Aniah Blanchard

Alabama Chief Justice Sarah Stewart has used a new law to appoint a retired judge to handle the case against a man accused of the 2019 killing of Aniah Blanchard, a college student that drew national attention.

The new law, calls the Speedy Trial Act, allows the chief justice to appoint visiting judges in order to get criminal cases to trial more quickly.

Stewart appointed retired Macon County Circuit Judge Tom Young to handle the case of Ibraheem Yazeed who is accused of killing Blanchard. Yazeed has pleaded not guilty to capital murder charges.

Ibraheem Yazeed – Photo from Alabama Department of Corrections

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall last month asked Stewart to make an appointment, writing that, “our entire state has watched the repeated delays in this ca

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