Report: State will not seek death penalty in capital murder case of ex-Alabama basketball player

Published 5:58 am Tuesday, August 22, 2023

The State of Alabama will not seek the death penalty in the capital murder case of former Crimson Tide basketball player Darius Miles.

Miles and Michael Davis are accused of the fatal shooting of Jamea Harris near the Strip entertainment district in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 15.

The shooting occurred on the Strip, a student-oriented business district of bars and restaurants near the Tuscaloosa campus. Investigators said Harris was sitting in the passenger seat of a car when she was struck by a bullet, which brings a capital murder charge in Alabama.

The Tuscaloosa News reports that court documents indicate that prosecutors filed a notice in the Tuscaloosa County Sixth Judicial Court on Monday, indicating that the range of punishment, if Miles is convicted on the charge, is life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Davis is accused of firing the gun that killed Harris. Investigators wrote in a court document that Miles admitted to providing the handgun immediately before the shooting.

Miles was dismissed from the Alabama team after his arrest.