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

The law follows the Charlotte train killing, directing courts to scrutinize high‑risk defendants before release.

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

  • House Bill 307 bars cashless bail for specified violent offenses and many repeat offenders and narrows magistrates’ and judges’ discretion on pretrial release.
  • Judges must order mental‑health evaluations for defendants charged with violent crimes who were involuntarily committed within the past three years, with authority to order evaluations when danger is suspected.
  • The statute accelerates long‑pending capital cases by requiring filings older than 24 months to be scheduled by December 2026 and heard by December 2027.
  • A late Senate amendment instructs officials to pursue alternatives if lethal injection is unavailable, seeking to resume executions paused in North Carolina since 2006.
  • Gov. Josh Stein signed the bill while criticizing parts of it and said there will be no firing squads during his tenure; the accused in the case, Decarlos Brown Jr., faces state and federal charges and is undergoing a court‑ordered psychiatric evaluation.