Cop killer Herman Bell ‘excited’ to be released from prison
Cold-blooded cop killer Herman Bell is “excited” about his imminent release from prison, he said Tuesday.
“I feel good, yes I’m excited,” he exclusively told The Post at Shawangunk Correctional Facility in Wallkill, NY.
Bell is scheduled to walk free Friday after a judge last week rejected an appeal for a parole do-over from the widow of one of his victims.
The 70-year-old — one of three Black Liberation Army members who lured Officers Joseph Piagentini and Waverly Jones into an ambush with a bogus 911 call in 1971 and then opened fire — refused to sit or say much more as he met with a Post reporter in the lock-up’s visiting area.
Sporting neatly trimmed hair and a clear complexion, Bell looked remarkably strong and healthy after more than 40 years behind bars.
“I’m doing good,” he finally said after staring out the window for a length of time.
But lawyers for the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association say he should keep his excitement in check — they plan on filing another appeal Wednesday.
“We are seeking a temporary restraining order that, if granted, will keep Bell in prison during the appeal, for as long as it takes, until there’s a decision,” said spokesman Al O’Leary.
Bell, who killed Piagentini with his own service weapon as the wounded cop begged for his life, claimed for years that he is a “political prisoner” who was framed.
He finally confessed in 2012, and this year, in his eighth parole board appearance, claimed he is now a “peaceful” man you would want “to be your friend.”
He successfully convinced a majority, two out of three of Gov. Andrew Cuomo-appointed board members, to grant his release.
The decision outraged members of the law enforcement community and Piagentini’s widow, who fought the decision in court with the help of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.
But a judge ultimately ruled that the board had followed all protocols in reaching its ruling, and set his release for 5 p.m. April 27.