Ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick wants Trump to spring him from prison

May 25, 2010: In this file photo, former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick sits at his sentencing in Wayne County Circuit Court on an obstruction-of-justice conviction. Kilpatrick has been sentenced to 28 years in prison for corruption that turned city hall into a pay-to-play parlor. (AP)

Former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick – a Democrat serving a 28-year sentence for corruption – is seeking President Donald Trump’s help to get out of prison early, according to reports.

Kilpatrick, writing on the Free Kwame Project website, says he has undergone a spiritual transformation since resigning from office in 2008 following a text-messaging sex scandal.

“By God’s grace, I have received a pardon from Him, through Christ Jesus. I pray that I will receive the opportunity for Pardon/Clemency from the President of the United States as well,” he writes.

“By God’s grace, I have received a pardon from Him, through Christ Jesus. I pray that I will receive the opportunity for Pardon/Clemency from the President of the United States as well.”

— Kwame Kilpatrick, former mayor of Detroit

“Our country has always been the land of 2nd Chances,” Kilpatrick continues. “I am hoping, confidently expecting, that I will have the opportunity to boldly move into the next season of my life; outside of these prison walls.”

Kilpatrick, 47, has served about seven years of his sentence following his conviction on charges including racketeering, extortion and wire fraud.

He was mayor of Detroit from January 2002 until September 2008. Prior to that, Kilpatrick held a Michigan state House seat from 1997 to 2002.

According to Detroit’s Fox 2, Kilpatrick’s youngest son, Jonas Kilpatrick, has released a music video called “Too Much Time,” under the name JoJo tha DoughBoi.

Last week, Kilpatrick was moved from prison in Oklahoma to a low-security federal facility at Fort Dix in New Jersey.

The federal Bureau of Prisons said it could not disclose the specific reason for Kilpatrick’s transfer, but said in an email to the Associated Press that it considers security, facility population, programming and medical needs before transferring an inmate.

Trump recently made headlines by pardoning conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza and commuting the prison sentence of Alice Johnson, who had been serving a life sentence for a nonviolent drug conviction.

Kilpatrick previously sought a commutation from President Barack Obama, but was denied, the Detroit Free Press reported.

The former mayor has lost all appeals on his felony convictions, the newspaper added, and is seeking to avoid paying nearly $9 million in restitution in connection with his crimes.

Kilpatrick would remain in prison until at least 2037 if Trump denies his clemency request.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.