Edward Harold Bell's explanation for Larry Dickens murder? - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

justins5256 · 11-19-2008, 10:56 AM

Not sure how reliable this information is (take it with a BIG grain of salt) but according to something I read on another site, it sounds as if Bell is claiming he wasn't at fault for Larry's death:

"Bell said he was scared because he couldnt run away; so he pointed gun at Larry's head, and said, "Don't hit me again." He alleged that Larry then hit him while Bell was firing shots while demanding his keys; Bell stated he didnt point the rifle at Larry when he tripped and the rifle went off. Bell said it was all an accident"

HyeTev · 11-19-2008, 11:06 AM

Yeah, and I'm Jesus Christ too. Sure. Whatever. That sick bastard shouldn't even be allowed to talk. He was one of the worst ever profiled on UM and what he says should have zero relevance.

mphs95 · 11-19-2008, 11:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HyeTev

Yeah, and I'm Jesus Christ too. Sure. Whatever. That sick bastard shouldn't even be allowed to talk. He was one of the worst ever profiled on UM and what he says should have zero relevance.

EB had two legs and could have ran. He was busted either way. Killing LD was inexcusable and just morally wrong. There is no way he can justify that and the fact that he is trying to just shows how sick his mind really is.

HyeTev · 11-19-2008, 11:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mphs95

EB had two legs and could have ran. He was busted either way. Killing LD was inexcusable and just morally wrong. There is no way he can justify that and the fact that he is trying to just shows how sick his mind really is.

What baffles me is why he didn't get the death penalty? I mean, this did happen in Texas. Folks down there aren't afraid to let anyone fry, especially scum such as EHB.

MegtheEgg86 · 11-19-2008, 01:48 PM

I would give anything to slug Edward Harold Bell's fat face.

kadrmas15 · 11-19-2008, 02:01 PM

Well, to be honest, the death penalty wouldnt have done any good here. So I am glad Bell didnt get it. Hopefully he lives to a ripe old age and serves out everyday of his sentence. He becomes eligibile for parole in 2013 but he probably will have to serve until his mandatory supervision date in 2023 when he would be 83 years old. In Texas, crimes committed prior to September 1st, 1996 if you were convicted of a non life or non death sentence you had to be released on mandatory supervision if they were not paroled first.

Now, the reason why Bell didnt get the death penalty. It is because, at the time Bell committed the murder in 1978 and even when he was convicted in 1993, it was much harder to give the death penalty in Texas than it is now. In fact, only certain types of murder were eligible for the death penalty. Bell was not charged with capital murder which carries either death or if the person doesnt get death, a mandatory life sentence. He was charged with 'murder' which in Texas seems to be the equivelant of 2nd degree murder in other states. In Texas you can get anywhere from probation to up to 99 years in prison if convicted of 'murder'.

The reason why Bell was charged with 'murder' is that it was hard to prove the crime was pre meditated. Bell's lack of an extensive felony record before hand led to him getting a 70 year sentence. Remember, in Texas, juries not judges hand down sentences, at least in crimes of this nature.

In fact, if someone is convicted of murder in Texas, on average they get anywhere from 20 to 40 years in prison. Not the 70 years Bell got, so if you think that is b ad, he could have got a lot less. In my opinion he would have had he not shot Dickens so many times and then jumped bail and been on the run for over a decade.

Of course, Texas's execution numbers have greatly inflated since they changed their laws around 1993 or so to make it much easier to hand out the death penalty to people. One also must remember, that Bell, also was convicted of two counts of indecency with a child, it seems he pled guilty to these and was sentenced to two 10 year sentences to run concurrently with the 70 year murder sentence.

Now, before George W. Bush became Governor, in the years after the death penalty was re-instated, from 1982, through 1994, Texas carried out 55 or so executions. Since January of 1995, Texas has carried out over 350 executions. Not exactly something to be proud of.

Virginia, which has the next highest number of executions carried out to Texas, executed roughly 20 people from the time the death penalty was re-instated through 1993. George Allen was elected Governor in 1993. During the 4 years that George Allen was Governor, 23 inmates were 'executed'. Jim Gilmore was even worse, 31 hauled off to the death house during his time as Governor. These numbers dropped dramatically as 11 were 'executed' during Mark Warner's term. So far 7 have been executed during Tim Kaine's term as Governor and he leaves office at the end of next year.

Anyway, sorry for the rambling, I am not trying to start an argument with anyone, just thought you would be interested in some facts and figures.

Arnold_OldSchool · 08-25-2009, 11:15 PM

http://www.10thcoa.courts.state.tx.u...OpinionId=1036

Here's the court appeal document

Arnold_OldSchool · 08-25-2009, 11:22 PM

oops...I see another poster found the same thing I did a few days ago. My bad.

LooksLikeCRicci · 08-27-2009, 09:04 PM

Bell is claiming that shooting Larry Dickens was an accident? Okay. I could buy that... if he only shot Larry Dickens ONCE. What about all the other times he shot him, including in the head?

People who make a lifetime evading personal responsibility really tick me off these days...

mattc · 08-29-2009, 04:14 PM

Not only that, but if I recall, he went BACK to his car to get the gun. He meant to shoot Larry, no doubt.

Regardless, this was one of the hardest segments to watch... whoever played the mother was an amazing actress, and did such a great job portraying the horror of what she saw.

SitcomsAreTheWay · 08-30-2009, 03:00 PM

It sounds to me as if he's simply justifying his actions; which I find disgusting and it gives me even more of a reason to hate him. He's total scum and has zero sympathy for having taken the life of another. This is coming from the same pervert who exposed himself to the children in the neighborhood the same day. Yeah, try again Ed.

Kane · 08-30-2009, 03:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SitcomsAreTheWay

It sounds to me as if he's simply justifying his actions; which I find disgusting and it gives me even more of a reason to hate him. He's total scum and has zero sympathy for having taken the life of another. This is coming from the same pervert who exposed himself to the children in the neighborhood the same day. Yeah, try again Ed.

Occasionally, I've heard strories like this; the kind where someone tries to justify a murder by claiming, or perhaps opining, that it was self-defense or a justifiable homicide, even when the facts disprove it (just as how some people have been ignorantly trying to jusitfy the murders of four police officers by a rape suspect in Oakland, CA this past March).

One would have to be a fool or uninformed of the case to give any credence to Bell's story.

Necco · 08-30-2009, 04:04 PM

Wasn't this the guy they found in Panama? A good portion of extradition treaties take the death penalty off the table.

kadrmas15 · 08-30-2009, 06:54 PM

It was not the extradition treaty that took the death penalty off of the table. The death penalty was never off the table as the crime was not death penalty eligible under Texas law. Only certain types of murder are eligible for the death penalty and this particular murder, as vile as it was, did not meet those criteria.

In terms of Bell taking the stand, my guess is his lawyers tried VERY hard to keep him off of there. I am sure this was the case if they were aware what he was planning on saying. However ultimately it is up to the client. However my guess is, Edward Harold Bell was already looking awful before he testified and all his testimony did was make him look even worse. I mean okay, the whole self defense argument might work if someone is shot once or twice or whatever. But when you shoot a guy six times and even walk back to your truck at one point to get another gun to finish him off, that is not self defense, that is an execution.

Hell, Bell by his own admission already had his keys back, he could have drove off and to be honest, Larry Dickens probably would have died anyway, but Bell walked back to his truck, got another gun, walked back to Dickens who was laying on his drive way in critical condition and he stood over him and shot him in the head.

Basically, this was a case that Bell's lawyers I am sure did not want. He probably had public defenders. In Harris County, Texas, they are the only county in Texas that does not have a public defenders office. So how it works there is that the court appoints private attorneys to the case. However, the incentive for these lawyers to win a case is rather low because what happens is, if they win a case, the court usually decides not to appoint them to other cases.

I have heard some ridiculous attempts at a defendant trying to explain things away but this one is up there. However it is not the worst one I have heard. Ever heard Oba Chandler's testimony? There was a case out of Michigan last year, that of a guy named Orange Taylor III. He had killed a chick in her dorm room (he was a student at the same university and had a history of burglarizing other students dorm rooms and just causing trouble in general). Anyway, he did not actually rape this girl but he left his semen on her clothing. Well, anyway, he knew he had to come up with a justification for why his DNA was there, so his story was that, he admitted burglarizing the room, however his defense was able to discover that this young woman had a mild heart condition that at times caused her to pass out.

So their story was that she had passed out while standing up and had fallen down smacked her head and died. So his story was that she was dead when he burglarized the room but that he thought she was beautiful so he relieved himself. Incredibly, he got two people to buy this as he had a hung jury his first trial. His 2nd trial he was convicted and sentenced to LWOP.

Necco · 08-30-2009, 08:15 PM

There are lots of absurd defenses that involve self amusement aren't there? Let's not forget Michael Skakel's "I was busy in a tree" comments.

11-19-2008, 10:56 AM	#1
justins5256 Member Forum 3000 Club Member Join Date: Aug 08, 2002 Posts: 3,866	Edward Harold Bell's explanation for Larry Dickens murder? Not sure how reliable this information is (take it with a BIG grain of salt) but according to something I read on another site, it sounds as if Bell is claiming he wasn't at fault for Larry's death: "Bell said he was scared because he couldnt run away; so he pointed gun at Larry's head, and said, "Don't hit me again." He alleged that Larry then hit him while Bell was firing shots while demanding his keys; Bell stated he didnt point the rifle at Larry when he tripped and the rifle went off. Bell said it was all an accident"

11-19-2008, 01:48 PM	#5
MegtheEgg86 Member Forum Veteran Join Date: Jun 19, 2008 Location: The Volunteer State Posts: 5,156	I would give anything to slug Edward Harold Bell's fat face.
	__________________ "Why is she lying?, it makes me wonder. What is she hiding?, it makes me wonder." Go Vols!

11-19-2008, 11:06 AM	#2
HyeTev Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Dec 14, 2005 Location: Virginia Posts: 155	Yeah, and I'm Jesus Christ too. Sure. Whatever. That sick bastard shouldn't even be allowed to talk. He was one of the worst ever profiled on UM and what he says should have zero relevance.

11-19-2008, 02:01 PM	#6
kadrmas15 Retired from Board 03/03/11 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 11, 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,910	Well, to be honest, the death penalty wouldnt have done any good here. So I am glad Bell didnt get it. Hopefully he lives to a ripe old age and serves out everyday of his sentence. He becomes eligibile for parole in 2013 but he probably will have to serve until his mandatory supervision date in 2023 when he would be 83 years old. In Texas, crimes committed prior to September 1st, 1996 if you were convicted of a non life or non death sentence you had to be released on mandatory supervision if they were not paroled first. Now, the reason why Bell didnt get the death penalty. It is because, at the time Bell committed the murder in 1978 and even when he was convicted in 1993, it was much harder to give the death penalty in Texas than it is now. In fact, only certain types of murder were eligible for the death penalty. Bell was not charged with capital murder which carries either death or if the person doesnt get death, a mandatory life sentence. He was charged with 'murder' which in Texas seems to be the equivelant of 2nd degree murder in other states. In Texas you can get anywhere from probation to up to 99 years in prison if convicted of 'murder'. The reason why Bell was charged with 'murder' is that it was hard to prove the crime was pre meditated. Bell's lack of an extensive felony record before hand led to him getting a 70 year sentence. Remember, in Texas, juries not judges hand down sentences, at least in crimes of this nature. In fact, if someone is convicted of murder in Texas, on average they get anywhere from 20 to 40 years in prison. Not the 70 years Bell got, so if you think that is b ad, he could have got a lot less. In my opinion he would have had he not shot Dickens so many times and then jumped bail and been on the run for over a decade. Of course, Texas's execution numbers have greatly inflated since they changed their laws around 1993 or so to make it much easier to hand out the death penalty to people. One also must remember, that Bell, also was convicted of two counts of indecency with a child, it seems he pled guilty to these and was sentenced to two 10 year sentences to run concurrently with the 70 year murder sentence. Now, before George W. Bush became Governor, in the years after the death penalty was re-instated, from 1982, through 1994, Texas carried out 55 or so executions. Since January of 1995, Texas has carried out over 350 executions. Not exactly something to be proud of. Virginia, which has the next highest number of executions carried out to Texas, executed roughly 20 people from the time the death penalty was re-instated through 1993. George Allen was elected Governor in 1993. During the 4 years that George Allen was Governor, 23 inmates were 'executed'. Jim Gilmore was even worse, 31 hauled off to the death house during his time as Governor. These numbers dropped dramatically as 11 were 'executed' during Mark Warner's term. So far 7 have been executed during Tim Kaine's term as Governor and he leaves office at the end of next year. Anyway, sorry for the rambling, I am not trying to start an argument with anyone, just thought you would be interested in some facts and figures.

08-25-2009, 11:15 PM	#7
Arnold_OldSchool Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 16, 2006 Posts: 681	http://www.10thcoa.courts.state.tx.u...OpinionId=1036 Here's the court appeal document

08-25-2009, 11:22 PM	#8
Arnold_OldSchool Member Forum Regular Join Date: Jul 16, 2006 Posts: 681	oops...I see another poster found the same thing I did a few days ago. My bad.

08-27-2009, 09:04 PM	#9
LooksLikeCRicci Likes to live in a clean house Moderator Forum 4000 Club Member Join Date: Nov 27, 2005 Posts: 4,050	Bell is claiming that shooting Larry Dickens was an accident? Okay. I could buy that... if he only shot Larry Dickens ONCE. What about all the other times he shot him, including in the head? People who make a lifetime evading personal responsibility really tick me off these days...

08-29-2009, 04:14 PM	#10
mattc Member Frequent Poster Join Date: Nov 16, 2008 Location: Virginia Posts: 273	Not only that, but if I recall, he went BACK to his car to get the gun. He meant to shoot Larry, no doubt. Regardless, this was one of the hardest segments to watch... whoever played the mother was an amazing actress, and did such a great job portraying the horror of what she saw.

08-30-2009, 03:00 PM	#11
SitcomsAreTheWay Retro Sitcoms Fanatic Forum Regular Join Date: May 12, 2002 Location: NY Posts: 612	It sounds to me as if he's simply justifying his actions; which I find disgusting and it gives me even more of a reason to hate him. He's total scum and has zero sympathy for having taken the life of another. This is coming from the same pervert who exposed himself to the children in the neighborhood the same day. Yeah, try again Ed.

08-30-2009, 04:04 PM	#13
Necco Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 06, 2006 Posts: 1,149	Wasn't this the guy they found in Panama? A good portion of extradition treaties take the death penalty off the table.

08-30-2009, 06:54 PM	#14
kadrmas15 Retired from Board 03/03/11 Senior Member Join Date: Mar 11, 2006 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,910	It was not the extradition treaty that took the death penalty off of the table. The death penalty was never off the table as the crime was not death penalty eligible under Texas law. Only certain types of murder are eligible for the death penalty and this particular murder, as vile as it was, did not meet those criteria. In terms of Bell taking the stand, my guess is his lawyers tried VERY hard to keep him off of there. I am sure this was the case if they were aware what he was planning on saying. However ultimately it is up to the client. However my guess is, Edward Harold Bell was already looking awful before he testified and all his testimony did was make him look even worse. I mean okay, the whole self defense argument might work if someone is shot once or twice or whatever. But when you shoot a guy six times and even walk back to your truck at one point to get another gun to finish him off, that is not self defense, that is an execution. Hell, Bell by his own admission already had his keys back, he could have drove off and to be honest, Larry Dickens probably would have died anyway, but Bell walked back to his truck, got another gun, walked back to Dickens who was laying on his drive way in critical condition and he stood over him and shot him in the head. Basically, this was a case that Bell's lawyers I am sure did not want. He probably had public defenders. In Harris County, Texas, they are the only county in Texas that does not have a public defenders office. So how it works there is that the court appoints private attorneys to the case. However, the incentive for these lawyers to win a case is rather low because what happens is, if they win a case, the court usually decides not to appoint them to other cases. I have heard some ridiculous attempts at a defendant trying to explain things away but this one is up there. However it is not the worst one I have heard. Ever heard Oba Chandler's testimony? There was a case out of Michigan last year, that of a guy named Orange Taylor III. He had killed a chick in her dorm room (he was a student at the same university and had a history of burglarizing other students dorm rooms and just causing trouble in general). Anyway, he did not actually rape this girl but he left his semen on her clothing. Well, anyway, he knew he had to come up with a justification for why his DNA was there, so his story was that, he admitted burglarizing the room, however his defense was able to discover that this young woman had a mild heart condition that at times caused her to pass out. So their story was that she had passed out while standing up and had fallen down smacked her head and died. So his story was that she was dead when he burglarized the room but that he thought she was beautiful so he relieved himself. Incredibly, he got two people to buy this as he had a hung jury his first trial. His 2nd trial he was convicted and sentenced to LWOP.

08-30-2009, 08:15 PM	#15
Necco Member Senior Member Join Date: Jan 06, 2006 Posts: 1,149	There are lots of absurd defenses that involve self amusement aren't there? Let's not forget Michael Skakel's "I was busy in a tree" comments.