Jessie Bell convicted of second-degree murder

JONESBORO, Ill. -- Just after midnight Tuesday, the jury in the Jessie Bell trial returned a verdict, finding Bell guilty of second-degree murder in the death of James "Jimmy" Morrison.

The jury deliberated about nine hours and 15 minutes.

Union County, Illinois, State's Attorney Tyler Edmonds said that obviously was not the verdict he had been looking for, but he was "happy there was a conviction entered. We will be asking for a significant sentence."

Edmonds originally had charged Bell with first-degree murder in connection with Morrison's April 12, 2014, beating death.

Bell's lawyer, Patrick Duffy, said he would confer with his client on how the defense would proceed.

"Obviously I'm glad it's not first-degree murder," he said.

Bell, near tears at times, took the stand in his own defense Monday, the final day of his trial.

The jury began deliberating the case about 2:45 p.m. Monday.

Judge Mark Boie granted the defense's request to allow a second-degree murder verdict option in addition to not guilty and first-degree murder after accepting the possibility jurors could find Bell had acted in self-defense.

Bell and Duffy sought to stress Bell was not the aggressor in the fight that led to Morrison's death.

Bell said he'd known Morrison to be a family friend for about 10 to 15 years.

"I'd heard about his good side and moreso watched out for his bad side," Bell said, telling the court Morrison was known to be an alcoholic who beat people up.

Under questioning by Duffy, Bell retold a story mentioned in his video statements to police about an incident seven years before in which Bell had stopped by Morrison's house.

"I went to have a beer with Jimmy. ... He didn't know I was coming," Bell said.

He said Morrison took him to a bedroom where he saw a man, Keith Palmer, who apparently had been severely beaten. Bell said the man was bruised, and there was blood all over.

"To my knowledge, [Morrison] was showing me this to say, if we ever fought," this is what would happen, Bell said.

During cross-examination, assistant prosecutor Edwin Parkinson questioned why Bell would stay and drink a beer after seeing such a scene.

"Yeah, because that's the kind type of guy I am," Bell said.

The night before Morrison's death, Bell said, Ricky Turner asked Bell to help him move furniture to the house at 313 Douglas St. in Anna, Illinois, which Turner had rented from Morrison.

Bell said he, Ricky Turner and Patrick Turner, who also was at the house, left after moving the furniture to get a cooler and beer and drove around on a back road, returning to the house about 11 p.m.

As they sat at the kitchen table with Jennifer Smith and her daughter, Deanna Smith, Morrison walked in unannounced.

Parkinson, during cross-examination, asked why Bell thought Morrison should be expected to knock when he owned the home.

"Sir, if I were in a house, I would prefer the landlord to knock ...," Bell said.

Bell said he asked Morrison how he was doing, and Morrison elbowed him in the mouth.

Bell testified he was angry but told Morrison, "I would rather be your friend than your enemy."

Bell said shortly after that, he went to check on Ricky Turner, who had gone to the basement with Morrison.

When Bell came back to the kitchen, he testified, he started to get beers for himself, Ricky Turner and Morrison but accidentally opened Morrison's pack rather than his own.

When Morrison came upstairs, he "instantly noticed that his beer had been busted open," Bell said, adding he was scared and told Morrison he had done it.

Bell said Jennifer Smith had tried to tell Morrison that Deanna Smith had done it, but Bell wouldn't let her cover for him.

At that point, Ricky Turner and Morrison went to the front room, Bell said. He said he went to the room to see whether Morrison was all right. Morrison wouldn't talk to him, he said, so Bell went back to the kitchen.

When Morrison returned to the kitchen, he told everyone to get out of the house, Bell said, in agreement with others' testimony.

"Everybody at that point, to me, was just stunned," Bell said.

Bell testified when he and Travis Turner got to the truck, Bell got in, but "Travis is standing outside the truck, jumping up and down," yelling about money owed to Ricky Turner by Morrison.

Bell said he went back to the house to ask about the money so he could give Travis Turner the information to calm him, and he disputed testimony from Patrick Turner that Morrison had been in the house, yelling and throwing things.

"Jimmy was not in that house in that kind of rage," Bell said.

"Did you do anything ... to provoke him into using physical force against you?" Duffy asked.

"No, sir, I didn't."

Bell said Morrison started throwing blows, and he began blocking them. Bell claimed Morrison grabbed him by the shirt, which Bell backed out of.

When Bell saw Travis Turner, he said, he looked "as if he was going to hit him no matter what I said or did."

"How did you give Travis the green light?" Duffy asked.

"... I looked at him like, 'Help me,'" Bell said.

"Did you tell Travis Turner to hit Jimmy Morrison with that board?" Duffy asked.

"No, sir ... I didn't tell Travis Turner anything out of my mouth," Bell said, adding he thought Travis Turner would hit Morrison in the leg or the back.

"He hit him one time as hard as he could," Bell said.

Bell admitted to being pulled off Morrison two times, after which he left.

Asked about the number of times Bell claimed to have hit Morrison -- five or six total -- versus what others had testified, Bell replied: "They're saying that because Travis is in lockup, and they don't want him to go down for this."

"What reason did you give Jimmy for starting to pound on, beat on you?" Duffy asked.

"I gave no reason," Bell said.

Parkinson suggested Bell shouldn't have inserted himself in the money issue between Morrison and Ricky Turner.

"So you stuck your nose in where it didn't belong, didn't you?" Parkinson asked.

"I'll agree," Bell responded.

Parkinson also called Bell a "coward," taking issue with Bell's assertion in court if Morrison's hands had been down at his sides as he lay on the ground, he would not have hit him.

"My hands has never, ever killed somebody," Bell said. "If I believe anything killed him, it was that board right there on the judge's desk."

Duffy's last line of questioning dealt with Bell's first videotaped interview with police.

"How long had you been without sleep at the time of the first interview?" Duffy asked.

Bell thought for a moment, recalling his steps leading to the night of the incident.

"... It had been at least 24 hours," he said.

Duffy reiterated Bell had told Chad Brown of the Illinois State Police he'd been drinking.

"Yes, I was still drunk," Bell agreed. He testified he'd been subjected to no Breathalyzer, blood or urine tests to confirm his level of intoxication.

kwebster@semissourian.com

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