Kwame Kilpatrick Gets Up to 5 Years

Kwame Kilpatrick, once dubbed the hip-hop mayor of Detroit, has been sentenced for violating his probation and will spend between 18 months to five years in Michigan state prison. Judge David Groner said that Kilpatrick lied, hid money, and chose to “pacify his wife” rather than follow court orders to pay $1 million in restitution to the city of Detroit. Kilpatrick’s former Police Chief Jerry Oliver, said, “Another sad chapter in the Kwame Kilpatrick saga – from potentate to prisoner.” Kilpatrick begged the judge for mercy before the sentencing, continuing to paint himself as a victim. "For the first time in my life I'm a great husband. I'm a new guy. and I know there's a lot of people who don't accept that. In my own hometown, I still feel like a prisoner," he said. At one point, Kilpatrick claimed he could only afford to pay $6 a month toward his debt to the city, although he spent half a million dollars between October 2008 and October 2009, including thousands in plastic surgery for his wife, Carlita.