She said it would be better to have Kilpatrick repay the city and require him to do community service than sit in a costly prison cell.
“This sentence shows there is no mercy in society and no grace in the judicial system,” Jackson said. “We are looking at ways to reduce the prison population because of a lack of revenue, yet we’re giving this to someone who could ideally have more to contribute to society if we looked at restorative justice.”
She said the sentence sends a wrong message to Detroit youths “who are teetering now between right and wrong,” and that jailing more African-American males has done little to stem crime.
“It’s actually going to be a greater burden,” Jackson said.
Rep. Womack: 'This certainly is a wake-up call'
Rep. Jimmy Womack, D-Detroit, said he felt pain for Kilpatrick and his family, and that the judge, with the information he had, was trying to hold the former mayor responsible for his actions and his obligations.
Womack said the sentence perpetuates a common public perception that politicians are crooked.
“We have a lot of young people aspiring to be politicians,” Womack said. “This certainly is a wake-up call that integrity is a critical issue in the arena of politics.”
He said politicians like himself, an anesthesiologist and pastor, who commit to public service should know that their actions can have unintended, far flung effect in the community.
“The Kwame Kilpatrick scenario means we must be much more vigilant in our decision making,” Womack said.
Patterson: 'Nobody to blame but himself'
Said Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, “Maybe this ends the Kwame Kilpatrick saga. This whole thing played out worse than a Greek tragedy."
“This talented person has nobody to blame but himself as he rides the bus to Jackson Prison this afternoon.”
Later in an interview he said: “What bothers me the most is that his fall from grace is totally from self-inflicted wounds. Frankly I thought he had the brains and charisma to go all the way
0 comments:
Post a Comment