Per the ESPN reports and contribution by the Associated Press, Alabama men’s basketball player Darius Miles and another man, Michael Lynn Davis, have been charged with capital murder in connection with a Sunday morning shooting near campus that killed a 23-year-old woman, Jamea Harris. Miles, a junior reserve forward from Washington, D.C., was removed from the team and booked into the Tuscaloosa County Jail. The shooting is believed to have been the result of a minor altercation between the two parties. Miles and Davis have been charged with capital murder due to the death involving shots fired into a vehicle. Miles’ attorneys have said that he maintains his innocence and looks forward to his day in court.
In Alabama, capital murder is defined as the intentional killing of another person during the commission of certain enumerated felonies such as robbery, kidnapping, or rape, or the killing of a law enforcement officer or prison guard while they are on duty. Capital murder is punishable by life imprisonment without the possibility of parole or the death penalty.
In Florida, capital murder is defined as premeditated murder or murder committed during the commission of certain felonies such as robbery, sexual battery, or drug trafficking. It is punishable by death or life imprisonment without the possibility of parole.
So, in both Alabama and Florida, Capital Murder carries the possibility of the death penalty if convicted. The difference is that in Alabama, the enumerated felonies that would qualify for Capital Murder are different from Florida and in Florida, the capital murder charge is defined as premeditated murder or murder committed during the commission of certain felonies.
Credit – ESPN, The Associated Press. Others
