President Donald Trump demanded the death penalty Wednesday morning for the suspect arrested for the slaying of a Ukrainian woman in Charlotte, North Carolina. The slaying has spurred a national conversation about crime and law enforcement.
“The ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine, who came to America searching for peace and safety, should be given a ‘Quick’ (there is no doubt!) Trial, and only awarded THE DEATH PENALTY,” wrote Trump on the social media platform Truth Social. “There can be no other option!!! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.”
Trump’s remarks follow White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s charge that media outlets have “shamefully and intentionally failed to report” the facts of the case.
Iryna Zarutska, 23, was born in Ukraine, came to the U.S. to escape the war, and was killed on a Charlotte light rail on the night of Aug, 22.
The video of a man stabbing her from behind with a pocketknife as she sat in the light rail car has sparked outrage among conservative politicians, who have pointed to it as the result of lax law enforcement, criminal-friendly prosecutors and lenient judges.
Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, a man with several prior arrests dating back to 2011, has been arrested in connection with the slaying.
On Tuesday, Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, R-La., called the slaying “by a career criminal with a rap sheet a mile long” “infuriating” and “heartbreaking,” and pledged that the Republican Party would pursue tough-on-crime policies.
North Carolina law does include the death penalty as a legal punishment, although no execution has been carried out since 2006.