Mann receives 25-year sentence: Judge rejects new trial motion

While it was essentially a formality, due in part to sentencing guidelines, William Kirby Mann learned his fate Friday afternoon, September 27, in Keokuk County District Court. Judge Crystal Cronk handed down a 25-year prison sentence, with a mandatory minimum of 70 percent before being eligible for parole.

Prior to being sentenced, Mann expressed his belief that the trial that resulted in his conviction was a sham.

“The evidence was kind of obvious that this did not ocurr with the witnesses being there and the lack of evidence on their side,” Mann said.

Mann also stated that he believed the trial was an effort to break up he and his wife, a claim he and his defense attorney stated during trial.

“I think that’s just to get me out of my wife’s kind of world just to get us apart. Not sure exactly where that stands,” he said. “I just feel like I did not get a fair trial or investigation of the evidence,” Mann added.

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