No. 25-5083

Michael Bernard Bell v. Florida

Lower Court: Florida
Docketed: 2025-07-10
Status: Denied
Type: IFP
IFP
Tags: death-penalty eighth-amendment evidentiary-hearing fourteenth-amendment prosecutorial-misconduct witness-recantation
Key Terms:
DueProcess FifthAmendment
Latest Conference: N/A
Question Presented (AI Summary)

Does the Petitioner's execution violate the Eighth and Fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution when the government and trial court interfered with Petitioner's ability to present evidence in warrant litigation?

Question Presented (OCR Extract)

After Michael Bell’s death warrant was signed, a key witness, Henry Edwards, recanted his trial testimony and admitted that he had not witnessed Bell commit the murders. Then, a second key witness, Charles Jones, recanted his trial testimony and admitted t hat Bell did not confess to him and that he did not see Bell with the murder weapon. Both witnesses said they lied at Bell’s trial , at the behest of the lead detective and the prosecutor , due to coercion and threats and in exchange for undisclosed leniency. Despite the extreme limitations of the 32 -day warrant period, Bell found a number of other trial witnesses who corroborated the recanting witnesses’ claims of coercion and threats by la w enforcement and some of these witnesses also changed important parts of their trial testimony. Bell was granted an evidentiary hearing. At the hearing, the State and judge warned the witnesses that they may be prosecuted for perjury for saying anything that contradicted their trial testimony. Predictably, the witnesses took the 5th. The judge also permitted the witnesses to assert nearly blanket Fifth Amen dment privileges when challenged about what they had recently told Bell’s investigators. The Florida Supreme Court affirmed the trial court’s finding that Bell did not prove that his case had been tainted by lying witnesses, witnesses with credibility issues , and police and prosecutorial misconduct. This case presents the following question : Does the Petitioner ’s execution violate the Eighth and Fourteenth amendments to the United States Constitution when the conduct of the government and the trial court interfered with Petitioner ’s ability to present evidence in warrant litigation? ii STATEMENT OF

Docket Entries

2025-07-15
Petition DENIED.
2025-07-15
Application (25A45) referred to the Court.
2025-07-15
Application (25A45) for stay of execution of sentence of death presented to Justice Thomas and by him referred to the Court is denied. The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied.
2025-07-13
Brief of State of Florida in opposition submitted.
2025-07-13
Brief of respondent Florida in opposition filed.
2025-07-13
Response to application from respondent Florida filed.
2025-07-10
2025-07-10
Application (25A45) for a stay of execution of sentence of death, submitted to Justice Thomas.

Attorneys

Michael Bell
Robert Anthony NorgardNorgard Law, Petitioner
Robert Anthony NorgardNorgard Law, Petitioner
State of Florida
Carla Suzanne BechardOffice of the Attorney General, State of Florida, Respondent
Carla Suzanne BechardOffice of the Attorney General, State of Florida, Respondent