Former U.S. Congressman Will be Released on Thursday from Prison

Jesse Jackson Jr. a former member of the U.S. Congress is scheduled to be released on Thursday from federal prison and then transferred to a halfway house in Washington D.C. said his friend Patrick Kennedy a former member of Congress as well.

Jackson was serving his sentence of 30 months in Montgomery, Alabama in a prison camp, for the last year, added Kennedy, who visited the former Congressman on Monday in prison.

His wife and his two children as well as his parents will all pick him up said Kennedy. Jackson in February of 2013 pleaded guilty to charges of admitting he had diverted nearly $750,000 in funds from his campaign for his own personal use.

At the same time, his wife made a guilty plea to charges and she will start her sentence of one-year after her husband is out of federal custody. The couple had been authorized to serve out their sentences separately due to having young children.

The former Democratic congressman who is from Chicago, was at one time the national co-chair of then-Senator Barack Obama’s campaign committee in 2008. He announced his resignation in Congress when the allegation first surfaced, citing mental health and physical issues, including a diagnosed bipolar disorder.

Kennedy thought that Jackson had several months or at least several weeks remaining on his sentence and had been visiting to let him know that friends were still there for him when he was released.

However, Jackson told Kennedy while he was visiting that he would be released at an earlier date than anticipated.

He told Kennedy that he would be released sooner than anticipated which would be at 5 am on Thursday.

As of yet, legal counsel for Jackson or his own family have not returned calls or emails for a comment about his release.

Jackson’s father is the one-time candidate for president and lifelong civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson Sr.