Raleigh, NC – While Gov. Josh Stein signed Iryna’s Law into law on Friday, he also scolded the General Assembly, saying that the bill doesn’t do enough to keep people safe and that they should come back to Raleigh this month and pass his public safety package and fully fund Medicaid.
He mentioned the recent tragedies in Southport, where three people were killed; and of Iryna Zarutska, the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was brutally murdered on Charlotte’s light rail in August, for whom the law is named.
“When I review public safety legislation that comes to my desk, I use one simple test: does it make people safer?” he said in a video statement. “House Bill 307, or Iryna’s Law, alerts the judiciary to take a special look at people who may pose unusual risks of violence before determining their bail. That’s a good thing and why I have signed it into law.”
On Aug. 22, shortly before 10 pm, Zarutska was traveling on Charlotte’s Lynx Blue Line when she was allegedly stabbed in the throat by Decarlos Brown Jr.
The bill was presented to the governor after the North Carolina House of Representatives approved it on Sept. 23 by a vote of 81–31. House Bill 307 is a sweeping criminal justice reform bill introduced and advanced after the murder of Iryna Zarutska a month earlier on the Charlotte mass transit system. The House vote came only a day after the measure swiftly cleared Senate committees and passed on the Senate floor 28-8 following heated debate.
It also tightens pretrial conditions for the release of violent offenders, eliminates cashless bail, establishes a new protocol for ordering mental health evaluations in the criminal justice system, and sets a firmer timeline for appeal in death penalty cases. In addition, it also allows for death by a firing squad if the death penalty is used in a case.
However, the governor said, the law fails to focus appropriately on the threat that people pose, rather than their ability to post bail, and called a “last-minute” amendment of execution by firing squad alarming and barbaric.
“There will be no firing squads in North Carolina during my time as governor,” Stein, a Democrat, said. “Beyond those specific concerns with the legislation, I’m troubled by its lack of ambition or vision. It simply does not do enough to keep you safe.”
That’s why, he said, he is calling on the legislature to come back and pass his comprehensive public safety package, which includes more cops on the beat, violence prevention measures like keeping kids out of gangs and getting people off drugs, and acknowledging the role that guns and mental health play in violence that is being seen all across the country.
“We can respect people’s Second Amendment rights while also ensuring that anyone who is violent or dangerously mentally ill does not have access to guns,” the governor added. “Let’s use comprehensive background checks to keep guns out of the hands of violent criminals and dangerous people and let’s give family members and law enforcement the power to seek to temporarily remove a gun from someone who’s a danger to others or themselves.”
He wrapped up his video message, stating that the state needs a well-functioning mental health care system that gets people the treatment that they need.
“In recent years, on a bipartisan basis, we’ve made some real progress, and we all know that it’s not enough,” Stein said. “As a start, the General Assembly must fully fund Medicaid when they come back to Raleigh this month, and then let’s fix our mental health care system for the long haul to help people and to keep us all safe. It’s time to get real about the causes of violence and to take meaningful action to address them.”
Republican react to the signing of the bill
Republicans reacted to the news that Stein had finally signed the bill on the last day that he could sign it, veto it, or let it become law without his signature.
Iryna’s Law has been signed and is now a reality in NC. This is critical legislation that makes our state safer by ending cashless bail and getting career criminals off the street.
We will never forget Iryna Zarutska and this is the right first step to ensure what happens to…
— Speaker Destin Hall (@ncspeakerhall) October 3, 2025
“I am thrilled that Iryna’s Law is now a reality in North Carolina,” Rep. Tricia Cotham, R-Mecklenburg, said in a press release. “Finally, we are getting dangerous criminals off our streets so we can make sure no one else suffers the heartbreak that Iryna Zarutska’s family endured. I’m especially proud that, through our efforts, this law provides additional prosecutors for Mecklenburg County, giving our local law enforcement the tools they need to fight violent crime. I thank my colleagues.”
“Governor Stein’s reluctance to take action on Iryna’s Law shows he cannot be trusted to do the right thing for North Carolina families,” said NCGOP Chairman Jason Simmons in a press release. “As a leader, decisive action was needed. Republican legislators acted immediately, while Governor Stein chose to belatedly act on a Friday afternoon.”
US Rep. Pat Harrigan, R-NC10, who spoke at Monday’s US House Judiciary Committee field hearing on Victims of Violent Crime, also reacted to Stein’s late signing of the bill.
“@GovJoshStein dragged his feet for nine days, but Iryna’s Law is finally signed,” he said on X. “This law protects families from violent repeat offenders and shuts the revolving door that’s put criminals back on our streets. North Carolina demanded action, and today they won!”
Lawmakers clashed at the hearing over the causes of rising violent crime. Republicans blasted lenient bail and repeat offenders, while Democrats pressed for more funding for mental health care and local prosecutors, specifically for Mecklenburg County. Most of the state’s congressional delegation was there for the field hearing in Charlotte.
Families of victims of violent crime also spoke at the hearing, including Mia Alderman, whose 20-year-old granddaughter, Mary Collins, was murdered in 2020 in Charlotte.
Stephen Federico’s 22-year-old daughter, Logan, of Waxhaw, was murdered in Columbia, South Carolina, in May.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg police officer Stephen Campbell, who was one of those injured in a deadly ambush in April 2024 by Terry Clark Hughes Jr., a criminal with a long rap sheet, also spoke and downplayed the mental health issue and cited the lack of accountability for criminals.
Report scrutinizes CATs, Charlotte leaders promise more safety measures
A recently released rapid response report from the North Carolina State Auditor’s Office (OSA) raised serious concerns about safety on the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS).
The report found that CATS has fewer armed officers and unfilled security positions, and its contracts are awarded under questionable procurement practices, all while riders face crime rates three times the national average.
State Auditor Dave Boliek said a full report would be forthcoming.
Also on Friday, Charlotte city leaders held a press conference to announce increased safety measures on CATS, in light of growing concerns about public safety.