RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — Iryna’s Law is now headed to the governor’s desk.
State Republican lawmakers pushed the tough on crime bill after the stabbing death of Iryna Zarutska on a Charlotte train last month.
CBS 17 spoke with Wake County District Attorney Lorrin Freeman at her offices at the justice center in Raleigh on Wednesday.
“There are some good things in this bill that I think will help in some ways,” Freeman said. “Would it have prevented what happened there in Charlotte? Personally, I don’t think so.
The bill, in part, takes away the “cashless bail” option for many offenses.
“I think we will certainly see the jail population go up,” Freeman said. “It’s hard to know at this point to what degree they go up. I think a lot of the people that this bill covers, certainly in a jurisdiction like mine, were already getting secure bonds. It’s difficult to say exactly how much of that needle is going to move.”
Looking at local data, the Wake County Sheriff’s Office said between the Hammond Road Detention Center and Public Safety Center, they are nearly 97-percent full this week.
In Durham County, the sheriff’s office said on Wednesday, the jail was about 60-percent full.
The bill would make it mandatory for judges to require a mental health evaluation if the suspect faces a violent offense and they’ve been involuntarily committed at some point during the three years prior. The judge would also order one if there’s reason to believe the defendant is a danger to themselves or others.
“The state of North Carolina right now is paying for capacity evaluations,” Freeman said. “I think a major challenge we have seen playing out in our courts is the backlog at Central Regional Hospital. That is something that has been brought to the law and to the legislature is attention. It’s something that those of us in the system are well aware of.
“Quite frankly, there are not enough mental health beds currently in the state,” she continued. “A lot of those people stay in jail awaiting those evaluations or are awaiting the opportunity to be transferred to a hospital for treatment.”
Overall, Freeman said she is hoping to see more resources for mental health.
“A main focus of this effort needs to be funding for mental health services,” she said. “We need a real commitment to finding and standing up places where individuals who have severe and persistent mental illness can be safely taken care of.”
Freeman also noted the section of the bill that would restart the death penalty in North Carolina.
“I am concerned the provisions will throw us, at least temporarily, into a little bit more of a period of chaos until we figure out exactly what an approved type of carrying out the death penalty is going to be,” she said. “I think what victims want and what victims need is finality, a sense of justice and finality.
“t would be my hope that we not resort to things such as firing squad executions and gas chambers,” Freeman continued. “Frankly, I believe those things are beneath the dignity of the state.”
CBS 17 reached out to the offices of the two lawmakers who introduced the bill to see if they have any estimates on what it would cost to enforce these changes in the bill. We’re waiting on a response.
CBS 17’s Mary Smith is an Investigative Reporter focused on Digging Deeper and Getting Answers. If you have a story that needs investigating, send an email to Investigates@cbs17.com.
Mary Smith
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