Jackson Jambalaya

Jackson awoke this morning to the news that the charges against Robbie Bell had been dropped by Attorney General Jim Hood and Hinds County District Attorney Robert Smith. Ms. Bell had been charged with "Accessory after the Fact" in connection with the murder of Heather Spencer by her son, George Bell, III. (See earlier post: http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2007/11/wheels-slowly-turn-robbie-bell-indicted.html) More than a few people are shocked and outraged by the dismissal of the case against Ms. Bell as evidenced by numerous comments on blogs and media websites.

In determining whether the dismissal was justified, one must first consider the law, Section 97-1-5 of the Mississippi Code:
"Every person who shall be convicted of having concealed, received, or relieved any felon, or having aided or assisted any felon, knowing that such person had committed a felony, with intent to enable such felon to escape or to avoid arrest, trial, conviction or punishment, after the commission of such felony, on conviction thereof shall be imprisoned in the penitentiary not exceeding five years, or in the county jail not exceeding one year, or by fine not exceeding one thousand dollars, or by both; and in prosecution for such offenses it shall not be necessary to aver in the indictment or to prove on the trial that the principal has been convicted or tried." http://www.mscode.com/free/statutes/97/001/0005.htm

Thus, the law states that Ms. Bell could be convicted if she knew her son had committed a felony AND tried to help him avoid a arrest. A reasonable interpretation of such an avoidance would be not calling the police when there was opportunity to do so after the accused had knowledge the felony had been committed.

The Mississippi Supreme Court affirmed the law in the Dampier case, stating the elements of Accessory after the Fact are:
"(1) a completed felony has been committed; (2) the accused concealed, received, relieved, aided, or assisted a felon, knowing that such person had committed a felony; and (3) such assistance or aid was rendered with the intent to enable such felon to escape or avoid arrest, trial, conviction, or punishment after the commission of such felony." Dampier v. State 973 So.2d 221, 231 (Miss.,2008)

There is little doubt that Ms. Bell knew a felony had been committed. At SOME point, she came home, sees a severely-beaten, unconscious Heather Spencer, at least one four-foot pool of blood on the floor, and other evidence of the murder. There was evidence of the murder in the hallway and at least one of the rooms. She knew a felony had been committed. Maybe not murder but definitely a felony. The law does not say it has to be the felony that the accused is convicted of committing, it says A felony. What is important is that there was a more than strong suspicion that Ms. Bell knew "a felony" had taken place in her home involving Ms. Spencer and possibly her son. At that point, it was her duty under the law to call the police.

It is important to note that there are several Mississippi cases dealing with this law. The Mississippi Supreme Court dealt with this crime in the Smith case. Mr. Smith was driving a car with his girlfriend as a passenger. In a burst of inspiration, she decided to take a crowbar out of his car and steal jewelry from a window display after smashing the window, despite his pleas not to do it. He drove off without her but she somehow chased the car and jumped in. Even though he tried to leave her and had commanded her not to commit the crime, the Court still said: . "Although Smith was present, the proof is uncontradicted that he neither assisted nor encouraged her by any word or act to commit this crime. A jury would have been warranted in finding him guilty as an accessary after the fact to burglary or larceny, but not as a principal to burglary." Smith v. State 523 So.2d 1028, 1030(Miss.,1988)

SOOOOO..... that means the Court said just for driving the burglar in his car KNOWING she had committed a burglary was enough for him to be convicted of "Accessory after the Fact". Given how the couple was caught as the car crashed a few blocks away from the scene of the crime, the Court made no mention of the personal safety of Mr. Smith.

The question remains if the Attorney General should have prosecuted Ms. Bell instead of dismissing the case. What evidence we do know is this:
1. Heather Spencer was beaten to death and sexually assaulted in Ms. Bell's home during the evening hours of that tragic Monday.
2. Numerous media sources have reported that other people were present in the home during the night in addition to George Bell.
3. George Bell, III, left around 6:00 or 7:00 AM and kidnapped Heather's roommate, bringing her back to Ms. Bell's home.
4. The kidnapping victim has testified that Ms. Bell was at the home while Ms. Spencer's body lay in the house and that Ms. Bell was already at the home when she was kidnapped and taken there.
5. Ms. Bell never once called the police or tried to notify the authorities that a crime had been committed in her home.
6. The coroner's report DOES say the time of death was 3:00 AM.

Given these facts along with several others that sources have told me but are unconfirmed, it is HIGHLY unlikely that Ms. Bell had no clue that a felony had taken place in her home. One must wonder exactly why Mr. Hood decided not to prosecute Ms. Bell as one would think that there was enough evidence to send the case to a jury.

What Mr. Hood's actions have done is to make a mockery out of this case. Everyone is familiar with the questions raised about Mr. Hood's character since so many of his friends have been convicted in the Scruggs scandal. Judge DeLaughter and Ed Peters have been implicated in the Scruggs case. The post below spells out how interconnected the Bells are with the Ed Peters mafia that is currently under so much scrutiny. If anything, one would think that Mr. Hood would be doing his best to avoid any appearance of impropriety. Mr. Hood and Mr. Smith, who is also tied to the Peters mafia, have a higher than normal duty to take a case such as this one to trial and then a jury even if they lose. See earlier post: http://kingfish1935.blogspot.com/2008/03/robbie-bell-case-family-tree.html

Unless a civil suit is filed, the public will never know what happened that night in Northeast Jackson. The family will continue to suffer as a case that should have been tried was inexplicably swept under the rug. While Ms. Bell struts around town claiming her vindication, the public will know she was aided by Attorney General Schultz and District Attorney Robert Schultz Smith.

Hopefully justice will still be served. Ms. Spencer has been let down by almost everyone concerned: a boyfriend who claimed to love her while he tried to kill her twice, police that went easy on her boyfriend and reduced the charges, her boyfriend's mother who refused to call the police as she lay dying through the night, and prosecutors who took the decision to let Ms. Bell off of the hook away from us through a jury and instead, spit in the face of justice and the Spencer family.

Also, one last suggestion to the A.G. and D.A.: if you think I am out of line, there is a simple solution. Release the police report, which you could have done at any time.