CHARLOTTE — In the wake of a deadly tragedy on Charlotte’s light rail, lawmakers passed one of the most significant criminal justice pieces of legislation to take effect in North Carolina.
It’s called Iryna’s Law. One year later, we are looking at its impact from the courtroom to the jail cell.
Less than a year after the killing of Iryna Zarutska rocked the city, another crime shocked the conscience. Police say Di-Quan Hunt randomly attacked a woman outside Paper Skyscraper. She suffered a concussion and a brain bleed, and needed staples.
Hunt has been in and out of incarceration his whole adult life. But when he was booked into jail on this most recent charge, a magistrate ordered him to stay there, saying he was charged with a violent offense after being previously convicted of a violent offense.
Charlotte-area state House Rep. Tricia Cotham says this is what Iryna’s Law was designed to do.
“We know we have less repeat offenders going through a revolving criminal doors. We have put alert on the judges and magistrates for now if they do give someone a bond or release them from jail, they must be able to explain why, and then they can be held accountable,” Cotham said.
It was just about one year ago, Representative Tricia Cotham and Channel 9’s Joe Bruno sat around the same dining room table and she vowed judicial change after the stabbing of Iryna Zarutska.
Like Hunt, the suspect in Iryna’s killing, DeCarlos Brown, was a repeat offender.
“The catch and release practices for violent offenders will end today,” Cotham said.
When Iryna’s Law took effect in December, in many ways, catch and release did end. Mecklenburg County District Attorney Spencer Merriweather says because of this law, his office is able to succesfully push for violent criminals to be held behind bars longer-- or at a higher, secured bond.
The law also provided his office with the funding for 10 new prosecutors. He says they are almost all hired.
“I think that it’s been of extreme importance to the public to know that when violent offenders are coming through our court system, that there is an extra level of scrutiny that is assured,” Merriweather told Channel 9. “I think most people expect that when someone has a violent history, that they are going to remain in custody, barring an exceptional reason. I think that they expect that if someone has a repeat history, that they’re going to remain in custody unless there’s a good reason. I think that when people have exhibited a level of mental illness to the extent that it poses a public safety threat to the community. I think people expect that the people who work in government are going to do something about it.”
Iryna’s Law has led to more people behind bars.
The Mecklenburg County Sheriff’s Office wants to reopen Jail North to address overcrowding.
Major Robert Abee with MSCO took us inside arrest processing. He says the daily inmate population has increased 40 percent. Costs are up $660,000 for things like food, staffing and medical care.
“The impact on the detention center really is that we got strained staff. I mean, they’re running ragged. They’re working overtime,” Abee said. “We have people on overflow, and no, they’re not sleeping on the floor. We actually have bunks. We have bunks that they’re having to sleep on, but you know our staff is like I said they’re they’re they’re stressed. We’re having to pull resources to open up Jail North now, so that short-term and long-term impact doesn’t look good for the sheriff’s office.”
Merriweather says any strain on the system because of Iryna’s Law doesn’t imply that the public is wrong in wanting repeat violent offenders behind bars. He says it just means more work needs to be done.
“What that tells us is that we need to build a system that actually has capacity to give the public what it wants, so I think that you know we’re off to a start that gets us closer to public expectation, but there’s certainly a lot more work to do,” Merriweather said.
Cotham agrees. She says the legislature is playing catch-up but expects lawmakers will keep pursuing policies that keep people behind bars and provide resources to communities.
It took a heinous crime to get here, but she says Iryna Zarutska’s death will hopefully prevent others.
“I have a picture of her on my desk. I think about her mother every day, and I’ve never met them,” Cotham said. “I’ve never wanted to cross any lines, but I think about her mom, and I’m a mom myself. This young girl came here for a better life, just taking public transportation, and was just brutally tortured by a very heinous individual. What would she be up to today? And it’s just really, really sad. But Charlotte is going to continue to improve and I’m going to make sure of that.
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