NC lawmakers likely to propose tougher pretrial release laws after fatal stabbing

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s top legislative leaders said Thursday that they are aiming to advance a package of proposed laws in part designed to tighten pretrial release rules following the fatal stabbing of a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte commuter train that prompted national attention and calls for tougher-on-crime policies.

More oversight of and less discretion for local magistrates who make decisions on criminal suspects — like the man now accused of murder in last month’s death of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska — likely will be introduced when the Republican-controlled General Assembly reconvenes Sept. 22.

“We must deliver justice for Iryna and the countless families across our state that have fallen victim to a justice system that does not support them and does not keep them safe,” Senate leader Phil Berger said at a Legislative Building news conference.

The package — outlines of which were offered by Berger and House Speaker Destin Hall — also could include an effort to restart the death penalty in the state and prevent the governor and other executive branch officials from creating commissions that Berger contends encourage local policies favoring perpetrators. He mentioned a task force established in 2020 by then-Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper addressing racial inequities in the criminal justice system following the death of George Floyd.

The suspect in Zarutska’s stabbing, Decarlos Brown Jr., was arrested soon after the Aug. 22 attack. But last week’s release of train video showing what looked like a random attack brought criticism from President Donald Trump and conservative activists who blamed government and judicial officials.

Brown had a lengthy criminal record that included serving more than five years in prison after pleading guilty to robbery using a deadly weapon. In January he was charged with misusing the 911 system, and a Mecklenburg County magistrate released him on the misdemeanor without requiring bond on a written promise to return for court.

A 2023 state law that was backed by Charlotte-area law enforcement officials required judges, not magistrates, to set conditions for pretrial release for certain violent offenders, and not magistrates. But Hall said Brown should have never been allowed to leave custody in January given his criminal history and mental health concerns. He and Berger also said eliminating the option for county magistrates to grant cashless bail for defendants with past violent felony convictions would result in more consistency in decisions.

Magistrates “have a lot of discretion in given cases. And in the past in this state, that’s worked. But it’s clearly not working anymore,” Hall said.

Hall said the way magistrates are selected also will be examined. Currently they are nominated by the chief trial court clerk in each county and appointed by the senior chief trial judge. They initially serve for two years, followed by four-year terms.

Berger said Thursday that he is also looking at ways to restart capital punishment. Brown’s first-degree murder count is punishable by life in prison or death. North Carolina has not carried out an execution charged Brown with a federal crime that carries up to life in prison or the death penalty.

Any approved package would go to Democratic Gov. Josh Stein for his signature. Republicans are one House seat of short a veto-proof majority at the General Assembly.

Stein spokesperson Morgan Hopkins said the governor is “advocating for more funding to recruit and retain law enforcement officers and to train judges and magistrates on best practices for setting release conditions for defendants with mental illness.” Both Hopkins and Hall mentioned seeking bipartisan solutions.

Former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Whatley — who like Cooper is running for U.S. Senate in next year’s election — also spoke at Thursday’s news conference. Cooper’s campaign has pushed back against Whatley’s critique of the 2020 criminal justice task force that Cooper created, saying it had nothing to do with Brown’s most recent alleged crime.