Iyrna's Law went into effect on Monday in North Carolina, making major changes to the state's criminal justice system.
The measure was named after Iyrna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was stabbed to death while riding on the light rail line in Charlotte in Aug. 2025.
The new law eliminates cashless bail for certain violent crimes and limits how often judges can allow pretrial release. It also requires mental health evaluations in some cases.
The suspect, Decarlos Brown Jr., had been arrested more than a dozen times and was released earlier this year by a magistrate on a misdemeanor count without any bond.
The attack on Zarutska gained national attention, triggering public outrage with the release of security video showing the attack. President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers accused statewide elected Democrats of soft-on-crime policies.
Cotham maintained that the suspect should never have been allowed out of jail.
"The catch-and-release practices for violent offenders will end today with your support,” Cotham told colleagues during two hours of House debate. “This heinous act was preventable.”
But several House Democrats accused Republicans of focusing too much on whether the punishment fits the crime instead of ramping up resources to prevent the crimes from happening in the first place, such as adding more police officers to the streets.
“Tough on crime doesn’t only mean let’s pay attention to punishment after the fact,” according to former judge and Democratic Rep. Marcia Morey. “We grieve the murder. It was senseless, it was horrible. But what you are voting on today does nothing to take it back or would have prevented it. Let’s get smart on crime.”
Bondi said the Department of Justice will seek the maximum penalty and the suspect "will never again see the light of day as a free man.”
Brown has been charged with first-degree murder in state court and a federal count in connection with Zarutska’s death. Both crimes can be punishable by the death penalty.
"We will seek the maximum penalty for this unforgivable act of violence — he will never again see the light of day as a free man," the attorney general said.