The bill, in part, looks to unblock a freeze on executions in a state with the death penalty.
The North Carolina Legislature has approved a package of incarceration and mental health measures following the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee in August.
The GOP-led omnibus bill, named “Iryna’s Law” after 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska—who was killed on a light rail train in Charlotte—passed the House in an 81–31 bipartisan vote, following a party-line Senate vote on Sept. 22.
The bill aims to tighten numerous practices in the justice system, such as bail conditions and mental health requirements for those convicted of crimes. It also looks to unfreeze a decade-long roadblock to the state performing executions.
The bill now awaits a decision from Gov. Josh Stein, a former attorney general, who has not publicly said whether or not he will support the bill. A spokesperson from the governor’s office said that Stein is reviewing the package.
Stein had previously said he would support pretrial reforms as a response to Zarutska’s murder.
Although the state has the death penalty and more than 120 prisoners on death row, there have been no executions since 2006. Court challenges over the medical ethics effectively froze executions by lethal injection in the state, which relied on doctors supervising the administration of the lethal drugs.
Combatting Crime
The release of security footage of Zarutska’s murder on the commuter train spurred public outcry, leading President Donald Trump and GOP allies to accuse Charlotte and statewide elected officials of promoting soft-on-crime policies.
The video showed Zarutska wearing a baseball cap and sitting on the train in front of a man as she scrolls on her phone.
The man then pulls out a knife and stabs her from behind. The two did not appear to have interacted beforehand.
The suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, had been arrested more than a dozen times and was released without any bond earlier this year by a magistrate on a misdemeanor count.
State Rep. Tricia Cotham, from the Charlotte area, told colleagues during two hours of House debate that Brown “should have never been allowed out of the jail.”
“The catch-and-release practices for violent offenders will end today with your support,” Cotham said. “This heinous act was preventable.”
Several House Democrats called for more preventative mental health services that were not addressed by the bill, as well as more money to fund additional police officers and crisis responders and to address behavioral problems.
“Tough on crime doesn’t only mean let’s pay attention to punishment after the fact,” state Rep. Marcia Morey, of Durham, a Democrat and former judge, said. “We grieve the murder. It was senseless, it was horrible. But what you are voting on today does nothing to take it back or would have prevented it. Let’s get smart on crime.”
Brown now faces a first-degree murder charge in state court and a federal count over Zarutska’s killing. Both are punishable by the death penalty. The Epoch Times has previously been unable to establish contact with an attorney for Brown.
Included in the bill are changes to eliminate cashless bail for many crimes and limit the discretion that magistrates and judges currently have in making pretrial release decisions.
It also increases requirements for any pretrial releases in the case of “violent offenses,” such as mandating GPS monitoring.
To address mental health issues, the bill outlines conditions under which judicial officials will be required to order mental health evaluations and possible involuntary commitment for violent offenders.
An amendment led by state Senate leader Phil Berger also directs the secretary of the state’s Department of Adult Correction to engage other forms of execution, such as firing squad or electrocution, if lethal injection is not available.
“For nearly two decades, judicial and administrative roadblocks have stopped true justice for victims, and it’s time for that to end,” Berger said in a statement on Sept. 22.
A Democrat who voted “no” criticized Berger’s push to enforce the death penalty, saying it’s wrong and cynical to push “barbaric” punishments to take someone else’s life.
State Rep. Vernetta Alston, a lawyer who previously represented death-row inmates in appeals, said, “No matter what you think about the death penalty more generally, there’s just no question that these methods are risky and have the potential to be extremely gruesome.”
The bill also requires that any death penalty appeal be heard within two years of filing, and that postponements not be granted except in “extenuating circumstances.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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