A bill to bring back the death penalty in North Carolina — and to make it harder for people with histories of criminal behavior and mental illness to go back onto the street after being arrested — passed the state Senate Monday in a 28-8 vote after nearly every Democrat walked out in protest of what they said was the politicization of tragedy.

The wide-ranging crime-and-safety reforms, stuffed into House Bill 307, were made public Sunday night and sped through the state Senate on Monday. They came in the wake of a fatal stabbing of a 23-year-old woman on a Charlotte commuter train. Footage of the incident sparked national debate over public safety and mental health.

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State lawmakers had originally said the bill's details had been agreed upon by House and Senate bef

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