North Carolina republicans are calling for the removal of a magistrate judge who presided over the previous release of a man who is now charged with the murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.
Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder following the fatal train attack on the 23-year-old in Charlotte last month.
The incident sparked renewed debate about public safety and crime across the U.S., with Brown’s own criminal record and concerns about his mental health raising questions about how and why he was released from prison.
Brown, who has schizophrenia, had previously been arrested 14 times, with convictions for theft, robbery with a dangerous weapon, and communicating threats, leading to a six-year prison sentence in 2015 for incidents dating to 2013 and 2014. He was released in 2020.
In January this year, while in hospital, Brown told police officers who had been called that he was “being controlled” by a man-made substance. During his interaction with the officers, Brown reportedly became frustrated and dialled 911, asking for the police. The officers on the scene arrested him on a charge of misuse of 911.
Brown was later released after signing a written promise to appear at his next court hearing, according to court documents signed by Stokes, a magistrate judge for the Charlotte District in Mecklenburg County Court, North Carolina.
Stokes’s interpretation of pretrial release statutes “calls into question her fitness for service,” according to Republican Congressman Mark Harris, the representative for North Carolina’s 8th district.
“The entire NC Republican delegation called for the removal of Magistrate Judge Teresa Stokes for letting Iryna Zarutska's murderer out on the streets,” Rep. Harris said in a post on X, adding: “Is Stokes still making judgments for other criminals even though she has lost the public's confidence?”
While Stokes is responsible for making bail decisions in the misuse of 911 charge Brown faced earlier this year, and therefore weighing up the risk he posed to the public given his previous convictions over a decade ago, legal experts have expressed broader concerns about how the justice system can respond to cases like this.
Matthew Mangino, a former district attorney in Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, told Newsweek: "The unseen failure is the dismantling of community mental health care. Brown has mental health problems. Was he receiving mental health treatment while on the street? Unfortunately, for some former offenders, the only place they receive mental health care is in jail or prison.”
Should a judge send someone 'accused' of a crime to jail simply because they are mentally ill?"
President Donald Trump pledged a decisive response to the murder of Zarutska, writing on his Truth Social platform: “The ANIMAL who so violently killed the beautiful young lady from Ukraine, who came to America searching for peace and safety, should be given a ‘Quick’ (there is no doubt!) Trial, and only awarded THE DEATH PENALTY. There can be no other option!!!”
Zarutska fled the war in Ukraine along with her mother and siblings in 2022.
Brown has been charged with first-degree murder – a federal crime that could make him eligible for the death penalty.
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