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Three other suspects charged with capital murder in the same shooting remain in jail without bond. But Whiting, accused of attempted murder for shooting a juvenile who remains in critical condition, is out on the streets.
Governor and Police Chief Slam “Slap in the Face” Decision
Governor Kay Ivey wasted no time calling out the system that allowed Whiting’s release.
“This is exactly the legal loophole that I and many in the Legislature sought to close,” Ivey said.
She urged voters to remember this case when they head to the polls in May 2026, when they’ll decide whether to expand Aniah’s Law — a 2022 measure that lets judges deny bail for violent crimes like murder and kidnapping. Right now, attempted murder isn’t on that list.
Montgomery Police Chief Jim Graboys didn’t mince words either.
“The $60,000 bond, that’s a slap in the face to the victims,” Graboys said.
He warned that Alabama’s justice system is practically inviting more violence by letting dangerous offenders bond out.
“Too often, violent crimes are committed by individuals who are already out on bond for other serious offenses,” Graboys added.
District Attorney Fights to Put Accused Shooter Back Behind Bars
Public outrage exploded after news broke that Whiting was free. In response, Montgomery County District Attorney Azzie Oliver filed an emergency motion to raise Whiting’s bond.
“The current bond amount is woefully inadequate to protect the public from this dangerous and violent criminal,” Oliver’s office argued.
Court records reveal Whiting tried to flee the scene after the shooting, yet he remained free for nearly two weeks before a scheduled October 30 bond hearing. For two weeks, a man accused of opening fire on a crowd — killing two and wounding a child — was free to go anywhere he pleased.
By the time the DA’s office stepped in, the damage was already done.
History Repeating Itself: The Aniah Blanchard Tragedy
This isn’t Alabama’s first run-in with bail reform gone wrong. The case that inspired Aniah’s Law was just as horrifying.
In 2019, 19-year-old Aniah Blanchard was kidnapped and murdered by Ibrahim Yazeed, who had been out on bond for kidnapping and attempted murder. The law named in her memory was supposed to prevent tragedies like this — but since attempted murder wasn’t included, the same scenario is playing out again.
In Birmingham, a September 2024 mass shooting left four dead and 17 injured. One of the suspects, Damien McDaniel, later went on to commit another mass shooting that killed four more people at a nightclub. Once again, authorities say he’d been out on bond.
A State in Crisis
Between 2013 and 2023, Alabama’s homicide rate rose 43%, while violent crime stayed 8% higher than the national average. Yet courts continue to hand out low bonds to suspects accused of gun crimes.
For families like those of Jeremiah Morris and Shalanda Williams, the system has failed.
Every day Whiting remained free was another reminder that Alabama’s courts protected the accused more than the victims. The families of two slain Alabamians now watch as their loved ones’ alleged killer walks free — not because he was proven innocent, but because the law didn’t classify his crime as serious enough.
That’s not justice. That’s negligence.
Alabama voters will have their say in May 2026 when they decide whether to expand Aniah’s Law to include attempted murder. Until then, judges can continue setting low bonds that let violent offenders return to the streets — while families of the dead are left to pick up the pieces.
