Gov. Josh Stein signed into law Friday criminal justice legislation that includes an 11th-hour insertion of language that allows the state to use other means for carrying out the death penalty besides lethal injection, such as a firing squad.

House Bill 307 tightens several public-safety laws in response to the stabbing death of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on Charlotte’s light rail system.

The bill limits cashless bail, stricter bail rules for violent offenders and requiring more defendants undergo mental health evaluations. Legislative Democrats criticized the bill for not providing proper funding for those evaluations.

Stein's decision to sign HB307 comes after the Senate passed the bill by a 28-8 vote along party lines on Sept. 22. Eleven Senate Democrats exited the chamber in

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