Montgomery County sheriff thankful that voters approved Aniah’s Law expansion
MONTGOMERY, Ala. (WAKA) – Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham joins several Alabama mayors in expressing thanks that voters have approved an expansion of Aniah’s Law.
The expansion was approved by 82% of voters statewide.
Aniah’s Law was passed in 2022 to allow judges to deny bail for people charged with kidnapping, murder or rape. With the approval of a constitutional amendment in yesterday’s primaries, the law will now include offenses such as attempted murder, solicitation, conspiracy to commit murder, and firing a gun into an occupied building or vehicle.
Cunningham told Action 8 News that in the past, suspects might have been released on bond for attempted murder and then be involved in another crime.
“At least now we will be able to have some teeth into this so that when that person is charged, we know that person is going to be remanded to jail until we have these hearings and that person won’t be able to make bond, so it’s a good thing for us and it’s a good thing for our community,” Cunningham said.
The Alabama Big 10 Mayors have also applauded Alabama voters for approving this Aniah’s Law expansion, calling the measure a critical step toward strengthening public safety and protecting communities across the state.
The law is named in memory of Aniah Blanchard, who was a Southern Union college student when she was kidnapped from an Auburn gas station in 2019 and murdered. The man who has since been convicted of killing her, Ibraheem Yazeed, had been free on bond on previous charges involving violence when Blanchard was killed.
