Jamea Harris Wrongful Death Lawsuit Against Miller and Miles

The Jamea Harris wrongful death lawsuit was filed on October 20, 2023, by Harris’s mother, Decarla Raietta Heard, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama, Western Division, against Michael “Buzz” Davis, former Alabama basketball player Darius Miles, and then-Alabama player Brandon Miller. After mediation, all parties settled, and U.S. District Judge Anna M. Manasco dismissed the case with prejudice on March 31, 2025. The settlement established a trust for Harris’s young son and its dollar amount was not disclosed.¹

Who Was Sued and On What Theory

The complaint (Case No. 7:23-cv-01424-LSC) named three defendants: Davis, the shooter; Miles, who provided the handgun; and Miller, who drove the gun to the scene in his Dodge Charger. Heard was represented by Kirby Farris and Malia Tartt of the Birmingham firm Farris, Riley & Pitt. Miller was represented in the civil case by attorney Jim Standridge.²³

The complaint alleged that all three defendants “knew or should have known that bringing a dangerous weapon to a dispute and discharging said weapon would likely result in harm,” and that Harris’s death was “a direct or proximate consequence of the negligence or wantonness of each of the defendants.”³ The family said publicly that they wanted testimony from all three men about “what they did, said and saw,” and to examine “why and how the gun was brought to the scene.”⁴

The Facts Underlying the Complaint

Around 1:45 a.m. on January 15, 2023, Harris, 23, was sitting in the passenger seat of a Jeep Wrangler driven by her boyfriend, Cedric Johnson, near the Strip off University Boulevard, close to the University of Alabama campus. Less than an hour earlier, Johnson and Davis had a verbal altercation. Miles then texted his teammate Miller to bring a gun to the scene. Miller arrived in his Dodge Charger, and Miles retrieved the semiautomatic handgun and handed it to Davis.⁵

Davis walked up to the driver’s side and exchanged gunfire with Johnson. A bullet fired by Davis struck Harris in the chin and traveled through her neck, killing her. Davis was wounded in the shoulder. Tuscaloosa police described the motive as a “minor altercation” between people who had no prior relationship.⁶⁷

How the Settlement Was Structured

The parties reached a settlement through mediation and filed a joint motion to dismiss. The dollar amount was not disclosed. The settlement created a trust for Harris’s son, Kaine, who was five when his mother was killed. The court appointed Advocacy Trust, LLC as trustee, and Kaine was identified as the sole heir to Harris’s estate. Each party agreed to bear its own court costs, and Judge Manasco entered the dismissal with prejudice on March 31, 2025, which bars the same claims from being refiled.⁸¹

What the Civil Case Did Not Decide

The wrongful death suit is a separate track from the criminal prosecutions, and the settlement resolved only the civil liability claims. The criminal outcomes for the same defendants differ sharply.

Michael Davis

Davis was arrested the day of the shooting and indicted on capital murder on March 8, 2023. His four-day trial began in Tuscaloosa County Circuit Court in May 2025. Prosecutors called the shooting a “cold-blooded ambush”; the defense argued self-defense, saying Johnson fired first. On May 9, 2025, the jury found Davis guilty of capital murder after roughly one hour of deliberation, and Judge Daniel F. Pruet sentenced him to life in prison without parole. Prosecutors had declined to seek the death penalty. Defense attorney John Robbins said the 65-minute deliberation was inadequate and indicated plans to appeal.⁹⁶¹⁰

Darius Miles

Miles was arrested the same day as Davis and indicted on capital murder on March 8, 2023, for allegedly aiding and abetting Davis by providing the gun. He pleaded not guilty and has been held without bond since his arrest, having been denied bond three times. If convicted, he faces life without parole; the state is not seeking the death penalty. His trial was originally set for December 1, 2025, but on November 7, 2025, Judge Pruet granted a stay after the defense petitioned the Alabama Court of Criminal Appeals to remove Pruet from the case for alleged judicial bias. As of late 2025, the case was awaiting the appeals court’s decision on that recusal motion.¹¹

Brandon Miller

Miller was never charged with a crime. The Tuscaloosa County District Attorney’s office said there was no legal basis to charge him, and the university’s athletic department classified him as a “cooperative witness.”¹² Miller later testified as a prosecution witness at Davis’s trial, confirming that Miles had texted him to bring the gun and stating he was “unaware of the gun’s intended use.”¹³ Cedric Johnson, Harris’s boyfriend, was also not charged. Robbins alleged the District Attorney’s Office declined to charge Johnson in exchange for his cooperation as a witness, a claim Chief Assistant District Attorney Paula Whitley called “a distraction.”¹⁴

1
Tuscaloosa News. Wrongful Death Lawsuit Settled
2
PR Newswire. Farris Riley and Pitt Files Wrongful Death Lawsuit on Behalf of Family of Jamea Harris
3
ESPN. Wrongful Death Lawsuit Filed Against Ex-Alabama Star Brandon Miller
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Complex. NBA Rookie Brandon Miller Wrongful Death Lawsuit
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Tuscaloosa Thread. Brandon Miller, Darius Miles Sued for Wrongful Death of Jamea Harris
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ESPN. Michael Davis Found Guilty of Capital Murder
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Fox 5 DC. Alabama Basketball Player Darius Miles Charged With Murder in Deadly Shooting
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ABC 33/40. Alabama Court Approves Trust for Child of Jamea Harris After Lawsuit Dismissal
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AL.com. Self-Defense or Ambush: Trial Begins in Deadly Shooting
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Tuscaloosa News. Michael Lynn Davis Found Guilty in Jamea Harris Shooting
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ABC 33/40. Former Alabama Player Darius Miles Trial Delayed Amid Defense Push for Judge Recusal
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PBS NewsHour. Alabama Basketball Freshman Star Miller in Alleged Role for Fatal Shooting
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ABC 33/40. Brandon Miller Testifies in Tuscaloosa Capital Murder Trial
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Patch. Defense Puts Focus on Boyfriend of Jamea Harris Ahead of Trial