An execution date for Edward Nathaniel Bell for the 1999 capital murder of a Winchester police officer has been scrubbed for the second time this year.

The U.S. Supreme Court agreed yesterday to hear Bell's appeal, staying his scheduled July 24 execution. A date for arguments will likely not be set until October, and a decision by the justices is not expected until months later.

Bell, 42, murdered Sgt. Ricky Lee Timbrook in Winchester. Timbrook was shot in the head while pursuing Bell on foot.

Bell was to have been executed April 8, but that was delayed until July 24 by Gov. Timothy M. Kaine. At the time, there had been no executions in the country since Sept. 25 while the justices considered a challenge to the constitutionality of lethal injection. The Supreme Court allowed executions to resume on April 16.

Bell's appeal concerns the performance of his trial lawyers and is not about lethal injection. There are conflicting decisions among appeals courts on the technical issue raised by Bell, and the justices may resolve the matter.

The next execution scheduled in Virginia is for May 27, when Kevin Green is set to die for the 1998 slaying of Patricia L. Vaughan, a Brunswick County grocery-store owner shot to death during a robbery.
Contact Frank Green at (804) 649-6340 or fgreen@timesdispatch.com.