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Kwame Kilpatrick seen visiting family in Georgia after release from prison

Kwame Kilpatrick
Posted at 2:29 PM, Jan 21, 2021
and last updated 2021-01-21 14:29:47-05

(WXYZ) — Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has been released from prison and was seen visiting family in Georgia.

Pictures and video on social media show him hugging and posing with his father Bernard Kilpatrick after then-President Donald Trump commuted his sentence, from 28 years to seven years.

Kilpatrick was convicted in a major corruption case and was ordered to pay millions in restitution. However, the amount of money spelled out by the president may be wrong.

Kilpatrick JC by WXYZ-TV Channel 7 Detroit on Scribd

The above amended judgment from 2017 spelled out release terms and restitution signed by Judge Nancy Edmunds.

It's labeled amended to reflect the correct restitution amount. It was signed four years into his prison term.

However, the White House acted on its own without consulting the Justice Department; Trump's commutation order spelled out that Kilpatrick still has to pay $4.7 million in restitution.

Judge Edmunds' order puts the amount at a total of $1.7 million, including restitution he owes the IRS.

"When you’ve stolen the money of the people and you’ve taken it away from the people who deserve it, we expect that money back," U.S. Attorney Matthew Schneider said. "And that’s what happened in this case."

Kilpatrick is on supervised release for three years; he must set up a payment schedule to be approved by the judge.

Standard conditions include:

  • No travel without permission by his probation officer
  • Submitting monthly reports about employment and where he's living
  • No excessive alcohol or drugs
  • No guns
  • No associating with convicted felons

Additionally, Kilpatrick cannot become a special agent working with law enforcement without permission.

"He's never accepted responsibility," Schneider said. "He's never really apologized for what he's done. I would like an apology. That would be helpful."

There are other civil lawsuit judgments against the former mayor that have him on the hook for some $7 million more.