Ex-Detroit Mayor Kilpatrick's Appeal Lacks Merit, Say Prosecutors

DETROIT, MI — Prosecutors say the latest appeal effort by Kwame Kilpatrick, the ex-mayor of Detroit, does not stand up. And, they argue, he’s waited too long since his 2013 conviction on racketeering charges to raise issues over instructions given to the jury and that he had ineffective legal counsel during his trial.

Kwame, who is now in a federal prison in Oklahoma on a 28-year prison term, filed the appeal in July. Prosecutors filed their response to the appeal on Tuesday, according to a report by the Detroit News.

“Kwame Kilpatrick assumes that he can relitigate his case as if everything were happening again now for the first time,” according to the government’s filing. “Almost anything Kilpatrick failed to raise on direct appeal is procedurally barred, as is anything he litigated and lost. Those principles foreclose most of Kilpatrick’s claims. The rest fall short on the merits.”
Kilpatrick filed a petition in July to vacate a 28-year-prison sentence, claiming he never committed extortion, bribery or racketeering and that his conduct did not constitute an official act.

For more on the story, visit the Detroit News.

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