Florida is scheduled to carry out the execution of 54-year-old Michael Bernard Bell by lethal injection today. Bell was convicted in 1995 for the double murder of 18-year-old Tamecka Smith and 23-year-old Jimmy West, whom he ambushed and killed with an AK-47 outside a bar in a tragic case of mistaken identity.
Bell’s intended target was a man named Theodore Wright. He tracked Wright’s car to a local bar, unaware that Wright had sold the vehicle to West. Bell opened fire, killing both West and Smith. The brutal attack shocked the community and was cited by the sentencing judge as a preventable crime that exposed flaws in Florida’s parole system.
“This violent habitual criminal should have been in prison at the time the murders were committed,” the judge stated, blaming the Florida Parole Commission for Bell’s early release from a prior prison term.
Bell’s execution marks the eighth in Florida this year and the 26th nationwide in 2025, putting the United States on track for the highest number of executions in a single year in over a decade, according to USA Today.
The case underscores long-standing concerns about repeat violent offenders and early release policies. Bell had a prior criminal record and was out on parole at the time of the killings. The sentencing judge directly linked the murders to the state’s parole failures, fueling debate about public safety and justice system accountability.
Bell is expected to be executed at Florida State Prison. There are no reported stays or appeals pending at this time.
