On December 28th, 2013, Alabama rapper Doe B was murdered at the Centennial Bar and Grill, along with two other victims - Kimberle Johnson and Timnarious Hamilton . Today, one of the men responsible for the shooting was sentenced to eighty-five years in jail. Darius Thomas, who pleaded guilty for three counts of murder in December, was the first to stand trial for his involvement in Doe B's murder. NBC news outlet WSFA reports on an emotional day in court, as Darius Thomas was addressed by each of the victim's mothers. While all of them expressed forgiveness, they also asked that Thomas be hit with the full range of punishment.
According to the report, Doe B's mother Shirley Thomas was the first to address the court. “It’s been a long battle losing our children. I forgave Darius and I want justice to be served.” Apparently T.I.'s record label, which signed Doe B, actually sent a letter to the judge as well. While the prosecutor expressed that Thomas' action had robbed three people of their lives, the defense maintained that Thomas had simply "fallen in with the wrong crowd," and requested mercy on the father of five.
When Thomas had the chance to address the crowd, he apologized for his actions. Judge Greg Griffin then reminded Thomas of a meeting that transpired in December, when the judge urged him to take a plea. “I told you that was a plea you needed to take because I was 99 percent sure I would otherwise be sentencing you to life without parole”, said Griffin. He then told Thomas to address some teenagers in the jury box. Thomas apparently gave the youth some words of encouragement, stating "“Get a real job, find Jesus, and take life seriously. Be a man, mind your responsibilities and find God in your life. It took me coming here to find God.”
Judge Griffin proceeded to hand out a sentence eighty-five years. The other two men involved in the Centennial shooting, Jason McWilliams and Taboris Mock, have yet to stand trial.
