BELL WARRANT: Second petition filed at U.S. Supreme Court
Michael Bell's execution is scheduled for July 15 at 6:00 p.m. Today, Bell filed a second petition for writ of certiorari at the U.S. Supreme Court following unsuccessful federal litigation.
Michael Bell’s execution is scheduled for tomorrow, July 15, at 6:00 p.m. As TFDP previously covered, on Thursday, July 10, Bell, through his attorneys, filed a petition for writ of certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the Florida Supreme Court’s decision. The State filed its opposition yesterday. So far, no reply has been filed - meaning the petition is not fully briefed. The filings in this case can be found on the docket here.
Bell has now filed a second petition for writ of certiorari related to federal litigation.
After the Florida Supreme Court’s decision last week, Bell initiated litigation in the federal court on his Brady and Giglio claims related to newly discovered evidence found after Gov. DeSantis signed the death warrant for his execution. On Thursday, July 10, the federal district court denied his claims. According to Bell’s petition filed today (discussed below), “[t]he district court found that Mr. Bell’s petition was a successive petition and that it, therefore, lacked jurisdiction to even consider Mr. Bell’s claims.”
After the district court denied his claims, Bell “moved the Eleventh Circuit Court of [A]ppeals for initial hearing en banc to reconsider its decision in Tompkins v. Sec’y, Fla. Dep’t of Corr., 557 F.3d 1257, 1260 (2009), which held that Brady claims raised in a second or successive petition must satisfy the gatekeeping requirements of § 2244(b).” Today, the Eleventh Circuit denied Bell’s petition.
After the Eleventh Circuit’s decision, Bell, through his attorneys, filed a second petition for writ of certiorari asking the U.S. Supreme Court to review the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit’s decision.
The filings in this case can be found on the Court’s docket here.
TFDP Prior Coverage of Bell’s Warrant
My thoughts are with everyone involved in the warrant- and execution-related process.