Bell v. Howe, No. 11-1046 (6th Cir. 2012)
Annotate this CaseIn 1988, Thompson was murdered in Detroit. Bell was found guilty of felony murder and possessing a firearm while committing a felony. He was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. On appeal he argued that counsel provided ineffective assistance in failing to interview two alibi witnesses and present them at trial. The conviction was affirmed on the merits by the Michigan Court of Appeals in 1992 and the state supreme court denied review. In 2006 Bell sought habeas corpus. Counsel was appointed and, while investigating, found what was believed to be material, relevant evidence not disclosed by the prosecution, in violation of Brady v. Maryland. The district court granted a stay and Michigan courts denied Bell’s claims on the merits. The district court granted Bell’s petition with regard to Brady and ineffective assistance of counsel. The Sixth Circuit reversed, holding that the district court did not properly defer to the trial court with respect to the alleged Brady violation and that Bell did not prove that it was more likely than not that no reasonable juror would have found him guilty. Equitable tolling was not appropriate; Bell’s ineffective-assistance claim remains precluded by AEDPA’s statute of limitations.
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