Foto: davidhills / E+ / Getty Images
Starke, FL - Michael Bernard Bell, 54, was executed on Tuesday evening at Florida State Prison in Starke, after being convicted of the 1993 murders of Jimmy West and Tamecka Smith.
Bell, sentenced to death in 1995, was put to death via lethal injection at 6:25 p.m. after spending nearly three decades on death row.
Bell’s execution marked the 26th in the U.S. in 2025.
Prior to his death, he expressed gratitude for not spending the rest of his life in prison.
When asked for his final words, Bell said, “Thank you for not letting me spend the rest of my life in prison.”
As the lethal drugs began to flow into his left arm, Bell appeared alert, but after two minutes, his eyes closed, and his body became still.
His breathing slowed, and at 6:24 p.m., a medical worker declared him dead a minute later.
Bell was convicted for the 1993 shooting outside a Florida bar.
Bell believed the car parked outside belonged to the man who had killed his brother earlier that year.
Bell, armed with an AK-47 rifle, fired at West, Smith, and another woman.
West died at the scene, and Smith died on the way to the hospital.
Bell was arrested the following year.
In addition to these murders, Bell was convicted of three other killings.
He was sentenced to death after his conviction for the bar attack.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied his request for a stay of execution, and the Florida Supreme Court rejected his appeal based on new witness testimony.