Convicted Tampa Rapper Requests Death Sentence

Tampa rapper Billy Adams III, convicted of killing Alana Sims and her unborn child, has asked the judge to sentence him to death and says he wants to waive further mitigation at his Dec. 1 sentencing hearing. The jury recommended life without parole for Sims’ murder and, by an 8-4 vote, the death penalty for the unborn child’s killing. Adams’ request does not determine the outcome: the judge must decide the sentence and whether to allow him to forgo presenting additional mitigating evidence, while also considering evidence from the trial’s penalty phase.