Fmr. Carter A.G. Griffin Bell Dies

Jimmy Carter's attorney general, Griffin B. Bell, has died in Atlanta hospital at 90.

Bell died at 9:40 a.m. Monday, said Les Zucke, a spokesman for Atlanta law firm King & Spalding.

Former U.S. Attorney General Griffin Bell was being treated at Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta for complications due to pancreatic cancer.

Former President Jimmy Carter said he was "deeply saddened" by Bell's death and called him a "trusted and enduring public figure."

Katherine Bell McClure said her 90-year-old grandfather had also been experiencing kidney failure and pneumonia. Bell had battled kidney disease for years and was recently diagnosed with cancer. McClure said Bell was admitted to a hospital Monday in his hometown of Americus and by midweek was moved to Piedmont.

Carter's choice of Bell, a longtime friend, as attorney general was considered the most controversial of his Cabinet picks after the 1976 election.

At the time, the NAACP and other civil rights groups complained Bell, as a federal judge, didn't force Southern schools to integrate quickly enough. But Carter called Bell's civil rights record superb, and many black Georgians - including U.N. ambassador designate Andrew Young - came forward to support him.

Bell served just 2 1/2 years at the Justice Department, returning to his Atlanta law firm. But Bell remained a key adviser to Carter.

(AP)