DETROIT – It's been a long time since Detroit has heard from or seen Carlita Kilpatrick. The last images of the ex-Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick's wife are of her coming from a courtroom as her husband was mired in the corruption scandal that sent him to prison.
But just a few days ago, Carlita Kilpatrick made a rare public appearance and opened up about what life is like while her husband sits behind bars.
It was called the National Prison Summit on Mass Incarceration. It was a chance for families who have loved ones in prison to talk about their experiences and offer survival tips.
"The shame, the humiliation and the depression," she said. "That kind of went along with your life just totally changing and you weren't responsible for it."
Carlita Kilpatrick opened up and said she's entirely changed her focus away from her imprisoned husband.
She works in a car dealership while her husband still has 25 years of his 28-year federal prison sentence remaining. Her life in Dallas is obviously entirely different than the one she lived before.
Carlita Kilpatrick said the constant juggling came with a disastrous financial fall, yet she has two sons in college and one in high school.
You can watch Rod Meloni's full story in the video posted above after Local 4 News at 5.
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