Kwame Kilpatrick will travel back to Detroit on May 25, walk past a horde of photographers and into a crowded courtroom to face a no-nonsense judge who could send him back to jail.
In an exclusive interview with BlackAmericaWeb.com — Kilpatrick’s first media interview in two years – the former mayor of Detroit, now a convicted felon, acknowledged that he’s concerned about the possibility of being jailed once again.
“Lord knows I don’t ever want to go back [to jail], but it was not all negative, and I need to say that,” Kilpatrick said in a one-hour interview from his residence in Dallas. “God had me right where he wanted me.”
Kilpatrick faces a cruel irony: He may return to the same jail where he served 99 days – a place he says he experienced a spiritual makeover after walking into a cell on October 28, 2008 – locked away in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day for his own protection.
Last month, a Wayne County Circuit Judge found Kilpatrick guilty of violating his probation from the now infamous sex-text scandal, saying Kilpatrick failed to deliver his tax refunds to the city as part of his $1 million restitution settlement to the city. Kilpatrick has paid $140,000 so far – but prosecutors say that isn’t enough. He is scheduled to be sentenced on May 25 in Detroit.
Today, Kilpatrick says he’s searched his soul. He prays on his knees most nights, says he’s found the Lord and claims to be a better man since spending three months behind bars.
“I foresook my family, my children,” Kilpatrick said. “I regret leaving for work at 3 a.m. and not seeing my children off to school. I regret not learning how to balance job, family and spirituality, and that caused most of my problems.”
“The most important gift that anybody could have is a strong wife and brilliant, talented and loving children … and a great woman by your side,” he said. “My kids are incredible, I’ve learned so much about their spirit. Having to apologize and look your 12-year-old son in the eye and apologize, that’s a heck of a thing.”
Elected as Detroit’s youngest mayor, Kilpatrick resigned from office in 2008 after pleading guilty to felony perjury charges, which resulted from an affair with Christine Beatty, his former chief of staff. The affair was revealed after prosecutors obtained 14,000 text messages between Kilpatrick and Beatty.
Of his time in jail, Kilpatrick says: “I call that experience a purification process.”
In the interview, Kilpatrick admitted that he lied to his family, cheated on his wife and ignored his children, but with the help of Bishop T.D. Jakes of Dallas, Kilpatrick says he is now walking on solid spiritual ground.
“I don’t think my punishment was just about lying about an affair,” Kilpatrick said in a moment of reflection. “I think my punishment was turning my back on God who sent me to that position as mayor.”
Kilpatrick lives in Dallas and works as an account executive for Covisint, a medical software company. He is waiting patiently for the court’s decision, but insists that he is focused on what Jakes is teaching him – to be honest.
“I understand what my position as mayor meant to our community, and I know my reckless behavior disappointed people and, quite honestly, ripped apart a lot of people. My family and people’s hopes were ripped apart,” Kilpatrick said. “I want people to know how sorry I am for letting them down.”
Kilpatrick is aware that many in Detroit are skeptical of his come-to-Jesus moment. He senses that people “hate” him because he deceived his family and his constituents.
