James (Jim) Lloyd Davis, III

Mississippi Public Defender’s Association
Position: President
Year: 2005-2006

National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers
Year: 1991

Mississippi Association of Justice
Year: 1987

Mississippi Public Defenders Association
Position: Board of Directors
Year: 2006-2016

Not Guilty/Jury Trial Cases

State v. Byron Davis

Citation: B-2401-96-01115
Year: 1998

This was an armed robbery case in Harrison County, Mississippi. The jury reached a not guilty verdict.

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City of Gulfport v. Donald Wallace

Citation: 94-00008
Year: 1998

This was a DUI intoxicating liquor case in the Harrison County County Court. The jury reached a verdict of not guilty.

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State v. David Carver, et al.

Citation: B2401-96-00684
Year: 1997

This case dealt with various felony assault charges. The jury reached a not guilty verdict.

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City of Gulfport v. Donald Wallace

Citation: 97-00072
Year: 1994

This was a DUI intoxicating liquor case in Harrison County Court Court. The jury reached a not guilty verdict.

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State v. Jason Steckler

Citation: 91-26, 616
Year: 1994

This was a case dealing with the transfer of a controlled substance and conspiracy to transfer a controlled substance. The jury reached a not guilty verdict.

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State v. Willie Sprinkle

Citation: No. 25,943
Year: 1993

This was a burglary of a dwelling case. The jury returned a not guilty verdict.

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State v. Marshall Craft

Citation: No. 23,411
Year: 1989

This was a burglary of dwelling case. The jury returned a not guilty verdict..

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State v. Johnny Cone, Jr.

Citation: No. 1397
Year: 1988

This case dealt with sex charge. The jury returned a not guilty verdict

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State v. Gerald Logie

Citation: No. 26,314
Year: 1993

This was a murder case. The Judge ordered a dismissal under Weathersby v. State, 147 So. 481 (1933), known as Weathersby Rule that in a homicide case, if the Defendant’s story is not conflicted with the evidence, it must be taken as truthful.

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State v. Javelle Smith

Citation: B2401-1996-00229
Year: 1997

This case dealt with an Aggravated Assault charge. The jury returned a not guilty verdict.

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State v. Gregory Woods

Citation: B2402-2012-404
Year: 2014

This was a burglary of a dwelling case. The jury returned a not guilty verdict.

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State v. Roman Philips

Citation: B2401-2001-310
Year: 2002

This was a possession crime. The jury returned a not guilty verdict.

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State v. Johnnie Oliver

This case dealt with a conspiracy charge. The jury found him not guilty.

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Capital Murder Jury Trials

Abdur Rahim Ambrose v. State

Citation: No. 18-7503
Year: 2019

Mr. Davis is currently representing the Roman Catholic Diocese of Biloxi, Mississippi, in the United States Supreme Court where the death penalty is being attacked. “The Second Circuit Court District of Mississippi (Harrison, Hancock and Stone Counties) accounts for the largest number of death sentences of any of the State’s 22 districts since 1976.” “This geographic concentration reflects a nationwide trend. Death sentences, while declining in number, have become increasingly concentrated in an ever-smaller number of counties.” “In a very real sense, a given defendant’s chance of having the death penalty sought, retracted, or imposed depends upon where that defendant is prosecuted and tried.” See Jordan v. Mississippi, 138 S.Ct. 2567, 2569 (2018). We contend the death penalty is being geographically arbitrarily applied in the three counties mentioned above.

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Thorson v. State

Citation: 2010-CA-01010-SCT
Year: 2010

Mr. Davis was lead counsel for the Defendant who was convicted once of capital murder. That conviction was reversed on appeal for the District Attorney’s Office striking jurors for their religious beliefs. Thorson, 721 So.2d 590 (Miss. 1998). On retrial, Mr. Thorson was convicted again of capital murder and sentenced to death. We have appealed his case through the state appeal system and Mr. Davis has had numerous hearings, including at Atkins hearing to determine mental retardation. At this time it is still in the federal habeas corpus position in the United States District Court.

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Wagner v. State

Citation: So.2d 60 (Miss. 1993)
Year: 1993

Mr. Davis was lead counsel on this case. Due to pretrial publicity, we acquired a change of venue to Hinds County, Mississippi. The jury found Mr. Wagner guilty of capital murder, but we convinced the jury to return a unanimous life sentence.

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Walker v.State

Citation: 91-KA-0184
Year: 1993

Mr. Davis was lead counsel on this case. The Defendant was found guilty of capital murder and we convinced the jury to give him a life sentence. On appeal, they found numerous errors in the trial that were deemed to be harmless and affirmed the conviction and life sentence. See 628 So.2d 1931 (Miss. 1993).

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Randall v. State

Citation: 96-KA-00521
Year: 2011

Mr. Davis was lead counsel on this case. The jury found the Defendant guilty of capital murder but we convinced them to return a life sentence.

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West v. State

Citation: 725 So.2d 872 (Miss. 1998)
Year: 1998

Mr. Davis represented Mr. West, who, in his first trial, was convicted and given a death sentence. We appealed it; we got the death sentence vacated and at a new sentencing hearing, the jury returned a unanimous life sentence for Mr. West. Davis was lead counsel.

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Avera v. State

Citation: 1998-KA-01662-COA/94-KA-0855
Year: 1998

Mr. Davis was lead counsel. He represented Mr. Avera in his first trial where he was convicted. He obtained a reversal and, at a second trial, he was convicted again and sentence to life. We were able to get a Governor’s pardon.

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Barnes v. State

Citation: Decided 6/27/2000
Year: 2000

Mr. Davis represented Mr. Barnes as lead counsel. He was found guilty of capital murder, but the jury returned a unanimous life sentence.

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State v. Kenneth Earl Jones

Citation: B2401-1997-206
Year: 1997

Mr. Davis was lead counsel. The Defendant was tried for capital murder. The jury hung and the charges were dropped.

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Holland v. State

Citation: 93-DP-00494-SCT
Year: 1993

Mr. Davis was lead counsel. Mr. Holland was found guilty of capital murder and was eventually executed.

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United States v. Woolard

Citation: 990 F.2d, 819 (5th Cir.)
Year: 1993

Mr. Davis was lead counsel. In the lower court, he was able to get the death penalty struck for jury consideration because of the unconstitutionality of the federal death penalty statutory scheme. The case was affirmed in the Fifth Circuit, then subsequently affirmed in the United States Supreme Court.

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Homicide Cases

Taylor v. State

Citation: 97-KA-0560

Mr. Davis represented Mr. Taylor, who was charged with murder. He convinced the jury to only find him guilty of manslaughter. It was appealed to the State Supreme Court and the entire conviction was vacated because of Batson v. Kentucky, a jury selection issue. On retrial the District Attorney’s Office offered Mr. Taylor probation.

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United States v. Hector Diaz Osuno

Citation: USDC, Southern District of MS

This was a federal homicide case. Mr. Osuno was charged with murder of a correction officer. There was a hung jury. The Defendant later pled to manslaughter.

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Dedeaux v. State

Citation: 630 So.2d 30 (Miss. 1993)
Year: 1993

The jury found Mr. Dedeaux guilty of murder. Mr. Davis handled the appeal and got a murder conviction set aside and the Supreme Court ordered the Defendant to be sentenced to manslaughter. Mr. Dedeaux got probation.

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Thornton v. State

Citation: 841 So.2d 170 (Miss. App. 2003)
Year: 2003

Mr. Thornton was charged with murder. He looked like Charles Manson. The jury found him guilty of manslaughter.

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Graves v. State

Citation: B2401-2004-652
Year: 2004

Mr. Graves was charged with murder. He was found guilty of manslaughter.

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Other Cases of Interest

Norwood v. State

Citation: 846 So.2d 1048
Year: 2003

Mr. Davis was lead counsel. He questioned a day-for-day sentence the judge gave Mr. Norwood. It was appealed to the Court of Appeals. They agreed with Mr. Davis and set aside the day-for-day portion of the sentence. It was subsequently reviewed and they changed their minds but did agree that the judge did not have the power to sentence the Defendant for day-to-day.

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Bigner v. State

Citation: 822 So.2d 342 (Miss. App. 2002)
Year: 2002

Mr. Davis did not try this case but he handled the appeal and got Mr. Bigner’s conviction reversed because his trial counsel was ineffective under a Strickland v. Washington, 466 U.S. 668 1984 analysis.

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A.E.W. v. State

Citation: 925 So.2d 136 (Miss. 2006).
Year: 2006

Mr. Davis represented Mr. A.E.W. He was trying to obtain an expungement through one of our expungement statutes that stated the judge shall expunge the arrest and charge if the charges are dropped. A.E.W. went to trial. The jury was hung and the District Attorney’s Office subsequently dismissed the charges before the retrial, and Mr. Davis moved for expungement. The judge refused expungement even though the statute said shall. Mr. Davis appealed to the Mississippi Supreme Court of Appeals and they agreed and ordered that the judge grant the expungement.

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United States v. Teel

Citation: 2007-60897 (5th Cir.)
Year: 2007

Mr. Davis was lead counsel. Mr. Teel was a correction officer at the Harrison County Jail who was convicted of one of the charges against him but found not guilty of numerous other charges.