Potential jurors in Yazeed murder trial asked about feelings on death penalty
Ibraheem Yazeed is being tried for capital murder in the death of 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard in 2019.
In the third day of jury selection yesterday, the potential jurors were separated into six groups of 12 people. Three of those six panels were asked separately a round of questions about their personal stance on the death penalty.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for Yazeed.
The questions ranged from whether certain people were against the death penalty or if they could sentence any guilty person to death. During the questioning, several potential jurors were dismissed from consideration.
The other three groups will be questioned today.
Its expected that jury selection will be completed tomorrow, with the trial beginning next week. It’s expected to last a couple of weeks.
Blanchard was from Homewood, near Birmingham, and was a student at Southern Union Community College. She was the stepdaughter of UFC fighter Walt Harris.
She was last seen in a gas station in Auburn in October 2019. A massive search was launched for her, which got national attention.
Her car was found at an apartment complex in Montgomery. Her body was later found in woods in Macon County, about a month after her disappearance. Evidence showed that she had been shot in the head.
Yazeed faces three capital counts:
Capital Murder during a kidnapping
Capital Murder during a robbery
Capital Murder involving a victim’s vehicle
Stay with Action 8 News for updates on this trial.
