Brandon, MS man sentenced to 82 years for rape of 73 year old woman

Kirby Shavers was sentenced to 82 years in prison for the rape and assault on a 73 year old Brandon, MS woman while tying her son up. He admitted that he robbed her of her car, later found in Jackson, MS, and church money. The attack took place in August 2007, and Shavers was arrested in an abandoned Jackson house.

Rankin County Circuit Court Judge William Chapman sentenced the 49 year old Brandon man to 82 years total, 65 of which are to be served consecutively. His earliest release date will be in 2073, a fact the judge alluded to when he said, "You almost positively will never leave the penitentiary… You did not have to conduct the aggravated assault to conduct the rape," Chapman said. "But you did it anyway.”

Rankin-Madison District Attorney Michael Guest said, "This is one of the most heinous crimes I have ever prosecuted. If anyone deserves to spend the rest of his life in jail, it is Kirby Shavers."
Though the victim and her son weren’t in court, the sister in law read the woman’s victim impact statement.

But a sister-in-law of the elderly woman read a prepared statement. In the note, the rape victim said she is afraid to go anywhere alone and has gone into debt because she had to find a new home. It is too traumatic for her to be in her home of 38 years.

She is unable to work, sleep soundly or live a normal life with friends and family, she said. And she still has to see a doctor regularly.

"You instilled a sense of fear in me that will never go away," the sister-in-law read from the statement. "I'm an old woman who won't be able to enjoy the rest of my life. You took that from me. ... You will fear the big men in prison, as you will be small in their eyes."
Chapman asked Shavers if he would like to respond, and he said no.

As part of the evidence, Guest showed Chapman a photo of the victim taken shortly after the assault. Chapman mentioned it during the sentencing.

Aafram Sellers, Shaver’s public defender, said that “the weight of the evidence against [Sellers] was overwhelming.” He did not discuss a possible motive or Shavers’ drug use at the time of the rape, but said that the guilty plea and sentencing was “[Shaver’s] way of showing remorse.”

The rape victim’s granddaughter called Shavers a killer after the sentencing in a media interview because “ when you rape somebody that's what happens. You kill them. It's a shame that the Supreme Court of this country doesn't allow the death penalty for rape.”

The granddaughter called Shavers an evil animal because the grandmother said "Jesus is going to get you for this" during the rape, causing Shaver to attack harder.