Logan Federico’s favourite song was 22 by Taylor Swift, an upbeat anthem about “perfect” nights dancing with friends and falling in love with strangers.

By a grim irony, the aspiring teacher was just 22-years-old when she was shot dead, allegedly by a career criminal in a random attack in South Carolina in May.

The man accused of her murder, 30-year-old Alexander Dickey, has been characterised by authorities as a “true convict”.

Although he was reportedly arrested dozens of times, a combination of lenient justice policies and incompetence left him free to walk the streets.

Three months later, Iryna Zarutska, who had fled the war in her native Ukraine, was stabbed to death on public transport in neighbouring North Carolina.

Both women, critics say, are dead because of a “failed justice system” resulting from a soft-on-crime approach that prioritises violent criminals over their victims.