Whiddon faces life in prison

Posted on June 16, 2017

When Manden Whiddon, 23, recanted his previous testimony regarding his and his father’s role in the shooting death of educator Shelly Strickland, he not only violated his agreement with state prosecutors, but also opened himself up to facing a possible life sentence in prison.

Under his agreement with the state—which dismissed first degree murder charges against him and allowed him to plea to a lesser charge of accessory after the fact—Whiddon received a 15-year prison sentence to be followed by 15 years of probation. A condition of that plea was that he testify “truthfully” against his father, Rodney Whiddon.

But by recanting his testimony less than an hour before opening arguments were to be presented at his father’s trial this week, Whiddon violated that agreement and led the State Attorney’s Office to file a perjury charge against him.

Photo: Manden Whiddon

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