Conservative legislative leaders vowed to introduce legislation to address growing concerns around public safety following the senseless murder of Iryna Zarutska.
A revised version of House Bill 307, now called, “Iryna’s Law” has been put forward, and would address many of the issues that led to Decarlos Brown Jr being on the streets before murdering Iryna Zarutska. The new legislation includes several strong, immediate steps being taken by conservative leadership at the North Carolina General Assembly.
In a press release Speaker Destin Hall said, “This legislation eliminates dangerous cashless bail policies, holds magistrates accountable, sets a new standard requiring judicial officials to order mental health evaluations and, when necessary, involuntary commitment. We will simply not tolerate policies that allow violent offenders back onto our streets to commit more crimes and jeopardize public safety.”
The bill seeks to revive the death penalty in North Carolina by expediting the judicial review process.
Some of the changes to criminal justice policy included in the legislation include:
- Expedite the judicial review process in death penalty cases
- Require either a secured bond or house arrest with electronic monitoring for certain repeat offenders
- Create a new category of “violent offenses,” in which certain conditions for pretrial release must be imposed
- Increase transparency and accountability for judicial officials to explain their reasoning for certain conditions of release in each case
- Increase the number of prosecutors in Mecklenburg County by 10, to an overall total of 71
Iryna’s Law passed the Senate today and is expected to be heard in the House tomorrow, September 23rd.
