Former University of Alabama basketball player Darius Miles is set to stand trial for capital murder on December 1, 2025, in Tuscaloosa Circuit Court. The case has garnered national attention due to its tragic circumstances, high-profile figures, and complex legal implications. The trial centers on the shooting death of Jamea Jonae Harris, a 23-year-old woman who was killed on January 15, 2023, near a popular nightlife area in Tuscaloosa known as The Strip.
According to investigators, Harris was shot while sitting in a vehicle with her boyfriend, Cedric Johnson. Johnson and Michael Lynn Davis, a friend of Darius Miles, allegedly exchanged gunfire during a late-night confrontation. Harris was struck by a bullet and died at the scene. Prosecutors allege that Miles provided the handgun to Davis, making him legally accountable for the shooting under Alabama’s capital murder laws—even though he did not pull the trigger.
Both Miles and Davis were arrested the same day as the shooting, and Miles was quickly dismissed from the Alabama basketball team. Since then, he has been held without bond in Tuscaloosa County Jail. His legal team has made multiple efforts to have the case dismissed or to have him released on bond, but the judge has denied those motions, citing the seriousness of the charges and public safety concerns.
Michael Davis was tried separately in early 2025. He was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. His conviction is currently under appeal. The outcome of Davis’s trial has heightened the stakes for Miles, whose own trial will now proceed with many of the same facts and witnesses expected to play a role.
The prosecution will argue that by handing Davis the weapon, Miles participated in a chain of events that led to Harris’s death. The defense is expected to counter that Miles did not intend for anyone to be harmed and may argue that the gun was given in response to a perceived threat. A previous attempt by Miles’s attorneys to claim immunity under Alabama’s self-defense laws was rejected by the court.
One particularly high-profile element of the case is the potential testimony of former Alabama teammate Brandon Miller, now an NBA player. During Davis’s trial, Miller testified that he transported the weapon used in the shooting, though he claimed he was unaware it was in his car at the time. It’s not yet known whether he or other teammates will be called to testify again in Miles’s case.
The trial is expected to last at least a week. If convicted, Darius Miles faces mandatory life imprisonment without parole. The state has decided not to seek the death penalty.
This case highlights the devastating consequences of gun violence and the far-reaching legal responsibilities tied to firearm use. Once seen as a rising star in college basketball, Miles now faces a future that may be decided by a jury weighing whether his actions—though indirect—justify a conviction for one of the most serious crimes under Alabama law.
