Former assistant principal gets 20 years for manslaughter

SAVANNAH - A former assistant high school principal was sentenced Wednesday to 20 years in prison in the fatal strangling of his companion, a middle school special education teacher. <br> <br> At his sentencing in Chatham County Superior Court, John Blain Williams asked forgiveness for the death of Robert J. ``Bart&#39;&#39; Allen Jr. <br> <br> ``I loved Bart very much,&#39;&#39; Williams said. ``There&#39;s not a day that goes by I don&#39;t cry for Bart, that I don&#39;t cry for Mr. and Mrs. Allen, or pray for Mr. and Mrs. Allen. I&#39;m sorry this had to happen.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> An assistant principal at Johnson High School, Williams, 38, strangled Allen on Aug. 22, 2001, in Allen&#39;s apartment. Williams had moved out two weeks before the slaying. Allen, 26, had just started working at Bartlett Middle School. <br> <br> Williams said he acted in self-defense after Allen attacked him with a steak knife, cutting his neck. Williams fought back, choking Allen to force him off, he said. <br> <br> A jury on Saturday found him guilty of both voluntary manslaughter and felony murder, a combination the Georgia Supreme Court had struck down in 1992.