Jury selection in Ibraheem Yazeed’s capital murder trial enters 3rd day

TUSKEGEE, Ala. (WSFA) - Potential jurors returned to the Tuskegee Municipal Complex on Wednesday morning as jury selection in the murder trial of Ibraheem Yazeed moved into its third day.

Around 25 jurors were dismissed after two days, bringing the number of remaining jurors to 72. Those remaining were split into six panels of 12.

Less than five jurors were dismissed on the third day.

Yazeed arrived at the Macon County Courthouse for the first time since his trial began, as proceedings moved to the courthouse ahead of the first panel of jurors’ meeting at 10:30 a.m.

The judge, defense, and prosecution have been focused on asking Wednesday’s first panel about their opinion on the death penalty. Since Yazeed is accused of capital murder, if he’s convicted, the only sentencing options are the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole.

Some of the questions the defense asked panels were:

• Do you feel that in the worst capital murder case imaginable, that capital murder would be the only acceptable punishment?
• What details would be important for mitigation?
• If you were the lone dissenting opinion and you believe there is proper mitigation, could you stand firm in your belief?
• Some of the questions the prosecution asked panels were:
• Could you ever consider the death penalty?
• Do you have any moral, religious, or conscientious objection to the death penalty?

Retired Circuit Judge Tom Young emphasized that having an objection is not necessarily a disqualifying factor for a juror if they can still disregard the opinion and follow the instruction of the court during sentencing.

About a decade ago, jurors in Alabama could only recommend a sentence, and the judge could override it, but judicial override in capital cases was abolished in 2017, making a jury’s decision final. Attorneys are being thorough to make sure that potential jurors understand that responsibility.

The remaining three panels of potential jurors in Yazeed’s trial will meet Thursday.

Aniah Blanchard, a 19-year-old college student from Homewood, was allegedly kidnapped from a gas station in Auburn in October 2019. Her body was found the next month in the woods in Macon County.

Blanchard and Yazeed’s families sat on opposite sides of the courtroom.

Judge Young has instructed jurors that have made it past the panel stage to report back to the Macon County Courthouse Friday at 10:30 a.m. It is likely that a jury will be struck then. Once that process is complete, the remainder of the trial is estimated to take at least two weeks.

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