Harris’ stepdaughter Aniah Blanchard was kidnapped and murdered in late-2019, with Ibraheem Yazeed being the lead suspect in the case.
A bill has since been introduced in the state of Alabama, dubbed Aniah’s Law, it would allow the authorities to hold suspects accused of committing violent crimes without bail.
The UFC star says that there is a hold up in the bill potentially getting approved due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
“Of course, with the pandemic we hit a bit of a snag, but we’re working on a law called Aniah’s Law, which would make sure violent offenders aren’t allowed bond, and It’s a bipartisan effort in the state,” Harris said during the UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris media day (via Farah Hannoun of MMA Junkie). “I mean, both guys came together like that, this bill, it flew through the judicial system so fast that it was kind of overwhelming to watch. I went to all the meetings. I met all the lawmakers and kind of got to see how the process worked, and we were very close to getting the bill passed and going to senate, but then the pandemic happened. So, what’s gonna happen when everything opens back up and everything clears back up, they’re gonna re-introduce the bill. I think it’s gonna go through the same process pretty quickly, and hopefully we’ll have the law before 2020 is over, and other states will grab it and enact it as well to protect people.”
UFC Fight Night: Overeem vs. Harris takes place tonight from the VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena in Jacksonville, Florida with Alistair Overeem and Walt Harris headlining. Fightful is providing live coverage of the event, which airs live on ESPN.
