Tampa rapper seeks death sentence after conviction

A convicted murderer in Tampa is now pushing to be put to death in a surprise letter he wrote to the judge, Billy Adams, the Tampa rapper asked the judge to sentence him to death. Last month he was found guilty of killing his girlfriend and her unborn child back in 2023. Fox 13's Kylie Jones has been following this case and joins us in the newsroom. Quite unusual, Kylie. Yeah, last month the jury recommended that 28 year old Billy Adams be put to death for the murder of his girlfriend's unborn child. Now we've learned that killer a girl agrees with them. She was pregnant when Adams shot and killed her, but it was later determined that Adams wasn't the father. Now he's asking the judge to cut to the chase and send him straight to death row. This handwritten letter was submitted to a Hillsborough County judge a few days ago. In it, Adams said, quote, I don't want my lawyers to present any mitigation or arguments at this hearing, and I'm asking this court to sentence me to what the jury voted for. At trial, prosecutor said Adams shot his pregnant girlfriend, 22-year-old Alana Sims, in the the back of the head. They argued it was part of a plan for Adams to be able to continue his relationship with a different girlfriend. He was charged in the murders just three days after he was acquitted of a separate double murder. Last month, in an eight to four vote, a jury recommended that Adams be sentenced to death for the murder of Sims' unborn child. He has a Spencer hearing on December 1st, where both the state and defense can provide any final evidence before the judge formally sentences him. But according to that letter, Adams is waiving that mitigation. Now, criminal defense attorney Anthony Rickman, who's not affiliated with this case, says this move isn't common. Knowing that there is no tomorrow, the rest of your life, you're going to be behind walls, behind a cell, without the ability of getting out. At the end of the day, there is an endpoint for them if you are going to get death penalty. You're not getting old and gray behind bars. So there must be some mindset behind the fact that you have closure, that your life is gonna end, and that you're basically giving up the fight. Rickman says the judge will still have to consider mitigating factors that the defense presented during the penalty phase. And attorneys can still offer up that evidence at the Spencer hearing. But ultimately, the judge still gets the final say. Now, the state attorney's office wouldn't comment on the case while it's open, but said this move by a defendant isn't comment. Even if Adams is sentenced to death in his case, though, he could still run through decades of appeals. Now, his Spencer hearing is still set for December 1st, Linda. All right, Kylie Jones reporting in the newsroom. Kylie, thank you.