(WXYZ) - Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick is a “fighter” and “wanted his day in court,” said his attorney at a news conference following the plea agreement with prosecutors.
WATCH THE PRESS CONFERENCE IN THE VIDEO PLAYER ON THE RIGHTDaniel Webb represents the mayor and said Kilpatrick didn’t want to give up. That is why a plea deal was negotiated up until the last minute in court this morning. Kilpatrick and his wife, Carlita, had a difficult time deciding what the mayor should do, said Webb, who was having conversations with them until late last night.
But he said “the deck was stacked against” Kilpatrick, which forced him to plead guilty to two felonies and resign from office.
Webb said the key reasons the mayor decided to finally give up is he recognized that he did something wrong when he lied under oath about an affair with his former chief of staff Christine Beatty.
Webb didn’t mention the mayor also lied under oath when he said he did not fire former Assistant Police Chief Gary Brown.
Webb also said the media “vilified” Kilpatrick, making it difficult for him to do his job. He said politics also played a role in the mayor’s resignation, and his belief that he could not get a fair trial.
But Webb said he felt certain the mayor had a chance to succeed at trial, but the gamble was a big one. If he lost, he would face three to 15 years in jail.
They went for the 120 days in jail because Kilpatrick didn’t want to put his family through a possible longer sentence.
