Luther Watkins Trial On Fifth Day of Jury Selection
The long-awaited capital murder trial for Luther Bernard Watkins, Jr. officially kicked off Monday in Tuscaloosa, and is currently on its fifth day of jury selection. Opening statements will follow shortly after a jury is finalized.
Due to the size of the potential juror pool and the sensitivity of this case, no members of the media or public have been allowed inside the courtroom during the selection process.
For those unfamiliar with the case, Watkins was arrested after killing off-duty Tuscaloosa Police Officer Dornell Cousette on September 16th, 2019. Since then, he's been held in the Tuscaloosa County Jail without bond.
The night of the incident, Cousette pursued Watkins, who was 19 and wanted on felony charges, into a residence in West Tuscaloosa.
Cousette shot Watkins twice, and according to testimony from forensic experts, Watkins fired back one time, shooting Cousette in the head.
Cousette was declared dead at DCH Regional Medical Center later that night. Watkins allegedly fled the scene, but a multi-agency manhunt was launched, and he was apprehended at Northport Medical Center. He was charged with capital murder after being treated for his wounds, wearing the handcuffs Cousette used to carry.
If convicted, Watkins faces one of only two sentencing options: the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole. District Attorney Hays Webb has said the state intends to seek his execution.
Watkins' trial date has been pushed several times, with the initial date set for early 2023. The delays are due in part to the retirement of Watkins's first defense attorney and a "complete and total breakdown" with a second team that withdrew from the case last year.
Each of his representatives has maintained that Watkins acted in self-defense and shot Cousette to save his own life after he'd already been shot in the back.
Last May, Circuit Judge Brad Almond denied a motion to dismiss the case on self-defense grounds, saying Watkins was breaking the law by fleeing from Cousette and self-defense does not apply.
Although Almond denied the motion to dismiss the case, the defense will still be able to argue to jurors that the killing was a justified act of self-defense during the trial.
With a third set of defense attorneys appointed, the trial was again delayed from September 2025 to February 2026, and it is finally getting underway. Almond rejected a motion by the defense attorneys to postpone it further.
Watkins is represented by Christopher Daniel, Justin Forrester, Scott Brewer, and Hunter Brown.
On the side of the prosecution, District Attorney Hays Webb and lead prosecutor Paula Whitley Abernathy have argued that Cousette was in uniform and lawfully trying to apprehend Watkins when the 19-year-old fugitive murdered him. Cousette was a 40-year-old father of two young daughters, Sylvia and Lydia, who now must live without him.
Both legal teams asked Almond to withhold some information from jurors before the trial began and got mixed results - read more about those requests and rulings here.
The Tuscaloosa Thread reached out to Webb for comment regarding the status of jury selection and when we could expect to hear opening statements. We have not heard back at the time of publication.
For the most up-to-date information on the ongoing trial of Luther Bernard Watkins, Jr., stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.
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