State Representative Chip Brown, R-Hollinger’s Island, announced on Wednesday that he has filed legislation to further strengthen Aniah’s Law, which he previously passed, by requiring district attorneys to seek denial of bail and mandating that judges hold pre-trial detention hearings in Class A felony cases in which a death occurred.
“Since its passage by voters in a 2022 referendum election, Aniah’s Law has brought a larger measure of justice to victims of violent crimes, and it has helped ensure that those who commit such crimes feel the full weight of punishment,” Brown said. “Time and experience have since shown us that we can make the law even stronger and demand an even higher level of accountability from those among us who take the life of another.”
Under the provisions of House Bill 126, a prosecuting attorney would be required to request a judge to deny bail to a defendant if they are charged with a Class A felony resulting in death. A bail denial request is currently optional for prosecutors, and Class A felonies in Alabama encompass crimes that include murder, kidnapping, arson and first-degree rape, robbery or burglary.
In addition, a judge would be prohibited from waiving a pretrial detention hearing for those charged with a Class A felony resulting in death, and individuals accused of such crimes must be held without bail until a pretrial detention hearing is conducted.
When originally passed, Aniah’s Law amended the state constitution to allow judges to deny bail for individuals facing violent crime charges who they believe will place the public at risk with their release, and it was named after 19-year-old college student Aniah Blanchard, who prosecutors allege was killed by Ibraheed Yazeed in 2019 after being previously released on bond for several violent offenses including kidnapping and attempted murder.
Yazeed, who faces an upcoming trial date on March 2, 2026, had been awarded bail despite more than a dozen priors, which included drug and robbery arrests.
