DETROIT — After 14 months behind bars, former Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick emerged from state prison Tuesday evening with a smile on his face and 28 cents in his pocket.
That’s how much Kilpatrick had left in his prison account, said corrections officials, noting the former mayor rejected the two condoms and a gum packet that the prison offers parolees. Instead, Kilpatrick had his breakfast of oatmeal, orange juice and fresh fruit, cashed out his prison account and exited the prison doors while a supporter videotaped his release.
Kilpatrick, 41, is now headed to Texas to be with his wife and sons. He was imprisoned in May 2010 for violating his probation in an earlier misconduct trial.
But he may have to do more time. Kilpatrick, his father and three others are charged with perverting the city’s contracting system by shaking down city contractors to steer millions in public funds into their own pockets.
The case is set to go to trial in September 2012.
Attorney James Thomas said Kilpatrick hopes to go on a speaking tour and return to Detroit to sign his book, “Surrendered: The Rise, Fall & Resurrection of Kwame Kilpatrick.”
