Arkansas Man Gets Death in Shooting Foray

A man accused of slaying 16 people was convicted Thursday and sentenced to death for a shooting rampage that left a man and a woman dead and four others wounded.

A Franklin County Circuit Court jury convicted R. Gene Simmons of capital murder and five counts of attempted capital murder. They then heard arguments on whether to sentence him to death or to life in prison without parole, and later returned the death penalty.

After Circuit Judge John S. Patterson ratified the verdict, Simmons asked that the sentence be carried out as soon as possible.

45-Minute Shooting Spree

The trial, which started on Monday, stemmed from a 45-minute shooting spree in Russellville last Dec. 28.

Simmons, 47, is scheduled to stand trial again in July in the deaths of his wife, seven children, four grandchildren and two in-laws whose bodies were found in and around his house after the shooting rampage ended. They had all been shot or strangled.

Prosecutor John Bynum, arguing earlier for death for the retired Air Force master sergeant, had said “there is nothing in the record that says this man is entitled to a break--nothing.”