Once looking at 20 years in prison, a Vicksburg man accused of a stabbing death at the Waffle House on Clay Street has been exonerated.

Warren County Circuit Judge Frank Vollor signed an order that dropped the manslaughter indictment against Willie Fitzgerald Sanders, 43, 1517 South St., who was indicted in October for stabbing and killing 36-year-old William Mayer of Florence.

The motion for dismissal, made by 9th Circuit District Attorney’s Office, stated that evidence showed Sanders acted in self-defense when he killed Mayer on May 5, 2007.

“As a prosecutor for the state, I have to seek justice,” said Assistant DA Dewey Arthur, who lead the prosecution in the case. “And I won’t prosecute a case where the evidence doesn’t show someone is guilty of what they’ve been charged with. This was a clear case of self-defense, not manslaughter.”

Twenty years in prison is the maximum for a manslaughter conviction.

Witnesses said Sanders left the restaurant, angry about his service, and, on his way out, looked in the direction of Mayer and the people accompanying him. As he was exiting, Sanders was followed and confronted by Mayer and another man. Witnesses said Sanders made no threats and did not instigate a confrontation.

Sanders reportedly was punched at least twice in the face by Mayer, who was about 6 inches taller and outweighed Sanders by about 70 pounds, before Mayer pulled a 3-inch folding pocket knife in self defense. As stated in the motion for dismissal and by Arthur, a person can legally arm himself when attacked by a larger person.

Sanders stabbed Mayer three times in the arm and also made the fatal wound to Mayer’s side, just below the chest. Sanders broke free from Mayer and was then punched a few more times by the other man before eventually escaping.

Reports indicate that Sanders and Mayer did not know each other at the time of the fight and that both were intoxicated.

Mayer died at River Region Medical Center during surgery about four hours after the stabbing. It was the city’s first homicide of 2007.

Sanders was arrested on scene and initially charged with murder. He was later freed from the Warren County Jail on $100,000 bond.

Last week, a woman who said she was Mayer’s girlfriend at the time and a witness to the altercation, but did not want to be identified, said Sanders was the instigator of the incident, and that it was not a case of self-defense. However, Arthur said her testimony differs from other witnesses.

Furthermore, the motion for dismissal also explained there was no evidence that the grand jurors who indicted Sanders received any instruction on the applicable law of self-defense.

Sanders has two previous felony convictions, including receiving stolen property and possession of cocaine. Arthur said he looked at the possibility of trying Sanders for possession of a weapon after a felony conviction in the case, but explained convicted felons are allowed to possess pocket knives.