North Carolina governor signs criminal justice bill into law after Ukrainian refugee’s death

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s Democratic governor signed into law on Friday a criminal justice measure that the state’s Republican-controlled legislature approved in response to the stabbing death of a Ukrainian refugee on a Charlotte commuter train.

Stein said he signed the bill because “it alerts the judiciary to take a special look at people who may pose unusual risks of violence before determining their bail. That’s a good thing.”

He ad harsh criticisms for other portions of the measure and said lawmakers failed to approve his public-safety proposals, which also include more pay for law enforcement.

“I’m troubled by its lack of ambition or vision,” he said. “It simply does not do enough to keep you safe.”

The action by Gov. Josh Stein, a former state attorney general, affirmed the actions of GOP politicians and their allies who demanded reforms. Stein had until late Friday to act on the bill, which could have also included vetoing it or letting it become law without his signature.

Stein accepted the measure even as Republican lawmakers, all the way to President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, have blamed Democratic leaders in Charlotte and statewide for soft-on-crime policies they allege allowed the suspect in Iryna Zarutska ’s Aug. 22 death to stay out of custody. The outrage intensified with the release of security video showing the attack on the light rail car.

Democrats have called the accusations politically motivated, with several arguing during debate last week that the legislation not only wouldn’t address the root causes of crime but also lacked funding for more mental health services.

While Republicans are one House seat shy of a veto-proof majority at the General Assembly, the bill received bipartisan support in the chamber, making it more likely that any Stein veto could have been overridden.

Decarlos Brown Jr., the man accused in Zarutska’s death, has been arrested more than a dozen other times and previously served more than five years on a violent robbery count, according to court records.

A magistrate allowed Brown to be released on a misdemeanor charge in January on a written promise to appear, without any bond. Brown was arrested at that time after repeatedly calling 911 from a hospital, complaining that someone was trying to control him with a foreign substance.

He is now charged with both first-degree murder in state court and a federal count in connection with Zarutska’s death. Both crimes can be punishable by the death penalty.

The new law bars cashless bail for certain violent crimes and for many repeat offenders. It also limits the discretion magistrates and judges have in making pretrial release decisions, gives the state chief justice the ability to suspend magistrates and seeks to ensure more defendants undergo mental health evaluations.

The measure also seeks to restart executions in North Carolina, where capital punishment was last carried out in 2006.

The bill also requires certain appeals for death-row inmates to be heard and reviewed by courts by the end of 2027 and opens the door to using other capital punishment methods — perhaps firing squads — should a court declare lethal injection unconstitutional or if it’s “not available,” because the drugs can’t be accessed.

While Stein has said previously he supports the death penalty for the most “heinous crimes,” he also said the current legal process holding up executions needs to be completed.