North Carolina has not used the death penalty since 2006. But that might change because of DeCarlos Brown Jr. He is the man who pulled a knife from his pocket on a light rail train in Charlotte, North Carolina, in August, and stabbed Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in the neck three times.
It was all captured in a chilling video. She was pronounced dead within minutes. He was denounced as an example of our failed criminal justice system: two violent felonies, including one for which Brown spent five years in prison, plus at least 12 other arrests.
He “should be given a ‘Quick’ (there is no doubt!) Trial, and only awarded THE DEATH PENALTY. There can be no other option!!!” President Donald Trump thundered on social media in September. In early October, North Carolina governor Josh Stein, a Democrat, signed “Iryna’s Law,” which removes legal hurdles on the use of capital punishment.
