RALEIGH, N.C. — Democratic Gov. Josh Stein signed into law on Friday a wide-ranging crime bill that GOP lawmakers put together after the fatal stabbing on board a light rail train in Charlotte last month.
The bill, which Republicans named Iryna’s Law in honor of Iryna Zarutska, the 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who died after she was stabbed on the Lynx Blue Line on Aug. 22, makes a number of changes to the state’s criminal laws.
Among other things, House Bill 307 includes stricter bail rules for a broad category of violent offenses, a new protocol for judges and magistrates to follow in ordering mental health evaluations if a defendant has been involuntarily committed or is suspected to have mental health issues, and funding for additional prosecutors in Mecklenburg County.
The bill al