Judge who handled death penalty trial will retire

GRAND RAPIDS (AP) — Robert Holmes Bell is retiring after nearly 30 years as a federal judge in western Michigan.

“I don’t want to be in a situation of not being able to comprehend what’s going on around me. I want to go out with the sails up and flying,” Bell, 72, told The Grand Rapids Press.

Bell was an Ingham County judge when President Ronald Reagan promoted him in 1987. He’s presided over many high-profile cases but none more noteworthy than the 2002 trial of Marvin Gabrion, who was convicted of killing a woman in a Michigan national forest.

The jury sentenced Gabrion to death. He remains on federal death row while he challenges his conviction and punishment.

“I think we have a movement in the United States to not execute these people,” Bell said. “I’m not advocating one way or another. At a certain point, it becomes a political question.”

Bell is stepping down in January. Technically, he’ll be on senior status and can help if needed, but he won’t have his own courtroom or office.

“He’s a towering figure,” said U.S. District Judge Robert Jonker, who appeared before Bell as a lawyer before becoming a colleague in the same Grand Rapids courthouse.

Attorney Paul Mitchell has regularly defended people in front of Bell, including Gabrion.

“Judge Bell should be remembered as a very firm and very just judge,” he said. “He’s a tough judge, no doubt about it, but he was always fair.”