North Carolina could see its first execution in nearly two decades and possibly by firing squad, under a new law inspired by the brutal murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska, whose tragic death shook the nation.
Governor Josh Stein signed “Iryna’s Law” on Friday, a sweeping criminal justice reform named in honor of 23-year-old Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed in the neck on a Charlotte light rail train in August.
Her accused killer, Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, was captured on surveillance footage attacking Zarutska in a chilling, unprovoked act that sparked public outrage and bipartisan demands for harsher penalties for violent offenders.
Now, under the new law, Brown could become one of the first people in the state to face capital punishment by firing squad if convicted.
The Return of the Death Penalty
Execution has been suspended in North Carolina since 2006, but Iryna’s Law, formally House Bill 307, paves the way for its return. It includes an amendment paving the way for North Carolina to resume capital punishment, which could permit firing squads in the future, though lethal injection remains the only legal method for now.
If carried out, it would place North Carolina alongside just five U.S. states, Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah, where firing squads are still authorized.
Currently, the state has 122 inmates on death row, but none have been executed in nearly 20 years.
Cracking Down on Repeat Offenders
The legislation also targets repeat and violent offenders, like Brown, who had been arrested more than a dozen times since 2011, by blocking violent and repeat offenders from receiving cashless bail and mandating mental health evaluations before release.
Brown’s family has long said he suffered from schizophrenia, yet court records show that a psychiatric evaluation ordered in July 2025 was never completed before Zarutska’s killing.
Governor Stein said the bill would “alert the judiciary to take a special look at people who may pose unusual risks of violence before determining their bail,” calling that aspect “a good thing.”
Controversy Over the Firing Squad
Still, Stein condemned the addition of firing squads to the bill as “barbaric.” While the law opens the door to their use, the governor vowed he would refuse to authorize the method during his term, which ends in 2029.
Even so, the change has reignited national debate, especially after former President Donald Trump weighed in, calling for the ultimate punishment for Brown.
“The ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine … should be given a ‘Quick’ Trial, and only awarded THE DEATH PENALTY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “There can be no other option!”
A Life Cut Short
Zarutska, who had fled the war in Ukraine seeking peace and safety in the U.S., was remembered by friends as kind, creative, and full of promise. Her senseless killing reignited public fury over criminal leniency and mental health failures in the justice system.
As Brown faces both federal and state charges, Iryna’s Law stands as both a memorial and a message meant to protect future victims, even as it reopens one of America’s most divisive debates.
