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, 54, is scheduled to receive a lethal injection at Florida State Prison near Starke, barring a last-day reprieve. He was convicted in 1995 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 2023, 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