On Friday, Democrat Governor Josh Stein reluctantly signed into law “Iryna’s Law,” a Republican-led criminal justice bill pushed through the state’s GOP-controlled legislature in just three days.
The N.C. General Assembly pushed Iryna’s Law through in just three days of heated debate in Raleigh, showing how urgent the people of North Carolina view the issue of violent repeat offenders walking free.
The law is named for Iryna Zarutska, a refugee murdered on August 22 by a repeat criminal who should never have been on the streets.
The lunatic had a long criminal rap sheet, with arrests dating back to 2007. He was later arrested at least six more times on charges, including felony larceny, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and communicating threats, according to the Daily Mail.
Most of the charges were dropped. Other reports and social media posts suggest he may have been arrested and released at least 12 times.
On Thursday, before signing the measure, Stein stumbled through a CNN interview where he dodged and deflected when pressed on whether he would support the bill.
Instead of simply saying “yes” to keeping dangerous criminals behind bars, Stein rambled about platitudes, left-wing donors, and his so-called “public safety proposals.”
Bash: “Will you sign it?”
Stein: “Here’s the thing, that young woman was a light. I met with her family. She was a special person. She was friendly to everyone she came into contact with. She loved animals, she loved art, she was hard-working…”
NCGOP Communications Director Matt Mercer slammed Stein: “Not only is Governor Stein refusing to sign a bill that unquestionably makes North Carolina safer, he’s hiding behind platitudes and consulting his left-wing donors about the decision instead of doing the right thing for our state.”
There we have it: @NC_Governor wants to take a week to consult his left-wing donors and handlers to see if it’s ok to protect North Carolina families from violent repeat criminals.
Unreal.#NCPOL #NCGA https://t.co/fUe8PbvGmT
— Matt Mercer (@mattmercer) September 25, 2025
The new law finally ends cashless bail for violent crimes and strips magistrates of reckless discretion that too often puts repeat offenders right back on the streets. It also:
- Bars cashless bail for repeat violent offenders.
- Requires more mental health evaluations for defendants.
- Grants the state chief justice power to suspend magistrates who abuse discretion.
- Seeks to restart executions in North Carolina, stalled since 2006.
- Requires appeals for death-row inmates to be reviewed by 2027.
- Opens the door for alternative execution methods, including firing squads, should lethal injection be blocked.
Republicans hailed the measure as a first step toward restoring order after decades of Democrat-led judicial activism.
President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance had both called out North Carolina Democrats for creating the dangerous conditions that allowed Iryna’s murderer, Decarlos Brown Jr., to roam free despite more than a dozen prior arrests.
Brown, who previously served five years for violent robbery, was released earlier this year by a magistrate on nothing more than a written promise to appear, after bizarre behavior that should have raised red flags.
Just months later, he stabbed Zarutska to death on a Charlotte train in an attack caught on surveillance video that horrified the nation.
Brown now faces both first-degree murder and federal charges, either of which could carry the death penalty.
