'Keeping Hope Alive': Family Of Darius Miles Offers Perspective After Bond Hearing

TUSCALOOSA, AL — Two days after former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles and his childhood friend Michael Lynn Davis were charged with capital murder in the shooting death of 23-year-old Birmingham mother Jamea Harris, the syndicated radio show "The Breakfast Club" weighed in on the incident.

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Hosted by popular shock jock Charlamagne tha God, the show featured Miles as its "Donkey of the Day," before providing the masses with a since-refuted series of the events of the morning of Jan. 15.

It was heard by many, including the family of Darius Miles.

"Darius Miles allegedly killed a woman because she wouldn't talk to him," Charlamagne tha God told his massive audience on more than 80 affiliates nationwide. "Rest in peace to Jamea Jonae Harris, 23 years old, a mother of a five year old — No longer here because of a man's fragile ego."

Obviously, this version of the story was dispelled when more evidence was presented in court. But that didn't stop the openly-partisan outlet OutKick from hammering a similar narrative and ginning up a social media frenzy that blasted the entire men's basketball program.

Indeed, a story from February is still live on the OutKick website with the grossly inaccurate headline: "Parents Of Tuscaloosa Mother Murdered By Alabama Basketball Player Darius Miles: It's Unimaginable' They Let Brandon Miller Play."

What to know:

1. Jamea Harris was from Birmingham
2. Darius Miles, at no point that evening, is even seen holding a gun out in the open.
3. Brandon Miller was never charged or mentioned as a possible suspect.

As Patch previously reported, another headline that has since been updated claimed it was Brandon Miller who killed Harris. As the media firestorm raged into the start of spring, the accusations didn't go unnoticed by those closest to Miles.

But after more details regarding the specifics of the case slowly came to light, most pundits grew silent, stopping well short of offering anything in the way of an apology or retraction for rushing to judgement.

"Where are they now?" a relative of Miles asked me on Thursday, after listing off numerous national talking heads that had painted the former Alabama basketball player as a cold-blooded killer.

Millions saw these accusations and took them hook, line and sinker. Then they moved on to the next scandal.

Meanwhile, the family of Darius Miles also saw those headlines and heard the misinformed jeers, suffering immensely through the last few months of widespread misinformation.

Never mind Miles' family has been vocal in offering sympathies for Harris and her family at multiple turns in the aftermath of that fateful morning. And never mind that they insisted to me in an extensive interview that, had they believed Miles to be guilty based on what they know, they would be the first to demand he be held accountable.

They are clear in their desire for justice for Harris. But, at the same time, they are unrelenting in their calls for justice for their own loved one involved in this capital murder case.

But given what this emotionally exhausted family has endured and learned since Jan. 15, coupled with the evidence independently examined by Patch, the situation is much more complex than talk show hosts and pundits understood in the days following the shooting.

'Keeping Hope Alive'

I met with more than half a dozen relatives of Darius Miles on Thursday who gathered on the patio of a Tuscaloosa hotel following Wednesday's hearing that saw Circuit Judge Daniel Pruet deny setting bond for the former Alabama basketball player.

They graciously agreed to offer their perspective under the condition that Tuscaloosa Patch refrain from publishing individual names. And after speaking at length rehashing Wednesday's hearing, the group surprised me by lightening up just a little and offering smiles when I asked them how Miles was doing in the Tuscaloosa County Jail.

"He's reading the Bible, working out and he plays Spades," said a loved one who is in regular contact with Miles. "He reads his devotional. He likes to write notes about them. And he naps."

Positivity was a prevailing theme of our conversation Thursday, with talks turning to the same character anecdotes presented by defense attorney Mary Turner as she advocated for his release ahead of any ruling or trial.

"He maintains a very positive attitude," another family member told me. "He's disappointed but he's really continued the relationship he has established with the Lord that's keeping him and he's sustaining and keeping the faith, keeping hope alive. You saw Darius for yourself through a different eye [Thursday] with all the letters and his character."

During her closing statement on Wednesday, defense attorney Mary Turner mentioned the numerous letters of support for Miles provided in the case. It should be noted that recording devices were not allowed in the courtroom and the following is directly from a copy of the court transcript obtained by Patch and edited only for clarity.

"It is a snapshot of the life of Darius Miles," Turner said after the near half-hour long presentation supporting her client's character.

"I'm sorry to get upset, " she added after holding back tears. "I have only known him since January. I know that I can't tell you all the stuff about Darius, but I can only give you a snapshot. But I hope I have given that today. ... It is a difficult job you have, Judge [Daniel Pruet] And I understand that. I am glad I don't have it. But this is a man that is entitled to a bond on this charge. He would not be the only one that's ever got a bond for capital murder in this circuit. Albeit, it has been a while."

Indeed, without mentioning it in court, the last time bond was granted to a capital murder suspect in Tuscaloosa County was in the 1990s, with Turner and Jim Standridge as the defense attorneys. And, for those who will remember, it was Standridge who represented Alabama basketball standout Brandon Miller in the immediate aftermath of the shooting.

ALSO READ: Bama Basketball Shooting | Video Evidence Illuminates Tragedy

Turner argued that the bond schedule allows for a bond to be set in a capital murder case between $50,000 and no bond. She also made an extensive case for Miles following all the conditions set out for him.

"It is a snapshot of the life that people that know him that have met him and that are telling you that he's not a danger," Turner said.

As Patch reported Wednesday, Crimson Tide guard Jahvon Quinerly was also in the courtroom audience and was shown in a photo with Miles. The two are reportedly good friends and Quinerly was just one of several Crimson Tide players to speak out in support of their former teammate.

“He constantly pushes those around him to be better players on the court and when his teammates sometimes needed motivation, he was always supportive of his brothers," Quinerly was quoted as saying during Turner's presentation regarding Miles' character.

Tuscaloosa County Assistant District Attorney Paula Whitley then provided the following statement as the hearing came to a close:

"I acknowledge the defense's very emotional presentation on behalf of their client. Mr. Miles is under indictment for Capital Murder because on January 15th, 2023, at a minimum he called to have his gun delivered. He provided his loaded gun to a masked person, a person who was supposedly one of his closest friends. Bonded to him like a brother. Someone who is clearly agitated. Then Mr. Miles moved his girlfriend and another person away from the scene to a safer location and then walked back to the area where the victim's car was stopped behind other cars so that he could not exit the area. Then immediately his friend, his bonded-like-a-brother."

Click here for a more detailed account of Wednesday's bond hearing.

Circuit Court Judge Daniel Pruet spoke directly to Miles and commended the work of his defense team, but ultimately denied setting a bond due to the nature of the offense charged being capital murder. The news was another blow to his family, but nothing they said they couldn't make it through in the push for justice in the case.

Darius Miles has a visibly strong support network with his family, several of whom were in town for the hearing. When I asked about the general mood following the hearing, there was obvious disappointment but surprising optimism in that so many spoke out on his behalf for the court record.

"Your time is limited [to see Miles]," one relative lamented. "You've got one visit a week after you've been able to talk to them whenever you wanted and to just have all of that stripped away. The way he helped others and to not be able to help him is hard."

Still, when talk turned to the positives, Miles' loved ones said he was spiritually strong and they understand they have to be strong for him. At the time of this story's publication, Miles — who had no prior criminal record prior to the fatal shooting — has been in jail for 130 days.

"He's always telling us, 'I'm good if y'all are good,' and we're saying no, 'we're good if you're good.'"

While there were smiles here and there discussing the more human aspects of the last few months, those gathered on the patio at that hotel were tired. Justice was a word used extensively in the conversation and they know this is just the latest chapter in what is bound to be a complicated legal odyssey.

But when asked about any message they wanted mentioned as a group, they first reiterated a desire for justice for Jamea Harris.

"We're human and we sympathize wholeheartedly with Jamea and the fact that her son will not have that relationship anymore."

In parting, though, the primary message was addressed to those who continue to push misinformation regarding their loved one. One family member mentioned the Alabama men's basketball season and it's run to the Sweet 16, when nationally televised games featured numerous mentions of the case.

However, the woman went on to mention that after the Crimson Tide was bounced from the tournament by San Diego State, it ceased to be a topic discussed during every basketball game.

The radio silence in light of new details was a blow also as significant as when it dominated the news cycle.

"They were taking it and running with it, but where are they now?" Can they not at least respond?"

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