Jesse Jackson Jr. Could Finish Prison Sentence At Home

Jesse Jackson Jr. could be heading home Monday. A former U.S. representative from Illinois, the son of the civil-rights leader Rev. Jesse Jackson could spend the final three months of his prison term under house arrest, Chicago’s WGN-TV reported.

Jackson, 50, began serving his time in October 2013 after he was convicted of improperly spending about $750,000 in campaign funds and sentenced to 30 months in prison. The former congressman was moved from a federal prison to a halfway house in Baltimore in March. Overall, he spent 17 months in prisons in North Carolina and Alabama. Jackson’s release date is Sept. 20, the Associated Press reported.

Among the items Jackson improperly purchased with campaign funds were Michael Jackson memorabilia (including a $4,600 fedora and $800 cape), a football signed by U.S. presidents ($5,000) and a gold-plated Rolex watch that cost $43,350, according to the New York Times.

“Over the course of my life, I have come to realize that none of us are immune from our share of shortcomings and human frailties,” the Times quoted Jackson as saying. “Still, I offer no excuses for my conduct, and I fully accept my responsibility for the improper decisions and mistakes I have made.”

Jackson resigned from Congress in 2012 after being diagnosed with bipolar disorder and depression while under the shadow of a federal investigation.

Jackson’s wife, former Chicago Alderman Sandra Jackson, will serve a one-year prison term once her husband’s sentence is complete. Sandra Jackson was convicted of failing to report income on tax returns, but her sentence was delayed because of concerns that jailing both parents at the same time would negatively affect their two children. She has to voluntarily surrender herself 30 days after her husband’s release, the Chicago Tribune reported.