N.C. legislature passes criminal justice reform, “Iryna’s Law”

The North Carolina General Assembly on Tuesday gave final passage to a bill strengthening criminal justice laws after the high-profile murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in August. Representatives gave a landslide 81-31 vote on Tuesday to approve the changes made to House Bill 307, titled Iryna’s Law, after the state Senate’s passage of the modified bill on Monday.

Zarutska was riding the Charlotte, N.C., light rail on Aug. 22 when the accused suspect Decarlos Brown Jr. got up and fatally stabbed her several times in the neck before leaving the train, police said. Security footage of the attack went viral and triggered public outcry when the suspect’s lengthy criminal history was revealed.

What does the bill do? Iryna’s Law has some of the strongest tough-on-crime reforms in state history, North Carolina House Speaker Destin Hall wrote Tuesday night. The bill would restrict cashless bail protocol, specifically by making violent offenders ineligible for consideration. The bill would also create a new category of violent offenses that requires suspects to have GPS monitoring, undergo house arrest, or secure bond. Iryna’s Law would also restrict judicial discretion in granting pretrial releases and establish new mental health evaluation protocols.

Additionally, the bill would classify felonies committed against a victim using public transportation as an aggravating factor in death penalty cases, allowing courts to order the death penalty in cases similar to Iryna’s. The measure would set a tighter timeline for appealing death penalty cases and require hearings in death penalty cases to be held in the county where the conviction occurred.

How will judges’ discretion be restricted? Judges would be required to order a mental health evaluation if a defendant has been charged with a violent offense and involuntarily committed in the previous three years. Judges will need to order a mental health evaluation and involuntary commitment if there’s any reason to believe a defendant may harm himself or others. Judges are also required to review and consider a defendant’s criminal history before ordering pretrial release conditions. The judge must then submit a written explanation of the facts justifying a defendant’s release terms, or face possible removal, according to the bill.

The bill will hold magistrates accountable and remove legal roadblocks around using the death penalty, state Rep. John Bell explained Monday. State Rep. Charlie Miller praised the bill for putting victims first and strengthening the state’s public safety, according to a Wednesday statement.

What’s next? The bill was presented to Gov. Josh Stein on Tuesday, according to the state’s legislative records. WORLD reached out to Stein for comment on the bill and did not receive an immediate response.

Dig deeper: Read my previous report for more background on Zarutska’s case and her attacker.