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3h ago

Stein Signs Iryna’s Law Tightening Bail and Paving Way to Restart Executions in North Carolina

The move signals a shift toward stricter pretrial controls in North Carolina following the Charlotte train killing.

A train passes a stop where community members gather for a vigil honoring the life of Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed on a commuter train last month, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Flowers and photos are left near the tracks where Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed on a commuter train last month, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
Community members gather for a vigil honoring the life of Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed on a commuter train last month, Monday, Sept. 22, 2025, in Charlotte, N.C. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond)
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein addresses the media during an event in Raleigh, N.C., on Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2025. (AP Photo/Allen G. Breed)

Overview

  • Gov. Josh Stein signed House Bill 307 on Oct. 3, ending cashless bail for specified violent crimes and many repeat offenders and limiting magistrates’ and judges’ discretion on pretrial release.
  • The law expands mental-health evaluations for defendants, empowers the state chief justice to suspend magistrates, and sets deadlines for certain death-row appeals to be reviewed by courts by the end of 2027.
  • An amendment directs the governor to pursue resuming executions and permits alternative methods if lethal injection is unavailable, though Stein said there will be no firing squads during his tenure.
  • The measure follows the Aug. 22 killing of 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte light-rail train; suspect Decarlos Brown Jr. faces state murder and a federal count after a history of arrests and a January release without bond on a misdemeanor.
  • Republican leaders championed the bill as a public-safety fix and it drew bipartisan House support, while Democrats and Stein criticized the lack of mental-health funding and broader reforms.