Categories: North Carolina News

LIVE: House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight discusses pretrial release policies and repeat violent offenders in Charlotte

CHARLOTTE (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Members of Congress are in Charlotte on Monday for a high-profile field hearing, following the murder of 23-year-old Iryna Zarutska, a Ukrainian refugee who was stabbed to death last month while riding the light rail.

Zarutska was attacked by Decarlos Brown, a man she had never met, who was sitting behind her. The crime has sparked outrage and renewed focus on public safety and violent crime.

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On Monday, the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Oversight will convene at the Charles R. Jonas Federal Building to examine violent crime in and around Charlotte.

The hearing, titled “Victims of Violent Crime,” will focus on issues like pretrial release policies and how repeat violent offenders are handled in the justice system.

“Anyone who had the facts in front of them about this individual, Decarlos Brown, would have held him and kept him incarcerated,” said Rep. Deborah Ross. “But this magistrate did not. Put him back out on the streets, and we saw the taking of an innocent life, and this is just not acceptable.”

Rep. Mark Harris echoed the urgency of action but warned of political roadblocks.

“Why hasn’t the legislature and why hasn’t Congress been addressing this? Because they’re playing partisan political games,” he said. “We are on the verge of a government shutdown, a government shutdown that will further keep money from law enforcement and keep money from our mental health systems, both of which can go to prevent the kind of horrible crime we saw on the Charlotte transit system.”

The hearing will include testimony from family members of Zarutska, a Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officer, and a local bail bonds business owner. Both sides of the aisle said they are hoping for productive dialogue and real policy change.

While Charlotte has recently seen a string of violent crimes, including three homicides just this past weekend, CMPD data from January to June shows some encouraging trends, including an 8% drop in overall crime and a 25% reduction in violent crime.

Not everyone supports the hearing. Local advocacy groups like Indivisible Charlotte and The Poor People’s Campaign were protesting outside the building. They accuse lawmakers of using Zarutska’s death for political gain and are calling for bipartisan solutions to violence and public safety.

There’s been no word yet on whether federal investigations into the Charlotte Area Transit System by the FBI or the U.S. Department of Transportation will be discussed during Monday’s proceedings. Queen City News will continue to follow developments.

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