Bell's lawyer, Margaret Mead, said she presented the rarely used defense of "defense of another" at the trial. When a person sees someone being attacked, he has a right to step in, she said.
Mead said she and Bell had long been aware of what Knox was going to say during the trial and "weren't afraid of his testimony." Knox's mother testified that her son was heavily intoxicated the night of the killing.
"My client has never threatened Tyrone Knox," she said. "He has no prior criminal record and is a well-respected guy in the neighborhood."
David Bohannon, law clerk for Circuit Court Judge John M. Glynn, noticed the graffiti on his walk to work yesterday morning. He said the phrase "stop snitching" drew his attention, and Knox's name seemed vaguely familiar.
He snapped a digital photograph and continued on to the courthouse. Once there, he confirmed that Knox was a real person - Glynn had been the one to sentence him last month - and notified the state's attorney's office.
"He was their cooperator," he said. "I thought they might like to know."
