Florida man who killed 2 people outside a bar is scheduled to be executed

STARKE Fla AP A man who fatally shot a man and woman outside a Florida bar as part of an attempted revenge killing is scheduled to be executed on Tuesday Michael Bernard Bell is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke barring a last-day reprieve He was convicted in and sentenced to death for the murders of Jimmy West and Tamecka Smith Bell would be the eighth person put to death in Florida this year with a ninth scheduled for later this month The state executed six people in but carried out only one execution last year Twenty-five men have already been executed in the U S this year tying last year s total Florida has executed more people than any other state this year while Texas and South Carolina are tied for second place with four each Alabama has executed three people Oklahoma has killed two and Arizona Indiana Louisiana Mississippi and Tennessee each have killed one In December Bell spotted what he thought was the car of the man who fatally shot his brother earlier that year according to court records Bell was apparently unaware that the man had sold the car to West Bell called on two friends and armed himself with an AK- rifle administration reported They determined the car parked outside a liquor lounge and waited When West Smith and another woman eventually exited the club Bell approached the car and opened fire personnel noted West died at the scene and Smith died on the way to the hospital The other woman escaped injury Observers reported Bell also fired at a crowd of onlookers before fleeing the area He was eventually arrested the next year Bell was later convicted of three additional murders He fatally shot a woman and her toddler son in and he killed his mother s boyfriend about four months before the attack on West and Smith representatives explained Attorneys for Bell have filed appeals with the Florida Supreme Court and the U S Supreme Court The lawyers argued in their state filing that Bell s execution should be halted because of newly discovered evidence about witness testimony But justices unanimously rejected the argument last week and pointed to overwhelming evidence of Bell s guilt in a -page opinion Bell s attorneys filed a similar petition with the U S Supreme Court on Thursday but the panel has not yet issued a ruling