A prosecutor opposes parole in the 1978 murder of a Cincinnati officer

Two men convicted of killing a Cincinnati police officer in 1978 will appear before the state parole board at the end of the month asking for release.

Wayne Reed, 72, and Russell Bell, 71, have repeatedly applied for parole over the past two decades. Their last parole hearings were in 2019. The board repeatedly rejected their requests.

Hamilton County Prosecutor Melissa Powers said in an interview that justice demands that Reed and Bell spend the rest of their lives behind bars.

“These two are cold-blooded killers,” Powers said. “If they violated the law, they would face the death penalty.”

Months before the men were convicted of aggravated murder in 1978, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down Ohio’s death penalty law. Nevertheless, a Hamilton County judge sentenced both to death. But in 1979, a state appeals court overturned their death sentences, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling.