Angela Harris, the mother of murdered college student Aniah Blanchard, endorsed Pamela Casey in the Republican primary for Alabama AG on Wednesday, calling the longtime prosecutor the leader Alabama’s victims deserve.
Though Casey did not prosecute the case against Yazeed, Harris spoke out to promote to the Blount County district attorney’s record of fighting for victims and pushing back against lenient bail practices.
“After walking through every parent’s worst nightmare, I know how important it is to have leaders in law enforcement who truly understand victims and who are willing to fight for them,” Harris said.
“Pamela Casey has spent her career standing with victims and putting violent criminals behind bars. She is not a career politician — she is a prosecutor with real courtroom experience, and Alabama needs that experience as Attorney General.”
The endorsement comes just days after a judge sentenced Ibraheem Yazeed to life in prison for Aniah’s 2019 murder.
Yazeed, who was out on bail for kidnapping and attempted murder at the time he abducted and killed the 19-year-old Southern Union student, became the face of Alabama’s broken bail system.
The Blanchard family’s advocacy led to the passage of Aniah’s Law in 2022, which expanded judges’ authority to deny bail to violent offenders.
Harris also urged voters to support Amendment 1 on the May 19 ballot, which would further strengthen pretrial detention for violent offenders.
“Too many dangerous offenders are being released back into our communities while awaiting trial,” Harris said. “Amendment 1 is about protecting families and ensuring more violent offenders are not back on the streets while their cases are pending.”
Casey, who has prosecuted violent criminals, child predators, and murderers for nearly two decades in Blount County, said she was honored by Harris’s support.
“No parent should ever endure the pain Angela Harris and her family have faced,” Casey said. “Through unimaginable tragedy, she has become an advocate for victims across Alabama. Her strength and courage have inspired so many people, including me.”
Casey has long positioned herself as the only AG candidate with frontline courtroom experience fighting for victims, differentiating herself from former Supreme Court Justice Jay Mitchell and Katherine Robertson, chief counsel to outgoing AG Steve Marshall.
“Victims deserve an Attorney General who has actually stood in a courtroom fighting for them,” Casey said. “That experience matters.”
The Republican primary is May 19.
Sawyer Knowles is a capitol reporter for Yellowhammer News. You may contact him at [email protected].
