TAMPA — After two decades on death row for a brutal murder he committed when he was 19, Adam William Davis stood in a Tampa courtroom and quietly apologized as he was re-sentenced to life in prison.
“I want to express my deepest regrets, despair and sorrow for what happened that dreadful night,” Davis said. “Not a single day goes by where I don’t think of that night and the horror of what happened or how I wish I could turn back the clocks of time and change what happened.”
His apology came in a perfunctory court hearing Monday where a prosecutor formally announced that the state would no longer seek the death penalty for Davis.
He was sentenced to death for the 1998 murder of Vicki Robinson, his girlfriend’s mother. His co-defendants included Robinson’s then-15-year-old daughter, Valessa, who served 13 years in prison and is now free. The other teen who participated in the murder, Jon Whispel, was released from prison in 2019.
![Adam Davis sits in court during a hearing in 1999. Davis was convicted in the murder of his girlfriend's mother Vicki Robinson.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg"%20viewBox="0%200%202000%201217"/%3E "Adam Davis sits in court during a hearing in 1999. Davis was convicted in the murder of his girlfriend's mother Vicki Robinson.")
The slaying, which captured national attention and became fodder for TV news magazine shows, was among the most memorable crimes in Tampa Bay history.
The mother had struggled to control her daughter’s rebellious behavior.
One night in June 1998, Valessa snuck out of her mother’s Carrollwood home and met up with Davis and Whispel. The three hatched a plot to kill the mother.
Later that night, Davis attacked Vicki Robinson in her kitchen and used a syringe to inject her with bleach. When she didn’t die, he stabbed her to death. The teens disposed of her body in a trash can that was later found in the woods.
Davis was condemned to death on a jury vote of 7-to-5, a bare majority. The Supreme Court later struck down Florida’s practice of allowing non-unanimous verdicts in death penalty cases. Davis’s sentence was overturned.
Until recently, prosecutors had been preparing to persuade a new jury to reimpose a death sentence. But last week, they opted for life, citing his youth, concerns about his mental health, the disparity between his sentence and those of his fellow defendants, and the original jury’s split decision.
Wearing a red jail shirt, his tattooed arms bound in handcuffs, Davis read Monday in a monotone from a prepared statement.
“Ms. Robinson had so much light and love for the world and showed me kindness,” he said. “Her loss is a great tragedy that should never have happened. To her family and loved ones, I express my deepest sorrow for their loss.”
No one from Robinson’s family attended the court hearing. Davis said he’d always wanted to reach out to them, but did not because he didn’t want to cause further pain.
“Though I cannot change what happened or your hurt and loss, I try my hardest to help those I can and try to better myself each day,” he said. “Please know that then, now and always, I am truly sorry.”
Hillsborough Circuit Judge Michelle Sisco commended Davis’ belated expression of remorse. In reviewing the case, she said, she noted that the crime arose from a belief that Vicki Robinson stood in the way of Davis’ relationship with her daughter. It was, the judge said, a “tragic, youthful miscalculation.”
“Even though you were not a juvenile at the time, you were still young,” Sisco said. “And I thought to myself that I bet not a night goes by, when you’re in your jail cell, that you don’t have (anything) but regret for the choices that you made.”
With a life sentence, Davis will join the general population of the state’s prison system.
The judge encouraged Davis to do what he can to mentor younger prisoners who may one day get out, to help them avoid the mistakes he made, and to ensure that his life won’t be defined by the crime he committed.
“I really do wish you the best of luck,” the judge said.
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Two decades later, Adam Davis apologizes for Tampa slaying - Tampa Bay Times
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