A Memphis nonprofit focused on highlighting the human element in the push for prison reform announced Monday former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick will take the reins as executive director.
Kilpatrick served more then seven years in prison after being convicted of numerous white collar crimes including fraud, extortion, tax crimes, and racketeering conspiracy — charges all tied to his two terms as Detroit’s mayor.
His sentence was commuted in the last days of former President Donald Trump’s term in 2021.
The nonprofit Taking Action for Good, or TAG, was started by Mary Alice Johnson in 2020 following her 2018 release from prison, also after her sentence was commuted by Trump.
Along with Kim Kardashian, Johnson was one of the more influential voices calling for Kilpatrick’s clemency, and the parallels between the two — both given lengthy sentences for nonviolent crimes — lent Johnson an understanding of Kilpatrick’s journey.
“Kwame is absolutely incredible,” Johnson said in an interview. “He’s a changed man, and I believe he is the best person to lead (TAG). He knows how to engage with communities, and he understands how to get stories in the spotlight for a second chance.”
TAG uses multimedia tools to draw attention to stories of currently and formerly incarcerated individuals as a part of an overall push for prison reform. Many of the stories focus on people convicted for non-violent offenses but serving time under antiquated sentencing laws.
But TAG is also looking to expand its programming by developing a community strategy that focuses on preventing incarceration and keeping at-risk teens and young adults out of the criminal justice system.
Johnson believes that Kilpatrick is an ideal person to help develop prevention strategies and outreach for the organization.
Though the nonprofit is based in Memphis, Johnson wants programming to be implemented across the U.S. Kilpatrick will, for the time being, serve as executive director from Atlanta where he and his wife currently live. Johnson said his eventual plan is to move back home to Detroit.
In February, the Detroit Free Press reported a federal judge in Michigan denied Kilpatrick’s request for an early end to his supervised release.
In a scorching five-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Nancy Edmunds wrote that Kilpatrick “flatly” denies responsibility for his crimes and still owes $854,000 in restitution to the city of Detroit as of February.
Edmund also wrote in her opinion that a since-scrapped effort by Kilpatrick and his wife to raise more than $800,000 in donations for a home in a gated, luxury community in Florida “demonstrates a desire to resume his former lifestyle, rather than a focus on repaying the debts he owes.”
Johnson said the so-called bid to raise $800,000 for housing was “twisted into something else.”
In Florida, various estimates place the median price for a house between $407,000 and $415,000.
That Kilpatrick’s bid to secure housing for his family came under scrutiny by the judge is part of what Johnson describes as a judicial officer’s anger that Kilpatrick was given a second chance.
“That is so untrue,” Johnson said about the assertion that Kilpatrick has not changed. “So many times people will be angry with you about the crime, without looking at who he is today. There are judges and prosecutors that are angry they got a second chance, and they end up trying to make life even more difficult.”
Edmund was the sentencing judge in Kilpatrick’s case.
Micaela Watts is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal covering healthcare, hospitals, and issues tied to resource access. She can be reached at micaela.watts@commercialappeal.com.
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