Sen. Virgil Smith (file photo)
The controversy over whether state Senator Virgil Smith of Detroit should resign as part of guilty plea for assaulting his ex-wife is finally over.
He's now ex-Sen. Virgil Smith.
Smith submitted a letter of resignation to the state Senate Thursday, effective April 12, Kathleen Gray of the Detroit Free Press reports.
The one-sentence resignation simply said he resigns as a Senator, said Amber McCann, spokeswoman for Senate Majority Leader Arlan Meekhof, R-West Olive, the Freep reports.
Kathleen Gray of the Detroit Free Press reports:
The resignation ends a controversial saga that began last May when Smith’s ex-wife Anistia Thomas went to Smith’s Detroit home and found another woman in Smith’s bed. Thomas has said Smith punched her and rammed her head into the floor and wall when she was inside his home. Once she was outside the home, she said, Smith fired shots at her car.
As part of his plea agreement with the Wayne County Prosecutor’s office, Smith was sentenced to 10 months in the Wayne County Jail and five years probation. He had agreed to resign from his seat.
But Wayne County Circuit Judge Lawrence Talon said that Smith could be expelled by fellow Senators or recalled by voters, but that he couldn’t impose that punishment, the Freep reports. An angry Wayne County Prosecutor's Office objected, saying the resignation was part of the agreement. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym Worthy then wanted to withdraw the plea, but the judge denied her request.
Now, it's finally over.
Worthy said Wednesday that she still plans to appeal Talon's ruling, saying the plea deal should be voided.
