By PHILIP CAULFIELD and ANTHONY VANGER
New York's death penalty took George Bell's life, but Bell is not dead.

Despite compelling evidence that his lawyers say could overturn his conviction, Bell, who was found guilty of murder by a jury, but not sentenced to death, may spend the rest of his life in prison without parole. No one may ever know what happened on Dec. 21, 1996, but around 7 a.m., two men tried to rob a cash-checking store in Queens. Killed in the botched robbery were Ira Epstein, 40, owner of the store, and Charles Davis, 38, an off-duty police officer moonlighting as private security guard to earn money to buy Christmas presents. Both men had wives and children. The police said that $60,000 was left in the safe in the back room.

Three days after the killings, a number of suspects, Bell among them, were arrested. The following day Bell, who lived four blocks from the cash-checking store, made a teary video taped confession and the New York Post dubbed him the “Cry Baby Killer.” Bell’s trial attorney, Mitch Dinnerstein, said that the police told Bell, who was 19 at the time and had no prior convictions, that if he did not confess he would never see his mother again. Dinnerstein also said that Bell’s mother had seen him asleep in his bed at 8 a.m. the morning the murders took place, but because of a technicality, was not allowed to give this evidence in court.

Bell was found guilty on July 27, 1999, and after the jury failed to impose a death penalty, Queens Supreme Court Justice Arthur Cooperman sentenced him to life without parole plus 50 years. Two other men, Gary Johnson and Rohan Bolt, were also found guilty in separate trials, but because Bell confessed to being the shooter, they received lesser sentences and may be eligible for parole.

Bell’s lawyers still believe that their client is innocent and have appealed to higher courts, but because of the special nature of capital cases, they have not managed to get a retrial. In 2001, they appealed in the New York State appellate courts but lost. Now their last chance lies with a federal appellate judge who is currently reviewing Bell’s appeal. The defense lawyers contend that Bell’s constitutional rights were violated during the trial because one of the jurors conducted her own investigation and went down to the crime scene, a violation of the law. But Dinnerstein thinks that based on past cases, the odds of success are slim.

“This is a terrible miscarriage of justice and no one seems to give a shit,” Dinnerstein said.

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George Bell's letter from prison