Local and state government has recently installed legislation that proponents believe will keep violent criminals off the street, which will also, in turn, protect women from assault.
During the Nov. 8 election, 80-percent of voters across the state voted to pass Amendment One, also known as Aniah’s Law.
This amendment gives Alabama judges the ability to deny bail to people charged with more violent crimes, keeping them in jail as they await trial and off the street.
It was dubbed Aniah’s Law by supporters after Southern Union State Community College student Aniah Blanchard who was abducted in Auburn and killed at the age of 19.
On Oct. 23, 2019, investigators say Blanchard was kidnapped at a Chevron gas station on South College Street in Auburn, and about a month later, her body was found in the 38,000 block of County Road 2 in Shorter.
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Investigators arrested Ibraham Yazeed and charged him with murder. They discovered that Yazeed was already out on bail and awaiting trial for a charge of two counts of attempted murder in a separate case in Montgomery.
Auburn Mayor Anders was proud of the state of Alabama for passing the amendment, and said he believes this will make Alabama a safer place, especially for women and female students at Auburn University.
“Hopefully, we’ll keep less of the people from being out and in a position where they could inflict harm upon a young lady,” Anders said.
Anders said the safety of his citizens, especially students that attend Auburn University, is a top priority.
“The safety of our college students is always on my mind, and the safety of our female college students is constantly part of my life because I have a daughter that’s at Auburn University right now,” he said.
Anders said he reminds his daughter to make wise choices, be aware and to not be alone at night.
“When those young people are dropped off at Auburn and they get ready to start their college career here, it’s important to me, it’s important to our public safety professionals that we’re doing all that we can to protect those young college students and give them a great opportunity to chase their dreams and to follow their educational ambitions,” Anders said.
Anders also collaborates with mayors from Alabama’s 10 largest cities, known as the ‘Big 10’ and discusses the similar challenges they face in their cities and ways they can resolve problems together.
The group consists of 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.
The critical issue they’ve been working on together recently was Aniah’s Law.
Anders said what happened to Aniah Blanchard has happened in other locations across the state, and the ‘Big 10 Mayors’ agreed enough was enough. They planned to do what they could to prevent something like this from happening again. Together, the mayors held press conferences leading up to the election urging the passing of the amendment.
“We’re very proud to come together to advocate for Aniah’s Law, and we believe that our state is much safer now that Aniah’s Law was passed by the citizens in our recent election,” he said.
After the success of the Aniah’s Law passing, Anders said the ‘Big 10 Mayors’ aren’t looking at another type of safety or crime prevention legislation at this time.
