Convicted Killer. On March 9, 1963, Powell and accomplice Jimmy Lee Smith kidnapped two policemen in Hollywood, California and drove them to an onion field outside of Bakersfield, where they killed Officer Ian James Campbell. The other officer, Karl Hettinger, escaped. Powell and Smith were driving through Hollywood the night of the murder looking for a liquor store to rob when they were pulled over by the two officers. What began as a routine traffic stop quickly turned into a nightmare. Powell pulled a gun on Campbell and ordered Smith to take the officer's gun away. The men forced the officers into their car and sped off until they reached a desolate spot in Kern County between two onion fields where Powell shot Campbell in the mouth then shot four more rounds into the officer as he writhed on the ground, killing him. Hettinger, who managed to escape unharmed, ran several miles to a farmhouse where he called for help. The killers were captured within 2 days. Six months after the killing, both men were found guilty and sentenced to death, but the state Supreme Court nullified the verdicts. Retrials brought a life sentence for Smith but another death sentence for Powell, the triggerman. The story was made famous in Joseph Wambaugh's 1973 book 'The Onion Field' which was made into a movie of the same name in 1979 starring James Woods as Powell. Powell was denied parole 11 times, most recently in January 2010, when he told a panel of the California Board of Prison Terms that he had terminal cancer and wanted to be freed before he died. In October 2011, the board denied his request for compassionate release. Powell died at Vacaville State Prison.
Convicted Killer. On March 9, 1963, Powell and accomplice Jimmy Lee Smith kidnapped two policemen in Hollywood, California and drove them to an onion field outside of Bakersfield, where they killed Officer Ian James Campbell. The other officer, Karl Hettinger, escaped. Powell and Smith were driving through Hollywood the night of the murder looking for a liquor store to rob when they were pulled over by the two officers. What began as a routine traffic stop quickly turned into a nightmare. Powell pulled a gun on Campbell and ordered Smith to take the officer's gun away. The men forced the officers into their car and sped off until they reached a desolate spot in Kern County between two onion fields where Powell shot Campbell in the mouth then shot four more rounds into the officer as he writhed on the ground, killing him. Hettinger, who managed to escape unharmed, ran several miles to a farmhouse where he called for help. The killers were captured within 2 days. Six months after the killing, both men were found guilty and sentenced to death, but the state Supreme Court nullified the verdicts. Retrials brought a life sentence for Smith but another death sentence for Powell, the triggerman. The story was made famous in Joseph Wambaugh's 1973 book 'The Onion Field' which was made into a movie of the same name in 1979 starring James Woods as Powell. Powell was denied parole 11 times, most recently in January 2010, when he told a panel of the California Board of Prison Terms that he had terminal cancer and wanted to be freed before he died. In October 2011, the board denied his request for compassionate release. Powell died at Vacaville State Prison.
Bio by: Louis du Mort
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