US EditionFlorida puts a man to death for killing 2 outside a bar, the 26th US execution this year
FLORIDA, JUL 15 – Bell, 54, was Florida's eighth execution in 2025 and the 26th nationwide, after being convicted of a 1993 double murder linked to mistaken identity and revenge motives.
- Michael Bernard Bell was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday, July 15, at Florida State Prison for 1993 murders outside a Jacksonville bar.
- Bell killed Tamecka Smith and Jimmy West in an act of retaliation after mistakenly targeting West’s vehicle, which Bell believed was connected to the man responsible for his brother’s death earlier that year.
- Bell fired more than a dozen shots with an AK-47, fled the scene, was arrested the next year, and convicted in 1995 with a unanimous death sentence recommendation.
- Bell’s attorneys filed multiple appeals citing new witness testimony, but courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, unanimously upheld the conviction and denied stays.
- The execution marked the 26th in the U.S. in 2025, with Florida leading the nation and continuing a recent increase in executions amid expanded state death penalty laws.
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In the U.S. state of Florida, a man sentenced to death for two murders has been executed.
Florida man executed for killing 2 outside bar in 26th U.S. execution this year
A man convicted of fatally shooting two people outside a Florida bar in 1993 as part of an attempted revenge killing was executed Tuesday evening, the 26th person put to death in the U.S. this year.
This is the 26th performance in the United States since the beginning of the year - eight of which for Florida alone -, a record since the 28 recorded in 2015. Nine more are currently planned in 2025.
Pending execution in Florida marks new high for US in 2025
Florida carried out its 26th execution of the year on Tuesday, July 15, marking a milestone that already exceeds the total number of executions carried out in the U.S. in 2024. Gov. Ron DeSantis signed the death warrant last month, authorizing the lethal injection of Michael Bernard Bell at Florida State Prison. Executions increase in comparison to previous years Bell, who was sentenced to death for two murders that occurred in 1993, had asked …
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