In less than 48 hours, Republican leaders in the General Assembly approved several changes to North Carolina’s criminal justice system, including stricter pretrial release requirements and new protocols to reinstate the death penalty for violent crimes in North Carolina.
HB307, called “Iryna’s Law” in response to the brutal murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska in late August on a Charlotte light train, was ratified Tuesday afternoon by 81 votes in favor, including 17 from Democrats, in the House of Representatives.
The divided stance of Democrats in the House contrasted with what happen Monday in the Senate, where the Republicans passed the bill without a single Democratic vote by a 28-8 vote, after a hectic day in which HB307 quickly passed through two committees and was voted on the floor that same afternoon.
After the vote in the House of Representatives, the bill was sent to the office of Democratic Governor Josh Stein who has 10 days to sign or veto the legislation.
POLITICAL DEBATE
During more than two hours of debate in the House of Representatives, most Democrats questioned the political use of Zarutska’s murder to advance a Republican agenda focused on criminalization and punishment, and the absence of funding for police and mental health services to prevent similar cases.
Republicans, meanwhile, blamed Democrats for promoting soft on crime policies that they say facilitate the release of dangerous criminals such as De Carlos Brown Jr., a mentally ill man with 14 criminal records accused of stabbing Zarutska in late August.
“He should never have gotten out of jail,” said Trisha Cotham, R-Mecklenburg, referring to Brown, who was released without bail in January after being arrested on a misdemeanor. “This heinous act was preventable and is a direct result of judicial officials who are very soft on crime and allow too many criminals to have a revolving door to enter in our neighborhoods and communities.”
Marcia Morey, a Democratic representative from Durham and a former judge, said there is no correlation between Brown’s release in January after being arrested for misusing the 911 and Zarutzka’s murder in August, since that was not a felony and the magistrate who let him go under the written promise of appearing in court only applied the law.
“So, the political theater that we’re soft on crime and Republicans are tough on crime is just that, a political theater,” Morey said. “I have never been soft on crime as a judge when sentencing or punishing. I followed the statutes.”
“So don’t take facts you don’t know and blame a magistrate for something she wasn’t responsible for,” she added.
DEATH PENALTY
HB307 introduces changes to reinstate the death penalty in the state and expedite executions for violent crimes.
The death penalty is legal in North Carolina, but executions were halted in 2006 because of constitutional challenges and because the North Carolina Medical Board warned that doctors who administer lethal injection — the only legal method of execution — could lose their licenses if participating on executions.
Through an amendment introduced by Senate republican leader Phil Berger, HB307 states that the Department of Adult Corrections must implement alternative methods of executions used in other states if the lethal injection is ruled unconstitutional or cannot be administered in the state.
The change, which sparked an outcry from Democrats in the Senate, paves the way for restarting capital executions in the state.
It also sets shorter deadlines for death row inmates to appeal their capital sentences and creates a new aggravating factor that would carry the death penalty if a violent crime was committed on public transport, as was the case with Zarutska’s murder.
BAIL RESTRICTIONS
HB307 also eliminates the option of releasing a detainee under a written promise to appear in court and requires defendants accused of violent crimes or repeat offenders to post a secured bail or serve house arrest with GPS monitoring.
The new legislation also increases oversight of judicial magistrates who will be overseen and may be suspended or fired by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul Newby, a Republican.
In addition, it establishes a new procedure for the involuntary commitment of violent offenders with mental health problems.
Under the new protocol, judges or magistrates must order mental evaluations for those accused of violent crimes or who have been involuntarily committed to a mental hospital in the past three years.
They must also order those evaluations if they have reasonable grounds to believe that the defendant charged with an offense or experiencing mental health issues and poses a danger for themselves or others.
The bill includes a budget to hire 10 new prosecutors in Mecklenburg County but does not provide additional funding to improve mental health services or for local law enforcement.
