8.8.08: What they're saying ...

"He's got so much legal weight on his shoulders that he can't stay afloat."

- Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson, quoted in an Associated Press report.

Patterson is part of the thundering chorus of politicians, officials and John Six-Packs who have had more than enough of Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick. Kilpatrick faces a raft of charges arising from allegedly false testimony in court. He was sent to the slammer yesterday for violating the terms of his bond, and likely will be charged today with assault by Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox for allegedly pushing a Wayne County Sheriff detective who was trying to deliver a subpoena to one of the mayor's buddies.

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"I didn't believe in the death (penalty) until Thursday."

- Sarah McDarment, quoted in The Detroit News.

McDarment's brother, Mort, was shot and killed a week ago Thursday, along with two friends near the Menominee River, which is part of the boundary between the Upper Peninsula and Wisconsin. The bodies of Mort's two friends were recovered in Wisconsin; Mort's body was found in Michigan. A 38-year-old Upper Peninsula man has been accused of the slayings and is being held on a $3 million cash bond. Federal prosecutors are determining whether they have jurisdiction over the case and, if they do, have not ruled out seeking the death penalty.

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"To the extent of the criminal proceedings, his nightmare is over, and he doesn't have to worry anymore."

- Defense attorney Hugh Clarke, Jr., quoted in The Lansing State Journal.

Clarke's client, Claude McCollum, spent over two years in prison after a jury convicted him of raping and murdering a Lansing Community College professor. He was freed when a video recording surfaced that showed McCollum was somewhere else when the professor was killed. Clarke and Ingham County Prosecutor Stuart Dunnings III have been jousting in court for months over whether the charges against McCollum should be dismissed with or without prejudice. Yesterday, on McCollum's 31st birthday, Dunnings relented and filed a dismissal with prejudice.