GOP leaders plan crime-fighting bill, push to restart death penalty after Charlotte stabbing

Republican legislative leaders in North Carolina plan to propose new crime-fighting policies when the legislature returns later this month — a response to the fatal stabbing of a light-rail passenger in Charlotte. Senate leader Phil Berger also said Thursday that he’s examining ways to restart the death penalty in the state, where the practice has been paused for years. Democrats, meanwhile, called on Republicans to increase public-safety funding.

Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian who lived in Charlotte, was fatally stabbed in the neck on Aug. 22 by a male suspect, investigators say. Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, faces state and federal murder charges for Zarutska’s death. The incident gained national attention and calls for action after surveillance video went viral last week, drawing responses from all levels of government — even from President Donald Trump, who has sought to make the case a central theme in the closely watched race for the state’s open U.S. Senate seat.

“Iryna Zarutska should still be alive today,” Berger told reporters at a joint legislative news conference Thursday. “But her life was tragically cut short because of the atrocious policies pushed by out-of-touch politicians and court officials that prioritize a perverted vision or version of equity and politicized social justice over real and tangible justice.”

Berger, R-Rockingham, was flanked by House Speaker Destin Hall, R-Caldwell, and Michael Whatley, the Trump-backed Republican Party candidate projected to face former Gov. Roy Cooper in the 2026 general election for the state's U.S. Senate seat, which is being vacated by Republican Thom Tillis.

Without providing many specifics, Berger said he would propose “commonsense policies to more effectively tackle crime in our state.” Hall and Berger indicated the proposals could seek to make it easier to involuntarily commit people to mental hospitals, end cashless bail, and ban the state's executive branch leaders, including Democratic Gov. Josh Stein, from attempting to advocate for criminal justice reforms.

Democratic legislative leaders pointed the finger back at Berger and Hall, who lead the Republican majorities in the legislative chambers. Democrats called for increased investments in local public safety and mental health treatment, drawing on feedback from law enforcement and judicial leaders.

“Decisions made by the Republican leadership of this General Assembly failed Ms. Zarutska and continue to fail to keep our communities safe every single day,” Democratic Leader Sydney Batch said in a statement. "For years, Democratic legislators have offered bill after bill, amendment after amendment to put our tax dollars directly into keeping our streets safe and making mental health a top priority. Republican leaders have shut out these real policy solutions and instead opted to cut funding for mental health and shortchange public safety.”

GOP targets Cooper, magistrates

Berger, Trump and other Republicans have blamed policies and budget decisions by Democratic officials in Charlotte for Zarutska's death. But they have also used the incident to target Cooper, a Democrat whose second term ended last year, for policies he pushed while in office. The U.S. Senate race in this battleground state is expected to be one of the most expensive and hard-fought federal races in the nation next year. Republicans see an opportunity to position themselves as tougher on crime than Democrats. Public safety is a key issue for voters.

Critics of Cooper have called out the Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice, which Cooper created by executive order in 2020, saying a report by the group called on the criminal justice system to eliminate cash bail and promote alternatives to arrest. The Republican-led legislature mostly ignored the report’s recommendations.

Republicans have also blamed judicial-system officials for the incident, saying Brown should have never been on the streets in the first place. Brown was awaiting trial for an unrelated crime — misusing the 911 emergency dispatch service. He had been released after being charged in that incident, but it isn’t common practice to jail people on those kinds of charges while they wait for their court date.

"We're going to be looking at some oversight of magistrates," Hall said, "looking at the way that we select magistrates, looking at ethical issues with magistrates, and making sure that the folks are making these decisions, are paying attention to what they're doing."

Berger said crime reforms “can start by ensuring that Governor Stein and other members of the executive branch cannot establish any future task forces like the one Roy Cooper created that advanced weak-on-crime policies."

The Cooper campaign has pushed back on Republican criticism, noting that the task force had no legal authority over any criminal cases or whether an individual was released early from jail or prison. No governor in North Carolina, or in any other state, has any say over who goes to prison. They do have some power on who gets out because they can issue pardons or commutations. Cooper did neither in this case.

Nevertheless, Cooper was a central focus of Republicans on Thursday. “We need leaders at every level to acknowledge that there is a crime crisis here in North Carolina and across the country, brought about by the left’s soft-on-crime policies, which affect the safety of every community and every family across our great state,” Whatley, the Republican U.S. Senate candidate who led the North Carolina GOP before heading up the national party. “Roy Cooper has a history of being soft on crime.”

Cooper previously criticized Whatley for politicizing Zarutska's murder, and for supporting Trump's actions to cut government spending, which have included freezing billions of dollars in federal grants for law enforcement. Other Democrats have also called on Republicans to approve more funding for law renforcement.

"This was a heartbreaking, despicable act of evil and Iryna Zarutska’s family and loved ones are in our prayers," the Cooper campaign said in a statement Thursday. "Roy Cooper knows North Carolinians need to be safe in their communities; he spent his career prosecuting violent criminals and drug dealers, increasing the penalties for violence against law enforcement, and keeping thousands of criminals off the streets and behind bars."

The statement accused Whatley of lying about Cooper's record "because he knows his support for federal policies that cut local and state law enforcement funding is wrong for North Carolina."

"Only a cynical DC insider would think it's acceptable to use her death for political points, especially one who supported cutting funding to law enforcement in NC," Cooper said of Whatley in a recent social media post, adding: "I've been Attorney General and Governor, dedicating my career to putting violent criminals behind bars and keeping them there."

Berger shrugged off Trump's cuts to law enforcement funding Thursday, telling reporters: "I don't think this is a money problem at this point. Or at least, many of the problems that we have — that we've identified — have more to do with judgment being inappropriately exercised. And I don't know that any amount of money will solve that."

Death penalty examination

Berger also said Thursday that he is looking into ways to restart the death penalty in North Carolina. Trump has called for the dealth penalty in the Charlotte stabbing case.

North Carolina hasn’t carried out a death penalty sentence since 2006, when legal challenges put executions on hold. A federal judge ruled that a doctor must monitor the condemned for signs of pain, to make sure no unconstitutional pain occurs. However, the state’s medical board at the time threatened to punish any doctor who takes part in an execution because it conflicts with the Hippocratic oath to “do no harm,” the Associated Press previously reported.

“For far too long, there's been a judicially imposed moratorium on the death penalty by activist judges and doctors and attorneys general and governors who are more interested in serving leftist political bosses than justice for victims and their families and justice for the public as well,” Berger said. “Republicans in the General Assembly have attempted to restart the death penalty over the past decade and a half, but those efforts have been stymied at every turn.”