Michigan State Rep. Sherry Gay-Dagnogo on the Kwame Kilpatrick Prison Release Controversy

FAQs

• Was Kwame Kilpatrick released to home confinement?

  No. Rep. Gay-Dagnogo said it was shared with his family that he had been granted home confinement, but that after the warden was relieved of his duties and a new warden came on, the home confinement was rescinded, based on a report Tuesday night.

• Why did Rep. Gay-Dagnogo seek home confinement for Kwame Kilpatrick?

  She said an ACLU lawsuit filed April 6 showed his federal prison had one of the highest COVID-19 infection rates in the Federal Bureau of Prisons. She made a last-ditch effort asking for a humanitarian act to get him out of harm’s way, since he had asthma and fit the criteria for home confinement. She stressed that home confinement didn’t mean he went free or automatically received a pardon or clemency.

• Did Rep. Gay-Dagnogo personally deliver a clemency letter for Kwame Kilpatrick to the president?

  Yes. She said that in February she handed the president a letter, signed by colleagues, pastors and local elected officials, asking him to look favorably on Kilpatrick’s clemency application, which was already filed. She said he took it, looked over the letter and said ‘look into it.’

• What is Sherry Gay-Dagnogo's view on prisoners during the COVID-19 pandemic?

  She said that if someone is doing time and it’s not a life sentence, they shouldn’t lose their life to COVID-19 because they can’t follow CDC social-distancing guidelines. With eight prisoners in a cell, she said, it’s impossible to stay six feet apart, and she called the lack of adequate PPE inhumane. She added that staff are exposed and then go home to their families.