E.X. right? Bill wasn''''t in touble about the affair, except for Hillary and the "It''''s a vast right wing conspirocy". It was the down right lying, that and about a dozen DEMOCRAT women came forward and accused him of rape.

But hey it was ALL about S.E.X. right?


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Posted by louiville2 at 08:52 AM : Feb 03, 2009
You know full well this did not deal with pedophilia. These were two grown people, adults. S.e.xual relations between consenting adults is nobody''s business, including yours.

[louiville2]

Clinton Misogyny - ***
Juanita Broaddrick (AR)- rape
Eileen Wellstone (Oxford) - rape
Elizabeth Ward Gracen - rape - quid pro quo, post incident intimidation
Regina Hopper Blakely - "forced himself on her, biting, bruising her"
Kathleen Willey (WH) - sexual assault, intimidations, threats
Sandra Allen James (DC) - sexual assault
22 Year Old 1972 (Yale) - sexual assault
Kathy Bradshaw (AK) - sexual assault
Cristy Zercher - unwelcomed sexual advance, intimidations
Paula Jones (AR) - unwelcomed sexual advance, exposure, bordering on sexual assault
Carolyn Moffet -unwelcomed sexual advance, exposure, bordering on sexual assault
1974 student at University of Arkansas - unwelcomed physical contact
1978-1980 - seven complaints per Arkansas state troopers
Monica Lewinsky - quid pro quo, post incident character assault
Gennifer Flowers - quid pro quo, post incident character assault
Dolly Kyle Browning - post incident character assault
Sally Perdue - post incident threats
Betty Dalton - rebuffed his advances, married to one of his supporters
Denise Reeder - apologetic note scanned

Clinton Misogyny - Other
Linda Tripp - coerce, intimidate, deny - Bob Bennett calls her a liar, release her job application, transfer her.
Julia Hiatt-Steele - Willey''s friend and neighbor - used the machine to change her story.

[honestabe8]

He lied about having an affair with a rather nice looking lady. - fsw3

fsw3 - rather nice looking lady? please, she looks like scotty pippen in drag.

[louiville2]

SO F------ WHAT! WHY is anyone interested in anybody else;s s.e.x. life. S.e.x. is not wrong or dirty, it is simply nobody''''s business. I gues I could say typical Republican, all concerned about other people''''s s.e.x. lives instead of something important.


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Posted by fsw3 at 07:48 AM

Hmmm so a pedophile would be alright with you since it''s all about S.E.X. right? Bill wasn''t in touble about the affair, except for Hillary and the "It''s a vast right wing conspirocy". It was the down right lying, that and about a dozen DEMOCRAT women came forward and accused him of rape.

But hey it was ALL about S.E.X. right?

[fsw3]

Look Bill Clinton lied to the American people

Bill Clinton lied to a Federal Grand Jury.

The little white spot on Monica''''s dress was 99.9% linked to Bill Clinton''''s DNA.

Bill Clinton broke the LAW which is why the State of Arkansas took away his law licence.

..............Let''''s stop making EXCUSES for those that "actually" break the law.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by perceptions5 at 07:45 AM : Feb 03, 2009
SO F------ WHAT! WHY is anyone interested in anybody else;s s.e.x. life. S.e.x. is not wrong or dirty, it is simply nobody''s business. I gues I could say typical Republican, all concerned about other people''s s.e.x. lives instead of something important.

[perceptions5]

What exactly did this man do wrong? He lied about having an affair with a rather nice looking lady. A bit like President Clinton, he lied when asked about something that was clearly nobody''''s business. The busy bodies of this world need to get a life.

Posted by fsw3 at 07:41 A
==============================================
Typical Democrat...............fsw3

Look Bill Clinton lied to the American people

Bill Clinton lied to a Federal Grand Jury.

The little white spot on Monica''s dress was 99.9% linked to Bill Clinton''s DNA.

Bill Clinton broke the LAW which is why the State of Arkansas took away his law licence.

..............Let''s stop making EXCUSES for those that "actually" break the law.

[fsw3]

What exactly did this man do wrong? He lied about having an affair with a rather nice looking lady. A bit like President Clinton, he lied when asked about something that was clearly nobody''s business. The busy bodies of this world need to get a life.

[jackp32]

He would fit into the Oh!Bama administration quite well as Secretary of Ethics and Corruption.

[guyfrompa09]

I''m sure they''ll just re-elect him at some point

[welshwoman-2009]

I feel sorry for the minority population who are decent, honest and hard working. These are the kinds of people who make them all look questionable and cause a lot of the racial prejudice which exists and they don''t all deserve it. People are just people I guess and mental illness and criminal behavior will never go away.

job interview in Texas. Right.