The mayors of Alabama’s 10 largest cities are hosting a press conference Monday in Auburn to support Aniah’s Law, a state constitutional amendment on the Nov. 8 ballot.
The amendment if passed would allow judges the discretion to deny bail to individuals charged with crimes who they feel are likely to commit violent crimes while out on bail.
The amendment is named in honor of Aniah Blanchard, who investigators say died at 19 when she was abducted from a gas station in Auburn before being murdered on Oct. 23, 2019.
Police eventually arrested Ibraheem Yazeed and charged him with murder and kidnapping, discovering that Yazeed was out of jail at the time on a $280,000 bond after being arrested in February 2019 in Montgomery and charged with two counts of attempted murder and first-degree robbery.
The mayors, including Auburn May Ron Anders, penned a co-signed a guest opinion for AL.com urging voters to vote “yes” on the amendment on Nov. 8, saying “our judges will be able to deny bail to dangerous offenders who are likely to reoffend.”
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The mayors’ press conference begins at 11 a.m. Monday at the Hotel at Auburn University and Dixon Conference Center.
Blanchard’s family is also hosting a candlelight vigil to remember Blanchard on Sunday on Auburn University’s Samford Lawn. The vigil will begin at 6:22 p.m.
The ‘Alabama Big 10 Mayors’ are: Auburn Mayor Ron Anders, Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin, Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling, Dothan Mayor Mark Saliba, Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, Madison Mayor Paul Finley, Mobile Mayor Sandy Stimpson, Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed and Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox.
