Michael Bernard Bell, a convicted killer who spent decades on death row in Florida, was executed on Tuesday for a 1993 double murder he believed was an act of revenge. The executed killer had mistaken one of his victims for the man who had murdered his brother earlier that year.
Bell, 54, was pronounced dead at 6.25pm local time after receiving a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke. He was convicted for the shooting deaths of Jimmy West and Tamecka Smith, who were killed outside a liquor lounge in December 1993.
According to court records, Bell spotted a car he believed belonged to his brother’s killer. Unaware it had since been sold to West, he armed himself with an AK-47 and waited with two friends for the car’s occupants to exit the bar. When West, Smith and another woman approached the vehicle, Bell opened fire. West died at the scene, Smith en route to hospital, and the third woman escaped unharmed.
The executed killer was arrested the following year and later convicted of additional murders, including the killings of a woman and her toddler son in 1989, and his mother’s boyfriend four months before the 1993 shooting.
Bell’s final words before the injection were: “Thank you for not letting me spend the rest of my life in prison.” His final meal included an omelette, bacon, home fries and orange juice. He met with a spiritual adviser, but received no other visitors.
His legal team filed a last-minute appeal, citing new evidence that allegedly discredited witness testimony. The U.S. Supreme Court denied the request on Tuesday, with justices unanimously rejecting the argument and referencing overwhelming evidence of guilt.
This execution was Florida’s eighth in 2025 and the 26th in the United States so far this year, surpassing the national total for all of 2024. Experts suggest the rise reflects political discretion at state level rather than any broader shift in public opinion.
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