Latest news with #revengekilling
The Guardian
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Man who fatally shot two people outside of Florida bar to be executed
A man who fatally shot two people outside a Florida bar as part of an attempted revenge killing is scheduled to be put to death on Tuesday, which would be the 26th execution in the US this year. Michael Bernard Bell, 54, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, barring a last-day reprieve. He was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1993 murders of Jimmy West and Tamecka Smith. With five months left in the year, 2025 already ties the total number of executions in 2024 and 2018. The number of executions has largely trended downward nationally this century after peaking with 98 in 1999. From 1995 to 2006, there was an average of about 67 executions per year. John Blume, the director of the Cornell Death Penalty Project, says the uptick in executions doesn't appear to be linked to a change in public support for the death penalty or an increase in the rate of death sentences, but is rather the function of the discretion of state governors. 'A number of these people being executed are people that have been in the system for a long time; they've been on death row for a long time,' Blume said, adding that there are aggressive executives and attorney generals 'who want to execute these people'. He pointed to a sweeping executive order signed by Donald Trump on his first day back in office aimed at urging prosecutors to seek the death penalty and preserving capital punishment in the states. 'The most cynical view would be: it seems to matter to the president, so it matters to them,' Blume said of the governors. Florida department of corrections spokesperson Ted Veerman said on Tuesday that the department was well-prepared to do its duty as assigned by the courts and the governor. Bell would be the eighth person put to death in Florida this year, with a ninth scheduled for later this month. The state executed six people in 2023 but only one last year. Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, with Texas and South Carolina tied for second place at four each. Alabama has executed three people; Oklahoma has killed two; and Arizona, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee each have killed one. In December 1993, Bell spotted what he thought was the car of the man who fatally shot his brother earlier that year, according to court records. Bell was apparently unaware that the man had sold the car to West. Bell called on two friends and armed himself with an AK-47 rifle, authorities said. They found the car parked outside a liquor lounge and waited. When West, Smith and another woman eventually exited the club, Bell approached the car and opened fire, officials said. West died at the scene, and Smith died on the way to the hospital. The other woman escaped injury. Witnesses said Bell also fired at a crowd of onlookers before fleeing the area. He was eventually arrested the next year. Bell was later convicted of three additional murders. He fatally shot a woman and her toddler son in 1989 and killed his mother's boyfriend about four months before the attack on West and Smith, officials said. Prison officials said Bell woke up at 6.30am on Tuesday and ate his last meal, which was an omelet, bacon, home fries and orange juice. He met with a spiritual adviser but did not have any other visitors. The US supreme court denied Bell's request to stay the execution on Tuesday. His lawyers argued in their state filing that Bell's execution should be halted because of newly discovered evidence about witness testimony. But justices unanimously rejected the argument last week and pointed to overwhelming evidence of Bell's guilt in a 54-page opinion.
Washington Post
2 days ago
- Washington Post
A Florida man is set to be the 26th person executed in the US this year, surpassing 2024's total
STARKE, Fla. — A man who fatally shot a man and woman outside a Florida bar as part of an attempted revenge killing is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday, which would be the 26th execution carried out in the U.S. this year. So far, 25 men have been executed in 2025, tying the number of executions in 2024 and 2018. The number of executions has largely trended downward nationally this century after peaking with 98 in 1999. From 1995 to 2006, there were an average of about 67 executions per year.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Florida man who killed 2 people outside a bar is scheduled to be executed
STARKE, Fla. (AP) — A man who fatally shot a man and woman outside a Florida bar as part of an attempted revenge killing is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday. Michael Bernard Bell, 54, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, barring a last-day reprieve. He was convicted in 1995 and sentenced to death for the murders of Jimmy West and Tamecka Smith. Bell would be the eighth person put to death in Florida this year, with a ninth scheduled for later this month. The state executed six people in 2023, but carried out only one execution last year. Twenty-five men have already been executed in the U.S. this year, tying last year's total. Florida has executed more people than any other state this year, while Texas and South Carolina are tied for second place with four each. Alabama has executed three people, Oklahoma has killed two, and Arizona, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee each have killed one. In December 1993, Bell spotted what he thought was the car of the man who fatally shot his brother earlier that year, according to court records. Bell was apparently unaware that the man had sold the car to West. Bell called on two friends and armed himself with an AK-47 rifle, authorities said. They found the car parked outside a liquor lounge and waited. When West, Smith and another woman eventually exited the club, Bell approached the car and opened fire, officials said. West died at the scene, and Smith died on the way to the hospital. The other woman escaped injury. Witnesses said Bell also fired at a crowd of onlookers before fleeing the area. He was eventually arrested the next year. Bell was later convicted of three additional murders. He fatally shot a woman and her toddler son in 1989, and he killed his mother's boyfriend about four months before the attack on West and Smith, officials said. Attorneys for Bell have filed appeals with the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. The lawyers argued in their state filing that Bell's execution should be halted because of newly discovered evidence about witness testimony. But justices unanimously rejected the argument last week and pointed to overwhelming evidence of Bell's guilt in a 54-page opinion. Bell's attorneys filed a similar petition with the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday, but the panel has not yet issued a ruling.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Yahoo
Jacksonville man set to die July 15: Key things to know about Michael Bell's execution
Convicted 30 years ago for gunning down a young Jacksonville couple in what was supposed to be in retaliation for his brother's death, Michael Bernard Bell is set to become Florida's eight execution this year on July 15. Bell, now 54, also killed three other people ― a couple and toddler son ― in 1989 before the 1993 revenge killing but was only sentenced to 25 years. In June his attorneys introduced new affidavits signed by men who were inmates at the time who had testified against Bell at trial. They said the same lead detective and prosecutor coerced them into lying on the stand. But the men recanted once they were brought before the judge on June 23. Bell was convicted two years after gunning down 22-year-old Jimmy West and 18-year-old Tamecka Smith outside Moncrief Liquors in 1993, believing the man killed his brother earlier that year. Prosecutors said Bell had publicly swore to avenge his brother's death and plotted it for months. Theodore Wright had killed Lamar Bell in June 1993 in self-defense, according to court records. That Dec. 8, Bell bought an AK-47 rifle through a girlfriend and then waited the next night outside the lounge after locating the yellow Plymouth that Wright was known to drive. He opened fire on the young couple who got into the car. But Wright had sold the car to West, his half-brother. The Florida Supreme Court already rejected a plea to halt the execution a week ahead of the scheduled date. Justices unanimously rejected Bell's arguments concerning the newly discovered evidence related to witness testimony. Part of the ruling pointed to 'overwhelming evidence of Bell's guilt.' But the defense filed another similar petition to the Supreme Court on July 11 that was pending at the time of publication. A Jacksonville judge also had already denied last-ditch efforts for post-conviction relief just one day after Bell's June 24 evidentiary hearing concerning the same allegations of false testimony. The judge stated a lack of timeliness considering the defense had 30 years to come up with this information and a failure to meet the burden of proof. Of the six people who testified at the hearing, most pleaded to their Fifth Amendment rights to remain silent or repeatedly said "I do not recall." Bell is scheduled to be lethally injected at 6 p.m. July 15 in Florida State Prison in Raiford, which is in Bradford County. A total of 34 inmates from Duval County cases are currently on death row, not including the "Mayport Monster" William Wells who didn't get sentenced to death until 2021 after killing an inmate while incarcerated in the state prison in Bradford County. William Zeigler, sentenced in 1976. Henry Sireci, sentenced in 1976. Gregory Kokal, sentenced in 1984. Etheria Jackson, sentenced in 1986. Grover Reed, sentenced in 1987. John Freeman, sentenced in 1988. Tony Watts, sentenced in 1989. Ronald Clark, sentenced in 1991. Steven Stein, sentenced in 1991. William Sweet, sentenced in 1991. Steven Taylor, sentenced in 1991. Anthony Mungin, sentenced in 1993. John Reese, sentenced in 1993. Kenneth Hartley, sentenced in 1993. Thomas Moore, sentenced in 1993. William Thomas, sentenced in 1994. Toney Davis, sentenced in 1995. Pressley Alston, sentenced in 1996. Andrew Lukehart, sentenced in 1997. Jason Stephens, sentenced in 1998. David Miller, sentenced in 1998. Gerald Murray, sentenced in 2003. Thomas Bevel, sentenced in 2005. Pinkney Carter, sentenced in 2005. John Mosely, sentenced in 2006. Michael Jackson, sentenced in 2007. Donald Banks, sentenced in 2008. Raymond Bright, sentenced in 2009. Rodney Newberry, sentenced in 2014. David Sparre, sentenced in 2012. Kim Jackson, sentenced in 2013. Randall Deviney, sentenced in 2015. Donald Smith, sentenced in 2018. Markas Fishburne, sentenced in 2024. Since 1924 the state has executed 309 inmates. Florida is on pace to set the record for most executions in the state for one calendar year ― eight in 1984 and 2014. Thomas Lee Gudinas, 51, was put to death on June 24. He was convicted in 1995 for the murder of Michelle McGrath, whose battered body was found in an alley in downtown Orlando after prosecutors said Gudinas attacked after previously attempting to assault another woman who got away. Several religious leaders from across the state recently marched to the state Capitol to call on Gov. Ron DeSantis to protest concerns about increased executions in Florida and are likely to continue to speak out. Death penalty: Religious leaders call on DeSantis to pause executions as he closes in on Florida record 'We do not believe that killing people, ultimately, is the answer to these grave crimes,' the Rev. Dustin Feddon said in a News Service of Florida report. DeSantis also recently signed a death warrant for Edward Zakrzewski, who was convicted of using a crowbar and a machete to murder his wife and two children in 1994 in Okaloosa County. Zakrzewski, 60, is slated to be executed July 31. This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Set to die, what to know about Michael Bell and Florida's executions
