North Carolina Could See Its First Execution in Nearly Two Decades Under “Iryna’s Law”

North Carolina may soon see its first execution in nearly 20 years — and potentially by firing squad — under a new law inspired by the brutal murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska.

Governor Josh Stein signed Iryna’s Law on Friday, a sweeping criminal justice reform named after the 23-year-old who was fatally stabbed on a Charlotte light rail train in August. Her accused killer, Decarlos Brown Jr., 34, was caught on surveillance footage attacking her in an unprovoked assault that shocked the nation.

The law, formally House Bill 307, paves the way for North Carolina to resume capital punishment, which has been suspended since 2006. While lethal injection remains the only legal method, the legislation permits future use of firing squads, aligning the state with just five others — Idaho, Mississippi, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Utah — where the practice is still authorized.

The bill also cracks down on repeat and violent offenders, restricting cashless bail and requiring mental health evaluations before release. Brown, who has a history of arrests and untreated schizophrenia, could face the death penalty if convicted.

Governor Stein praised the bill’s safety reforms but called the firing squad provision “barbaric,” vowing not to authorize it during his term.

Friends remembered Zarutska, who fled war-torn Ukraine, as kind and full of promise — her life now a rallying cry for justice and reform.