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Thread: Adam William Davis - Florida

  1. #11
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    Re-sentencing for Adam 'Rattlesnake' Davis still uncertain

    For many, the name Adam "Rattlesnake" Davis conjures up one of the most horrific crimes in the Bay Area.

    The notorious killer, his then-girlfriend, Valessa Robinson, and their friend John Whispel plotted to murder Valessa's mother, Vicki Robinson because she disapproved of Davis dating her daughter.

    The gruesome details of the crime spilled out during the trial. First, they injected her with a syringe full of bleach, but Vicki did not die, so Davis slit her throat. The trio then stuffed her body in a trashcan.

    A jury convicted Davis and sent him to Florida’s death row.

    However, 20 years later, Davis' case is back in a Tampa courtroom.

    The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Florida's guidelines for handing down the death penalty was unconstitutional. The SCOTUS said a jury should be unanimous on the sentence of death.

    In Davis' case, the jury was split, 7 to 5, so Davis gets a 2nd chance at sentencing.

    Witnesses will be called to testify and asked to re-live the details of the crime.

    In court Thursday, Davis's attorney Rick Terrana said preparing for the re-sentencing won’t be quick or easy. He just finished reviewing boxes of evidence in the case.

    "It's going to take me some time to prepare, as the court might imagine. It’s going to be quite extensive," said Terrana.

    As for Davis' co-defendants, Valessa was convicted and sentenced to 20 years in prison but was granted early release in 2013.

    John Whispel cut a deal and got 25 years. He may be released from prison this fall.

    Soon, Davis will know if he will spend the rest of his life in prison or go back to death row.

    A re-sentencing date has not been set. Meanwhile, prosecutors could decide they do not want to force witnesses to again testify. Instead, they could cut a deal, take the death penalty off the table, and Davis would likely get a life sentence.

    (source: Fox News)
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

  2. #12
    Administrator Helen's Avatar
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    New sentence for man convicted of killing girlfriend's mother means life in prison, not death row

    Adam Davis was 19 when he killed Vicki Robinson in 1998. In 2017, his original sentence to death row was vacated

    By Claire Farrow
    WTSP.com

    HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. — The man convicted of killing his girlfriend's mother more than 20 years ago will spend the rest of his life in prison instead of on death row.

    Adam Davis was originally sentenced to death row for the 1998 killing of Vicki Robinson. After requesting a new sentence under the 2016 Hurst v. Florida ruling, Davis' sentence was vacated in 2017.

    Now, Davis' new sentence will keep him behind bars for the rest of his life, but he was not placed back on death row.

    “This was a horrific murder with serious aggravating factors, but Davis was only 19 at the time—which gives us tremendous pause," State Attorney Anthony Warran said in a statement. "The fact that he had mental health issues, that his coconspirators received much shorter sentences, and that the original jury recommended death by the slimmest margin—7 to 5—further weighs against the death penalty. These are difficult decisions, but in cases this close, we opt for life in prison.”

    Vicki Robinson's murder shocked Carrollwood and the Tampa Bay area. The crime also gained national attention.

    Davis, Vicki's daughter Valessa and another friend Jon Whispel plotted to kill Vicki. Davis was 19 and Valessa was 15.

    Investigators said they killed Vicki because she didn't approve of Valessa's relationship with Davis and was planning to send her daughter to a Christian reform school.

    Investigators found the three teens injected Vicki with bleach, stabbed her and stuffed her body in a garbage can.

    Davis was originally put on death row. Whispel was sentenced to 25 years and was released in 2019. Valessa was released from Homestead Correctional Institution in 2013.

    https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/lo...8-65403ec4deee
    "I realize this may sound harsh, but as a father and former lawman, I really don't care if it's by lethal injection, by the electric chair, firing squad, hanging, the guillotine or being fed to the lions."
    - Oklahoma Rep. Mike Christian

    "There are some people who just do not deserve to live,"
    - Rev. Richard Hawke

    “There are lots of extremely smug and self-satisfied people in what would be deemed lower down in society, who also deserve to be pulled up. In a proper free society, you should be allowed to make jokes about absolutely anything.”
    - Rowan Atkinson

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