Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick May Be Getting Out of Prison Early

I remember how chaotic 2008 was for the former Mayor of Detroit Kwame Kilpatrick. It seemed like that was all that was on the news on the east side. Kilpatrick became involved in a text message sex scandal involving his chief of staff, just prior to his resignation in 2008. What followed was pretty much media chaos. After being convicted of perjury, obstruction of justice, and other crimes while he was the Mayor, the earliest he could be paroled was 2037.

Now it looks like that may not be the case, as FOX 2 reports that the Ebony Foundation is saying he's been granted an early release from prison, even though the Justice Department has yet to make an official statement. According to a statement, the group banded together with other black leaders and called for Kilpatrick's early release. Rev. Keyon S. Payton, who is the National Director of Community Outreach and Engagement has been very vocal with his stance that Kilpatrick was over punished for his crimes, saying in a statement:

Kilpatrick was sentenced to 28 years in federal prison for his crimes. And while there has been a lot of debate about his guilt or innocence, we were arguing neither, rather, we were opposing the excessive nature and length of his sentence. Kwame Kilpatrick’s punishment of a 28-year sentence did not fit the crime. As EBONY celebrates its 75th year we take pride in continuing to use our platform to raise awareness to issues of social justice and civil rights.

We'll have to wait for the justice department to know 100% if these allegations are true.