Who is Michael Bernard Bell? Florida Inmate Scheduled for Execution in 1995 Double Murder Case

Michael Bernard Bell, 54, is set to be executed on Tuesday, July 16, 2025, at Florida State Prison near Starke. He faces a lethal injection unless a last-minute stay is granted. Bell was convicted in 1995 for killing two people outside a Florida bar.

Bell was found guilty of murdering Jimmy West and Tamecka Smith. The killings happened during a revenge attack. Bell thought West was connected to his brother’s death earlier that year. But Bell was mistaken because West had bought the car from the actual shooter.

In December 1993, Bell armed himself with an AK-47. He and two friends waited outside a liquor lounge for West. When West, Smith, and another woman came out, Bell opened fire. West died on the spot. Smith died later on the way to the hospital. The other woman escaped unharmed.

Witnesses said Bell also fired shots into a crowd before running away. He was arrested the following year.

This execution will be the eighth in Florida this year. The state has led the nation in executions so far. Texas and South Carolina follow, each with four executions. Other states with executions this year include Alabama, Oklahoma, Arizona, Indiana, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee.

Bell was also convicted of three more murders. In 1989, he killed a woman and her toddler son. A few months before the 1993 attack, he also killed his mother’s boyfriend.

Bell’s lawyers have asked Florida’s Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution. They say new evidence questions witness statements. But the Florida Supreme Court rejected the appeal. They said the proof against Bell is strong.

The U.S. Supreme Court has not yet made a decision.