Before being put to execution on death row this Tuesday, a murderer thanked authorities for preventing him from spending the rest of his life behind bars. After being found guilty of killing Jimmy West and Tamecka Smith in an attempted retaliatory shooting outside a pub, Michael Bernard Bell has been incarcerated for 30 years.
With five months left in 2025, the number of executions in the United States has already topped the total from the previous year.
Bell, 54, was asked if he had any last words by the team warden at Florida State Prison near Starke. The murderer replied, “Thank you for not letting me spend the rest of my life in prison.” After receiving the lethal injection, he was pronounced dead ten minutes later.
Bell, the ninth person executed in Florida this year, decided to have his final supper on Tuesday, which consisted of an egg, bacon, home fries, and orange juice. He did not have any other visitors, but he did meet with a spiritual advisor.
In their state filing, the defendant’s attorneys contended that fresh information regarding witness testimony warranted a stop to Bell’s execution. Last Monday, the justices unanimously dismissed the argument, citing copious proof of Bell’s guilt.
Donald Trump signed a broad executive order on his first day back in office with the intention of encouraging prosecutors to pursue the death sentence and maintaining the death penalty in the states. Since then, the number of executions has sharply increased, especially in Florida, where a ninth is set for later this month.
Florida has executed Michael Bell. Death was pronounced at 6:25 p.m. Eastern. He was the 26th execution in 2025. 25 of those executions have been in jurisdictions that, as states or territories, practiced slavery. @FLDeathPenalty @FADPorg #deathpenalty pic.twitter.com/wo2oTYKY3H
— Robert Dunham (@RDunhamDP) July 15, 2025
John Blume, the director of the Cornell Death Penalty Project, said: “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… The most cynical view would be: It seems to matter to the President, so it matters to them (state governors).”
However, during the entire year 2024, only one person was put to death in Florida. Including South Carolina and Texas, it has now carried out more executions this year than any other state. Nearly two years after shooting Mr. West and Ms. Smith, Bell was found guilty in 1995.
KILLER EXECUTED: The state of Florida has executed convicted killer Michael Bernard Bell for the murders of Jimmy West and Tamecka Smith in 1993. https://t.co/Pmnbe9nfAL pic.twitter.com/xkgf3j6IQx
— WFLA NEWS (@WFLA) July 16, 2025
Bell saw what he believed to be the vehicle of the man who had shot and killed his brother in December 1993. Bell, Ms. Smith, and another woman, all innocent parties, were shot after leaving a bar and arriving at the car, but Bell was not aware that the man had sold the vehicle to Mr. West.
Ms. Smith passed away en-route to the hospital, and Mr. West passed away at the scene. The other woman was unharmed. Before leaving the scene, witnesses claimed Bell also fired at a group of bystanders. The next year, he was finally taken into custody.
In 1989, Bell was found guilty of killing a lady and her young kid, and approximately four months before the assault on Mr. West and Ms. Smith, he killed his mother’s boyfriend.
