Jackson Free Press

Read the court's decision (PDF)

The Mississippi Supreme Court has granted death-row inmate Fredrick Bell a hearing to determine if he is mentally retarded, delaying his imminent execution date.

In a Feb. 3 opinion, the court wrote that Bell qualified for an evidentiary hearing based on licensed psychologist Dr. Marc Zimmerman's affidavit.

"(That) to a reasonable degree of psychological certainty Fredrick Bell has a combined intelligence quotient of 75 or below and that there is a reasonable basis to believe that upon further testing Fredrick Bell will be found mentally retarded under the criteria established by the American Association of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities formerly known as the American Association on Mental Retardation," Zimmerman wrote.

If an evidentiary hearing finds Bell to be mentally retarded, Bell will not face execution. The court, however, denied issues in the appeal including Bell's claim that he is innocent, and that he received ineffective assistance of counsel during jury selection.

In 1993, a jury convicted Bell, now 39, of capital murder for the shooting of Robert C. "Bert" Bell (no relation) at a Stop-and-Go service station in Grenada during a robbery. The Supreme Court denied Bell's first petition for post-conviction relief in 2004.