Nate Oats makes first public comment on capital murder charges against Alabama's Darius Miles

Alabama Men’s Basketball player Darius Miles was shockingly dismissed from the team after being charged with capital murder for the deadly shooting of Jamea Jonae Harris over the weekend. Miles was arrested, along with another man and both were charged and taken to jail. 

On Monday, Crimson Tide coach Nate Oats made his first public comments on the capital murder charges against Miles, offering his condolences to the family of the victim.

“Condolences to the family and friends of Jamea Jonae Harris. Young woman, daughter and mother, who was taken way too soon from a senseless act,” began Oats. “This is an incredibly sad situation and our hearts go out to her loved ones, keeping them in our thoughts and prayers as they continue to grieve. We came together last night and talked, thought it was important that we were all here and around to support one another through this situation.

“With this being a pending investigation, there’s nothing I can add that hasn’t already been shared. You may have some questions but there’s nothing I can comment on relative to Darius’ situation and the investigation.”

Additionally, Oats put it all in perspective, as his heart breaks for two families are going through at the moment.

“I’ve got three daughters. It went through my mind how easily it could have been one of mine,” added the Alabama coach. “Tough situation. Talked to Darius’ mother multiple times yesterday. Very hard situation on both accounts.

“So, you know, we just continue to pray for Jamea and her family, although I didn’t know them, but they’re certainly in our thoughts and prayers, and continuing to pray for Darius’ situation too. It’s just an unfortunate incident that I wish we weren’t having to deal with today.”

Continuing, capital murder is a charge that carries severe consequences. If Miles is convicted on capital murder, in the state of Alabama, he faces the possibility of life in prison without parole or even the death penalty. 

Capital murder is only charged in situations with special circumstances. In this case, the charge rose to that level because of a law in Alabama that allows for capital murder to be charged if the murder is “committed by or though the use of a deadly weapon while the victim is in a vehicle” — according to Alabama Criminal Code Title 13A-5-40.

If Miles follows through on his claims of innocence and goes to trial for capital murder, the death penalty or life without parole are very possible if he’s ultimately convicted. Often times, though, defendants charged with capital murder are able to enter a plea deal for a lesser charge that doesn’t carry as harsh of punishments. But that’s only possible if Miles does not claim innocence and instead pleads guilty.

Background on arrest of Darius Miles

To start, police from Tuscaloosa as well as the University of Alabama were dispatched around 1:45 a.m.. They were sent to the Walk of Champions at Bryant-Denny Stadium. There they found 23-year-old Jamea Jonae Harris dead inside a vehicle, per Capt. Jack Kennedy of Tuscaloosa Violent Crimes, as they later deduced that the shooting had taken place off of University Boulevard.

The driver of the vehicle, who hasn’t been identified, told police their car was hit with gunshots. In turn, the driver returned fire in self-defense and notified authorities that he may have struck one of the shooters.

Kennedy went on to say that, through witnesses and surveillance tapes, they were able to identify the two suspects. Miles was one along with 20-year-old Michael Lynn Davis. One of them was later confirmed to have been struck by one of the driver’s shots. His wound was deemed as non-life threatening.

As for a motive, Kennedy said it seemed that it was the product of an argument that took place between the group of four after they had come across each other on the strip.

Kennedy said his unit ‘utilized all their resources and worked together flawlessly to bring this case to a resolution in a rapid manner.’

On3’s Alex Weber contributed to this article.