Attorneys for Luther Watkins Withdraw, September Trial Impossible

The jury trial for Luther Bernard Watkins, the man who fatally shot a Tuscaloosa Police officer six years ago, will be further delayed after all his defense attorneys withdrew from the case yesterday.

The long-awaited trial was scheduled to begin a week from today, on September 2nd, and other issues would have delayed it. However, the mass exodus of Watkins' legal team on Monday will surely push it back further.

The last major update in the case came in May, when lawyers Gary Blume, Rachel Cohen Blume, and Laura Segers Fikes argued that Watkins was acting in self-defense when he shot and killed TPD Investigator Dornell Cousette in September 2019.

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Judge Brad Almond heard testimony that Cousette followed Watkins into a residence in West Tuscaloosa as he tried to serve an arrest warrant out for the then 19-year-old robbery suspect.

Witnesses testified that Cousette shot Watkins in the back as he ran, and a second time in the torso as Watkins returned fire, shooting a single bullet which fatally struck the police officer in the head. This was against the orders of his commanding officer at TPD, who instructed Cousette to wait for backup, and reportedly violated their use-of-force policy.

Still,.Almond ruled that Watkins was committing a crime by fleeing a lawful arrest, and his actions did not qualify for immunity from prosecution on the grounds of self-defense.

One of the last acts of his former legal team was to ask Judge Almond to delay the trial until they could appeal his decision to higher courts, and Almond granted their motion. District Attorney Hays Webb joined in the request to ask for at least four weeks to prepare for trial if the appeal is denied and prosecution is allowed to proceed.

The Alabama Supreme Court has not yet ruled on the appeal, and that issue alone would have made the September 2nd trial date impossible. Then, on Monday, all three defense attorneys filed motions to withdraw from the case.

"The reason for this request is that there has been a complete and total breakdown of the attorney/client relationship that is irreconcilable," each attorney said in three separately filed motions. Almond granted all three.

Now, proceedings will slow even further as the state looks to appoint new counsel for Watkins so the capital murder trial against him can begin - if that's how the Alabama Supreme Court rules.

That attorney or team, which will be the third representing Watkins since his 2019 arrest, will have to catch up on its intricacies and also allow Webb and the DA's office time to prepare for their prosecution.

The delays will push any eventual trial past the six-year anniversary of the killing, which deeply shook the Tuscaloosa community and especially its law enforcement officers.

For ongoing coverage of the case as it continues to develop, stay connected to the Tuscaloosa Thread.