A Vicksburg man who was found guilty by a jury two weeks ago of depraved heart murder in 2013, was sentenced to 25 years in prison Thursday.

Circuit Court Judge Isadore Patrick sentenced Melvin Hare, 49, 3705 Washington St., to 30 years in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Corrections with 25 years to serve in prison followed by five years of probation. He faced a minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum sentence of 40 years.

“The District Attorney’s office is very pleased with the sentence,” District Attorney Ricky Smith said. “As is the family of Mr. Clark. We hope this allows them to start the healing process of coping with their family member’s death.”

Hare is accused of stabbing Roy Clark repeatedly, about 20 times, outside the Vicksburg home of a mutual friend after a verbal dispute. At the sentencing the judge heard from Clark’s sister Linda who spoke about her brother, his relationship with his family and the void his loss has left them.

The judge heard from Hare himself who issued an apology to the family and maintained he acted in self-defense.

“Mr. Hare has taken responsibility, he apologized to the family when he address the court, and he has taken responsibility for what occurred,” Hare’s attorney Kim Nailor said.

Judge Patrick also took into account the fact the jury had convicted him of murder instead of a lesser charge. The jury had the option of convicting Hare with one of three different charges, which were depraved heart murder, culpable negligence manslaughter or self-defense.

“The District Attorney’s office and I and very pleased with the verdict of the jury and the sentence of the court,” Smith said. “Judge Patrick’s sentence indicates that he also felt their was no indication that Mr. Hare’s actions were justified.”

Nailor called the incident unfortunate for all parties involved.

“We felt that since he did take responsibility and that he has always been forthcoming with what happened, that the court would have considered certain mitigating factors in imposing his sentence,” Nailor said.

As for what some of those mitigating factors were, Nailor continued.

“The apology, the fact that Mr. Clark was the aggressor, it’s always been deemed that Mr. Clark was the aggressor in this incident, and I guess the court could have considered that in imposing a sentence.”

Now Hare has the right to file a motion for judgment notwithstanding the verdict, where the judge rules if the jury came to their verdict in the proper way. If the judge rules the jury did their job correctly and came to the right verdict, Hare will then have the right to appeal his conviction at the state supreme court.

Nailor said the Mississippi Office of Indigent Appeals would handle the appeal because she does not do appellate work.

“They are going to take it on, on his behalf, and file an appeal,” Nailor said.

Nailor wanted to express her thoughts for all involved, including Clark’s family.

“My best wishes to everyone going forward,” Nailor said.