An Alabama man charged with attempted murder in a deadly October shooting has bonded out of jail, drawing criticism from community members who believe he should remain behind bars.
According to Fox News, the Oct. 4 shooting occurred just after 11:30 p.m. following the Morehouse-Tuskegee Classic in Montgomery, Alabama. Two people were killed and another 12 were injured. Montgomery Police Chief Jim Graboys said only one victim was the intended target, and multiple shooters were involved.
“This started as the result of an individual, one of these 14 (injured or killed), who we believe was targeted, in which basically an exchange of gunfire erupted,” Graboys said. “When that exchange erupted, multiple people in the crowd pulled their own weapons and started discharging.”
Javorick Whiting, 19, one of several suspects including juveniles, was arrested on Oct. 16 and charged with attempted murder. His bond was set at $60,000, which he posted on Oct. 17 through a bail bond company, according to court records obtained by Fox News Digital.
Following public outcry, the Montgomery County district attorney filed a motion to increase Whiting’s bond, calling the current amount “woefully inadequate”.
“The current bond amount is woefully inadequate to protect the public from this dangerous and violent criminal,” the DA’s office wrote, adding that Whiting is a “danger to the community”.
Governor Kay Ivey voiced her frustration on Facebook:
“Today, we learn that one of the four suspects has been released back onto the streets. This is exactly the legal loophole that I and many in the Legislature sought to close when I signed the Safe Alabama package. Next May, all Alabama voters will have a chance to end mandatory bail for those suspected of attempted murder by voting to expand Aniah’s Law. I will not forget today’s troubling news when casting my vote.”
Aniah’s Law, passed in 2019 in honor of Aniah Blanchard, allows judges and prosecutors to deny bail for violent crimes such as kidnapping, murder, rape, and aggravated child abuse. Lawmakers recently approved legislation to add attempted murder to the list of offenses covered by the law.
Graboys also supports the law’s expansion:
“We need assistance, both legislatively and in the judicial system, about what we’re going to do. I think Aniah’s Law has been a great law, but maybe it’s to be expanded. Maybe people need to use the discretion that Aniah’s Law gives them to hold people for trial when they’ve been arrested for violent felonies,” he said, according to the Alabama Reflector.
