Answering questions minutes after the conviction on the seventh floor of the Tuscaloosa County courthouse, Whitley expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the case. But she conveyed a message not of finality.
“We believe this is partial justice for Jamea,” Whitley said. “It’s not over.”
Whitley didn’t mention ex-Alabama basketball player Darius Miles by name, but he’s the other man charged in this case. Davis was convicted of shooting into the Jeep that carried Harris near the Strip in Tuscaloosa on Jan. 15, 2023. Davis’ attorney, John Robbins, did not successfully argue self-defense.
Miles, who has not been tried yet, was the owner of the gun. Mary Turner, Miles’ attorney, has previously stated in court that Miles provided the gun to Davis for protection.
Davis will appeal the ruling of capital murder with a sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, but the biggest question that looms after the five-day trial is: What does this mean for Miles?
Darius Miles’ status
Miles has been in jail since the day of the shooting more than two years ago. Multiple times, his lawyers have tried to get Miles let out on bond. But two different judges have said no. Bond in capital murder cases is rare in Alabama.
Miles does not yet have a trial date set. That could soon change now that Davis has been found guilty.
Turner did not respond to a request for comment from AL.com after the Davis verdict.
Miles was removed from the Alabama men’s basketball team the day he was arrested.
Will prosecution of Miles change after Davis verdict?
Now that the prosecution has a guilty verdict in hand of the shooter, Davis, will that affect how it prosecutes Miles?
“We have not given that thought at this time, since we’re just walking out of the verdict,” Whitley said Friday. “We’ll be continuing to work on his case and all the other cases that we have in the office to bring justice to all of our cases.”
Unless they hatch a plea deal, Miles will go on trial in the same courthouse with the same judge, but, with an all new jury.
Life without parole is the only possibility if Miles is found guilty of capital murder. The prosecution decided to take the death penalty off the table for both Davis and Miles.
Now, if Davis had been found not guilty of capital murder or the lesser manslaughter charge, then that would have had a direct impact on Miles. In that scenario, if the jury found Davis had acted in self-defense, then there might not be much of a case against Miles, who wasn’t the one who pulled the trigger.
But Davis’ trial didn’t go that way.
The Davis trial in some ways can be informative to Miles and his attorneys. Although they might not know exactly how the state will prosecute Miles, they had a full week to watch how the state prosecuted Davis. The trial also provided a week of information as to what didn’t work in trying to prove self-defense from Davis’ attorneys.
The outcome of Davis’ trial can also help inform Miles and his attorneys when weighing any potential plea agreement the prosecution might offer. But only so much. Davis was the shooter while Miles provided the gun. So their circumstances, although somewhat connected, are different and could be perceived much differently by a different jury.
