The North Carolina General Assembly passed Iryna’s Law on Sept. 23, a criminal justice bill, in response to the murder of Iryna Zarutska, who was stabbed last month in Charlotte. Gov. Josh Stein has not yet signaled whether he will sign the bill into law.
Iryna Zarautska’s murder drew national attention after a video of her stabbing on a Charlotte train went viral on social media. President Trump swiftly condemned the murder and blamed it on Democrats’ poor lawmaking.
The law will eliminate cashless bail, set a stricter timeline for appeal in death penalty cases, tighten pretrial conditions for violent offenders and set a protocol for mental health evaluations in a move that will tighten control over North Carolina judges.
“The blood of this innocent woman can literally be seen dripping from the killer’s knife, and now her blood is on the hands of the Democrats who refuse to put bad people in jail, including Former Disgraced Governor and ‘Wannabe Senator’ Roy Cooper,” Trump wrote on Truth Social.
Cooper responded to this criticism with his own rebuke of Trump: “The murder of Iryna Zarutska is a horrible tragedy and we must do everything we can to keep people safe. Only a cynical DC insider would think it’s acceptable to use her death for political points, especially one who supported cutting funding to law enforcement in NC.”
The bill, which moved swiftly through the N.C. legislature, aims to restrict judges’ independence in certain violent offenses and sets more procedures for mental health evaluations.
“For too long, activist judges and magistrates have turned dangerous criminals loose, endangering lives and spreading chaos in our communities,” Speaker of the House, Rep. Destin Hall, R-Caldwell said. “That ends now. Iryna Zarutska’s murder is a tragic reminder of what’s at stake. That’s why we are delivering some of the strongest tough-on-crime reforms in North Carolina history.”
Disagreement from North Carolina Democrats
“Tough on crime doesn’t only mean let’s pay attention to punishment after the fact,” Democratic Rep. Marcia Morey of Durham, a former judge, said. “We grieve the murder. It was senseless, it was horrible. But what you are voting on today does nothing to take it back or would have prevented it. Let’s get smart on crime.”
The bill would also allow the Correction Department secretary to enforce a new method of execution if lethal injection is found unconstitutional. Therefore, North Carolina could see electrocutions or firing squads in state executions going forward.
“No matter what you think about the death penalty more generally, there’s just no question that these methods are risky and have the potential to be extremely gruesome,” Democratic Rep. Vernetta Alston, an attorney who previously represented death-row inmates in appeals, said.
Over one-third of House Democrats present voted in favor of the bill, signaling that a Stein veto would likely be overridden.
