Former Detroit mayor spends first night in prison after plea for leniency fails

Ex-Detroit mayor spends first night in prison

DETROIT — Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick has spent his first night in prison for violating his probation.

Kilpatrick was sentenced to up to five years in prison after failing to persuade a judge to show him compassion and send him home to his family.

At issue during Tuesday’s sentencing hearing was the $1 million Kilpatrick was ordered to pay the city after pleading guilty in 2008 to obstruction of justice for lying under oath about an affair with his chief of staff.

Wayne County Circuit Court Judge David Groner ruled last month that Kilpatrick failed to report all of his assets and meet other conditions of his probation.

His lawyer vowed to appeal the sentence. Attorney Michael Alan Schwartz also questioned how Kilpatrick would pay the city.