JACKSON, Mich. - Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick walked free from a state prison early Tuesday after serving just over a year for violating probation in a 2008 criminal case.
A relative escorted Kilpatrick from the Southern Michigan Prison in Jackson to a vehicle waiting outside the facility's gates. Kilpatrick was seen smiling and didn't address reporters as he left.
In a statement issued ahead of his release, Kilpatrick thanked all those who prayed for him and said he would speak openly about his time behind bars after he spent some time with his family.
"Detroit, I will return to speak frankly with you about this experience because it has affected all of us," the statement said.
The 41-year-old Kilpatrick was released on parole but still faces a federal corruption trial that could send him back to prison.
Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice and resigned from office as part of a plea deal in 2008. A judge found he had lied at a civil trial to cover up an extramarital affair with his chief of staff -- in a lawsuit that cost Detroit $8.4 million.
