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Jailed Kwame Kilpatrick Sports Gray Beard, New Paunch; Son Lashes At Critics, Uses 'N Word'

By Christy Strawser

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) "Through adversity we stand strong."

That sentence was posted by disgraced former mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's son alongside  a jailhouse picture of his dad, who hasn't been seen in public since was sentenced to prison in 2013.

Kilpatrick, who whipped himself into fighting shape for his trial with diet, appears much heavier these days than the last time he was spotted.

And the supportive Tweet from his son drew the ire of people on Twitter, who said basically Kilpatrick deserves to be in jail. A federal jury in Detroit convicted him of using his office to run a for-profit enterprise for himself, a circle of friends and family, that included kickbacks, fake jobs and more. He was sentenced to 28 years in prison.

Most recently, supporters tried to lobby to have him pardoned by President Barack Obama.

After the Twitter criticism of his photo, Kilpatrick's teen son shot back with fire and gas can emoticons, liberally using four-letter words to bash those who mocked his support.

It's notable that the younger Kilpatrick, who lives with his mother and two brothers in Arlington, Texas, regularly uses the "N-word" on his Twitter feed when referring to both friends and enemies.

On Easter, he Tweeted a  message to Jesus, referring to him by the racial epithet 'my N-word,' and asking him to "free my daddy."

It's especially interesting considering the elder Kilpatrick was part of an NAACP initiative in 2007 to formally bury the N-word, putting it in a casket in the hopes the racially derogatory word would never be used again.

Kilpatrick's son also uses the hashtag #freeKwame.

 

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