In the months since Blanchard’s untimely passing, a bill has been approved by the Alabama House Committee that has been named in Blanchard’s honor. The bill, according to the Montgomery Advertiser, would let judges hold those accused of a violent Class A felony or felonies without bail. The current law in Alabama states that a bond can only be denied in cases involving capital murder.
Ibraheem Yazeed, who has been accused of murdering Blanchard, was free on a $295,000 bond when the murder took place.
Members of the Blanchard Family were in attendance at the hearing to get the bill approved and each was given time to speak to the committee.
“It would bring so much relief, and other parents would not have to go through the tragedy I suffered with my baby girl,” Aniah’s father Elijah Blanchard stated.
“Repeat violent offenders are going to do it again,” Aniah’s mother Angela Harris stated.
If the bill passes through the Legislature, it could be voted on for full approval by November of this year. If it does pass and get approved, it would allow prosecutors to request evidentiary hearings to deny bail for those being accused on Class A felonies “if no conditions of release can reasonably protect the community from risk of physical harm to the accused, the public, or both, ensure the presence of the accused at trial, or ensure the integrity of the judicial process.”
