N.C. passes ‘Iryna’s Law’ after fatal stabbing

In response to the stabbing death ofa Ukrainian refugee on Charlotte's light rail system, the North Carolina legislature gave final approval Tuesday toacriminaljustice package that limits bail and seeks to ensure more defendants undergo mental health evaluations.

- By Gary D. ROBERTSON

STATE REP. Tricia Cotham called the attack on Iryna Zarutska preventable.

(CHRIS SEWARD Associated Press)

The Republican-penned bill also could help restart executions in the state.

The House voted 81 to 31 to accept the omnibus measure passed by the Senate on Monday, sending it next to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein. Stein, a former attorney general, has said he supports some pretrial reforms after the fatal Aug. 22 attack on 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska.

It wasn’t immediately clear whether Stein would sign the bill into law or veto it. A Stein spokesperson said he was reviewing the measure.

The attack suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr., had been arrested more than a dozen times and was released earlier this year by a magistrate on a misdemeanor count without any bond. Brown is charged with first-degree murder in state court anda federal count in connection with Zarutska’s death. Both crimes can be punishable by the death penalty.

Brown “should have never been allowed out of the jail. The catch-and-release practices for violent offenders will end today with your support,” Charlotte-area Republican state Rep. Tricia Cotham told colleagues during two hours of House debate. “This heinous act was preventable.”