Prosecutors called for 28 years. The defense said he should get no more than 15.
Federal Judge Nancy G. Edmunds gave former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick 28 years in prison.
The sentence today comes after Kilpatrick was convicted last March on 24 counts of public corruption, which included racketeering and extortion.
They New York Times reports that "18 city officials ... have been convicted of corruption during [Kilpatrick's] tenure as mayor."
In a statement to the court, Kilpatrick said, "I apologize to you [Detroiters] for abandoning you." But he also said this, "I've never stolen from the city of Detroit."
Michigan Radio's Sarah Cwiek is at the sentencing hearing and characterized his statement this way on Twitter:
Overall, Kilpatrick statement was emotional, muddled, meandering.
— Sarah Cwiek (@sarahcwiek) October 10, 2013
Sarah will have more for us later.
