Attorney: Bernard Kilpatrick feels 'lousy' for his son

Defense attorney John Shea said his client, Bernard Kilpatrick, was feeling "pretty lousy" for his son, former Detroit mayor Kwame Kilpatrick, who was convicted on Monday.

"If you're a dad in those circumstances, you're not thinking about yourself too much," Shea said.

Even though the elder Kilpatrick was convicted of only one of the four charges against him, Monday was almost certainly the worst day of his life.  That is because he watched in disbelief as his son was convicted of 24 counts ranging from racketeering to bribery to extortion to fraud to tax evasion.

Say what you will about the Kilpatricks, but father and son are extraordinary close.  Prosecutors said they were even part of a criminal racket, but jurors disagreed over whether Bernard Kilpatrick was part of the Kilpatrick enterprise.

Kwame Kilpatrick learned politics at his father's side.  Years ago he told me the story of when his father was running for County Commission.  When they went to the white neighborhoods, they put out the signs that said "Kilpatrick" with no picture.  When they went to the black neighborhoods, the signs said "Kilpatrick," but they had his dad's photo.

After the verdicts were read, their roles were reversed.  The son, facing 20 years in prison, became the consoler.  The father, facing relatively little time behind bars, came over to weep into his son's shoulder.

The two men spent some private time together after the verdicts were read, but Shea said Bernard Kilpatrick didn't return to court when prosecutors asked the judge to send his son directly to prison because he wasn't facing the same punishment.