In 2008, the Rev. Kenneth Flowers was one of the first Detroit pastors to call for the resignation of Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, saying it was needed for the city to move forward.
But like many others, he felt the 28-year sentence for corruption handed down by federal prosecutors in 2013 was overkill and illustrated a racial bias. So when Flowers heard early Wednesday morning that President Donald Trump had commuted Kilpatrick's sentence, he was pleased.
"I do not condone his actions," Flowers, pastor of Greater New Moriah Baptist Church in Detroit, said of Kilpatrick. "However, I do believe that the sentence was excessive, particularly in light of other individuals, particularly white individuals, who may have been guilty of the same type of crimes but received far lesser sentences than he did. My concern was that the sentence was excessive and that they've gone too far."