RALEIGH, NC - Late last week, Governor Josh Stein signed "Iryna's Law," which increases checks on offenders getting out on bail and also prohibits cashless bail for certain violent crimes, and for most repeat offenders.
The signing of the law comes after a Ukrainian refugee was stabbed to death on a Charlotte light-rail train in August, Fox News reported.
Stein said that he does not like every part of the bill that was passed by the Republican-controlled state Legislature, which also looks to restart executions of inmates on death row in the state, but he signed it because it "alerts the judiciary to take a special look at people who may pose unusual risks of violence before determining their bail."
Iryna Zarutska, 23, was killed on August 22. Her assailant, Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., had been arrested more than a dozen times, including for an armed robbery charge for which he served five years in prison, before the fatal train stabbing. He was most recently released in January on a misdemeanor charge. He has since been charged with first-degree murder.
"Finally, we are getting dangerous criminals off our streets so we can make sure no one else suffers the heartbreak that Iryna Zarutska's family endured," Charlotte-area Republican state Rep. Tricia Cotham said in a news release. Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have blamed Zarutska's death on Democrats, accusing them of being soft on crime.
"The blood of this innocent woman can literally be seen dripping from the killer's knife, and now her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail, including former disgraced Governor and 'Wannabe Senator' Roy Cooper," Trump wrote on Truth Social after the attack.
The violent stabbing sparked outrage across the country, especially after security video showing the attack was released. "We can and must do more to keep people safe," Stein said in a statement on Friday. "When I review public safety legislation that comes to my desk, I use one simple test: Does it make people safer?"
He said that "Iryna's Law" alerts the judiciary to take a special look at who could warrant an "unusual risk" for violence before determining their bail. "That's a good thing and why I have signed it into law," Stein added.
Although he signed the law, he also criticized portions of it, including that it focuses more on a defendant's ability to post bail rather than the threat they pose. He said that the last-minute amendment to the bill that "aims to bring about execution by firing squad" in the state is "barbaric."
The last execution in North Carolina was in 2006. He stressed that he would not allow firing squads while he is governor. He said he was also troubled by the bill's "lack of ambition or vision. It simply does not do enough to keep you safe."
The Democratic governor said he wanted the legislature to pass his comprehensive bill that would add more police officers on the streets, violence prevention measures like keeping kids out of gangs, and would attempt to make sure that people who are violent or suffer from a mental illness do not have access to guns via background checks.
"Iryna's Law prohibits cashless bail for some violent crimes and for most repeat offenders; it limits the discretion magistrates and judges have in making pretrial release decisions; allows for the state chief justice to suspend magistrates and requires more defendants to undergo mental health evaluations.
The signing of the law comes after a Ukrainian refugee was stabbed to death on a Charlotte light-rail train in August, Fox News reported.
Stein said that he does not like every part of the bill that was passed by the Republican-controlled state Legislature, which also looks to restart executions of inmates on death row in the state, but he signed it because it "alerts the judiciary to take a special look at people who may pose unusual risks of violence before determining their bail."
Iryna Zarutska, 23, was killed on August 22. Her assailant, Decarlos Dejuan Brown Jr., had been arrested more than a dozen times, including for an armed robbery charge for which he served five years in prison, before the fatal train stabbing. He was most recently released in January on a misdemeanor charge. He has since been charged with first-degree murder.
"Finally, we are getting dangerous criminals off our streets so we can make sure no one else suffers the heartbreak that Iryna Zarutska's family endured," Charlotte-area Republican state Rep. Tricia Cotham said in a news release. Republicans, including President Donald Trump, have blamed Zarutska's death on Democrats, accusing them of being soft on crime.
"The blood of this innocent woman can literally be seen dripping from the killer's knife, and now her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail, including former disgraced Governor and 'Wannabe Senator' Roy Cooper," Trump wrote on Truth Social after the attack.
The violent stabbing sparked outrage across the country, especially after security video showing the attack was released. "We can and must do more to keep people safe," Stein said in a statement on Friday. "When I review public safety legislation that comes to my desk, I use one simple test: Does it make people safer?"
He said that "Iryna's Law" alerts the judiciary to take a special look at who could warrant an "unusual risk" for violence before determining their bail. "That's a good thing and why I have signed it into law," Stein added.
Although he signed the law, he also criticized portions of it, including that it focuses more on a defendant's ability to post bail rather than the threat they pose. He said that the last-minute amendment to the bill that "aims to bring about execution by firing squad" in the state is "barbaric."
The last execution in North Carolina was in 2006. He stressed that he would not allow firing squads while he is governor. He said he was also troubled by the bill's "lack of ambition or vision. It simply does not do enough to keep you safe."
The Democratic governor said he wanted the legislature to pass his comprehensive bill that would add more police officers on the streets, violence prevention measures like keeping kids out of gangs, and would attempt to make sure that people who are violent or suffer from a mental illness do not have access to guns via background checks.
"Iryna's Law prohibits cashless bail for some violent crimes and for most repeat offenders; it limits the discretion magistrates and judges have in making pretrial release decisions; allows for the state chief justice to suspend magistrates and requires more defendants to undergo mental health evaluations.
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Comments
2025-10-07T17:16-0400 | Comment by: Dawn
I'm glad they're taking it seriously. The saddest thing is, though, that it shouldn't take such a senseless murder for their eyes to be opened to the failings in the system. Whoever came up with the idea of cashless bail needs to be slapped upside the head in hopes it'll rattle their brain into common sense. Now if we can just do something about so many violent offenders getting such light sentences or being released for "good behavior" instead of serving out their already short terms.
2025-10-07T18:33-0400 | Comment by: natalie
The same type of crime and leniency is happening all over the country, other states need to heed what NC is doing