Kilpatrick's kids launch campaign, song to free father
Lauren Abdel-Razzaq
Kwame Kilpatrick's children have launched a campaign, which includes an original song, to free their father from a 28-year federal prison sentence for racketeering.
Jonas Kilpatrick, the youngest son of Kwame Kilpatrick, has launched a music video called "Too Much Time," in which he raps under the name JoJo tha DoughBoi.
"There's too much time/ there was no crime/ he's trapped inside ... stand and do something with me," Jonas Kilpatrick raps on the video, which appears to be partially filmed outside the Supreme Court and Capitol building in Washington, D.C. One of his older brothers also appears in the video. Both wear black #FreeKwame t-shirts.
The song was also posted to soundcloud
"We’ve been at war to expose a truth they refuse to tell you!" Jalil Kilpatrick, one of Kwame Kilpatrick's twin sons said on his twitter account. Jelani Kilpatrick also promoted the video on his Twitter account and provided the video to The Detroit News.
The shirts are a reference to the Free Kwame Project, a website that is selling them for $19.95 as a way to "show your support and help Free Kwame." The project's website also includes family photos, arguments for why they believe Kilpatrick was "over-charged and over-sentenced," and inspirational blog posts and messages from Kilpatrick himself.
"There will be voices from men/women who say things about me, you, us, that are evil, wicked, lies, and maybe even some facts about me from yesterday...BUT THEY CANNOT FIND A PLACE IN YOUR SOUL (mind, will emotions)," Kwame Kilpatrick says in a post attributed to him on the website.
Kilpatrick, who was imprisoned in 2013, owes $11.2 million to the city of Detroit, the Internal Revenue Service and others, including businessman Dan Gilbert. Collecting on that debt will be difficult, as Kilpatrick claims he was broke before he was sent to prison and recently claimed to have 96 cents in his prison commissary account.
According to the Free Kwame Project website, the money raised will go toward the Freedom and Justice Trust. This trust was established to "raise money to free Kwame Kilpatrick from prison, and support efforts to realize justice in his legal fight," according to the Facebook page.