The Michigan parole board voted Friday to release former Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick from prison after more than a year behind bars for violating probation in a criminal case that forced him out of office in 2008.
Kilpatrick will be freed no earlier than July 24, said Russ Marlan, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Corrections.
Kilpatrick's parole request had been on hold since late May when the board chairman said he wanted more time to understand the federal corruption charges pending against the ex-mayor. People charged with felonies typically aren't granted parole.
There was no immediate comment from the Wayne County prosecutor who had urged the parole board to keep Kilpatrick in prison.
Kilpatrick pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice in 2008 in a case that was tied to his cover up of an extramarital affair with his chief of staff.
He was sent to prison in 2010 after a judge said he had misled authorities and failed to turn over certain assets toward his $1 million restitution to Detroit.
Kilpatrick faces a September 2012 trial on federal tax and fraud charges related to his time at city hall. His father, Bernard, and others are also part of the case.
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