BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
Bell
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When convicted cop-killer Russell Bell enters his parole hearing today, it is his side of the story vs. about 800 letters and thousands of signatures on petitions opposing his release.
The Ohio Adult Parole Board has been flooded with requests to keep him locked up after the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) and Hamilton County's prosecutor last month called for the community to start a letter-writing campaign to keep Mr. Bell in prison.
On Wednesday, Mr. Bell hoped parole board members will look beyond the letters and instead look at the facts.
"They were misleading the public, in my opinion," Mr. Bell, 45, said from London Correctional Facility. "It really hurt me because I'm not the person they're portraying me to be."
On July 15, 1978, Cincinnati Police Officer Charles Burdsall was pursuing Mr. Bell and Wayne Reed in response to a reported robbery at a Camp Washington convenience store. When Officer Burdsall stopped their car, Mr. Bell and Mr. Reed got out on opposite sides. Mr. Reed shot Officer Burdsall in the face and then twice in the back.
Mr. Bell, 26 at the time, said he didn't know anything about the robbery. Mr. Reed, he said, simply offered him a ride to his girlfriend's house.
"I want the family of Officer Burdsall to know I had nothing to do with the shooting," Mr. Bell said. "I didn't know he had the weapon. If there was anything I could have done to stop it, I would have."
He said he thinks of the night often. He said he got out of the car and put his hands up immediately.
"I heard the shots," he said. "I ducked."
Mr. Bell was originally sentenced to death. He faces his first parole hearing today because his death sentence was overturned by the U.S. Supreme Court when the court struck down Ohio's death penalty in the 1980s. Mr. Reed also is serving a life sentence.
Before parole board members decide whether to release Mr. Bell, they will look at the crime, his past criminal history, his adjustment in prison and the community's sentiment.
They could recommend immediate release or a further hearing to look into parole, or deny the parole and a new parole date could be set, said Andrea Dean, spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.
Officer Burdsall's family, some of whom testified before the parole board earlier this month, had no comment on today's hearing. FOP President Keith Fangman has said Officer Burdsall's mother was crying and upset when she found out about the parole possibility. "She told me, "The nightmare just isn't going to end. Is it?' " he said.
Mr. Bell wants the family to know how sorry he is.
He plans to tell the parole board that today. He also wants the members to know he's held jobs in prison and he's a "stable, reliable, productive person."
Many in the community, though, see him as a cop-killer who should stay behind bars for life.
In a letter to the board, Hamilton County Prosecutor Joseph Deters wrote: "The family of the slain police officer continues to suffer from this defendant's brutal actions. Due to the fact that a Cincinnati Police Officer was murdered in cold blood, and this board is considering release of the co-defendant directly responsible for his death, I will take any and all action necessary to make sure this release never happens."
Still, Mr. Bell keeps his faith.
He said he is spiritually and mentally strong, ready to face the board's decision.
"I'm putting my trust in the Lord," Mr. Bell said. "My co-defendant acted on his own with no action from me. I had no control over his action. . . . I'm apologetic to the family."
