Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, was brutally stabbed to death on August 22 while riding a train in Charlotte, North Carolina, by Decarlos Brown Jr., a man with a well-documented criminal history.
Surveillance footage showed Brown, 34, attacking Zarutska with a knife, striking her three times in the neck in an unprovoked assault. The footage indicated no prior interaction between the two before the attack, and Brown was arrested shortly after the incident with the weapon still in his possession. A federal grand jury has now indicted Brown for the murder, citing his intentional killing of Zarutska, which qualifies him for the death penalty under US law. His criminal record includes multiple felony convictions, including robbery with a dangerous weapon, for which he served five years in prison. The case has reignited debates over capital punishment in the United States, particularly after former President Donald Trump called for the death penalty, prompting legislative action in North Carolina to reinstate the death penalty, albeit with alternative methods. While 27 states still permit capital punishment, 23 have abolished it, and North Carolina has been under a moratorium since the early 2000s.
Earlier this month, the state enacted Iryna’s Law, which reinstates the death penalty and directs officials to find alternative execution methods if lethal injection is unavailable. In April, North Carolina lawmakers proposed legalizing firing squads and the electric chair. Governor Josh Stein has called the idea “barbaric” and said there will be no firing squads in the state during his time in office. President Donald Trump described Brown as an “animal” and urged that the death penalty be applied. In late September, Trump signed an executive order reinstating the death penalty for murder in Washington, DC, saying it would help deter violent crime.