North Carolina lawmakers unveiled a new measure designed to crack down on crime in response to a murder the state witnessed earlier this year.
Legislators on Sunday evening announced House Bill 307 as a sweeping package of criminal justice reforms aimed at rectifying what Republican leaders describe as “weak-on-crime” policies. In the wake of Iryna Zarutska’s murder on Charlotte’s light rail one month ago, “Iryna’s Law” seeks to institute more severe consequences for crime and establish further deterrents to criminal activity to prevent similar incidents from occurring in the future.
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The bill, expected to be heard on Monday morning in the judiciary committee, would usher in a series of reforms if passed, including eliminating cashless bail for certain offenses, creating a new category of violent offenses in which a judge or magistrate must impose certain conditions for pretrial release, providing more state oversight over magistrates, making it easier for prosecutors to seek the death penalty in murders that occur on public transit, and creating new protocols under which judicial officials will be required to order mental health evaluations for suspects.
“North Carolinians deserve to live in safe communities without fear of violent criminals being cycled in and out of the justice system,” Republican House Speaker Destin Hall said Sunday. “We will simply not tolerate policies that allow violent offenders back onto our streets to commit more crimes and jeopardize public safety.”
The legislation responds to a number of concerns sparked by Zarutska’s murder in August by instituting reforms to how prosecutors approach suspects with mental illness and lengthy criminal histories. Decarlos Brown Jr., the homeless man accused of fatally stabbing the Ukrainian refugee on a light rail train, had been arrested over a dozen times before the incident and was characterized by his mother as schizophrenic. Brown allegedly murdered Zarutska after Magistrate Teresa Stokes released him from prison on a “written promise” to appear for a court date upon his latest arrest in January.
Iryna’s Law would impose certain new conditions on pretrial release by requiring judges and magistrates to release people charged under a broad category of “violent offenses” only on a secured bond or house arrest with electronic GPS monitoring.
The bill would also grant more oversight of magistrates, the unelected court officials who determine bail amounts in most cases. Under the proposed legislation, the chief justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court or the chief district court judge is added to the list of people who hold the authority to initiate proceedings to suspend magistrates.
Iryna’s Law would additionally institute reforms for how courts approach defendants with mental health problems, such as Zarutska’s accused killer. The legislation would add protocols for which court officials would be required to order mental health evaluations for people who are charged with violent offenses and have been involuntarily committed in the last three years, including mandatory evaluations for involuntary commitment based on the suspect’s history. If the examiner determines the defendant needs to be committed, officials must initiate commitment proceedings.
The bill would also fund the creation of 10 new prosecutor jobs in Charlotte, where Zarutska’s murder took place.