Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Baton Rouge, LA: High court upholds death penalty in church deaths

The murder convictions and death penalty for Anthony Bell, who killed four of his in-laws and his wife after bursting into a Baton Rouge church in May 2006, were upheld Tuesday by Louisiana's Supreme Court.

Bell, who the court record said was 26 at the time of the shooting, was convicted in 2008 on five counts of first-degree murder in the death of his wife Erica and four of her relatives, and one of attempted first-degree murder in the shooting of her mother.

Erica Bell's relatives were shot as Sunday services were ending at the small Ministry of Jesus Christ Church, where her mother, Claudia Brown, was pastor. Bell kidnapped Erica from the church and shot her at a nearby apartment building parking lot.

Only Claudia Brown survived.

The Supreme Court rejected defense arguments that Bell was mentally retarded and could therefore not be legally executed, citing expert testimony and evidence regarding Bell's work history.

"There is nothing in the record from which it can be concluded that the jury erred in rejecting the defendant's claim of mental retardation," Tuesday's ruling by retired Judge Philip Ciaccio, who was sitting in for Justice Catherine Kimball, said.

There were no dissents in the ruling, which notes that Bell can now take his case to the U.S. Supreme Court.


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