County braces for jail surge as Iryna’s Law takes effect Monday

CHARLOTTE — Mecklenburg County officials are preparing for Iryna’s Law to go into effect on Monday. State lawmakers passed sweeping criminal justice changes after Iryna Zarutska was stabbed to death on the light rail in August.

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The law cracks down on pretrial release for repeat and violent offenders.

“It’s scary for me to read sometimes like how did they get out,” Commissioner Elaine Powell said. “I believe the lawmakers had good intentions.”

State lawmakers passed the bill and got rid of written promises to appear, which is what Zarutska’s murder suspect, DeCarlos Brown, was released on months before the murder.

The new law will increase the jail population and result in some inmates staying incarcerated for longer periods of time. Mecklenburg County commissioners are expecting a big impact for everyone from the sheriff’s office to the county’s criminal justice services department.

“I am almost speechless about the impacts across the board here,” Commissioner Susan Rodriguez-McDowell said.

“I see a backlog happening as a result of these arrests,” Commissioner George Dunlap said. “Us not being able to move people out of the system.”

Chief Judge Roy Wiggins says his judges and magistrates have been trained on the new law and he believes they are ready. First appearances will likely get longer. Judicial officials also will have to consider a suspect’s criminal history when granting pretrial release and will have to enter a written finding of fact if they do so.

Mecklenburg County is expecting an increased volume at the Arrest Processing Center, increased magistrate workloads and longer delays for law enforcement officers at AP. Mecklenburg County says Iryna’s Law increases the number of Public Safety Assessments and associated criminal records to be produced by the CJS Pretrial Services Unit for those booked into the jail. The county expects Iryna’s Law will increase the jail population.

Sheriff Garry McFadden expects more people will be held in jail and for longer period of time. He’s worried about staffing

“Each dorm or pod room has to have a body,” McFadden said. “When we talk about capacity, we can deal with it but we have to have staff to handle it.”

Iryna’s Law impacts to Pretrial Release:

The arresting law enforcement officer, a pretrial services program or a DA is to provide the judicial official a criminal history report for defendants. The judicial official is required to consider a defendant’s criminal history when setting conditions of pretrial release. The law now requires a defendant’s housing situation to be considered.

Iryna’s Law eliminates the Written Promise to Appear. It does not permit for the imposition of unsecured bonds or custody releases for defendants charged with violent offenses or those who have been convicted of three or more offenses within the previous 10 years. Judicial official must enter a written finding of fact if pretrial release is authorized. Release to pretrial supervisions is permitted where available.

IVC Proceedings-- these changes go into effect Dec. 1, 2026:

Iryna’s Law creates a new pretrial release procedure that requires judicial officials to initiative IVC proceedings for defendants who are charged with a violent offense and have been subject to an IVC within the previous three years or are charged with any offense and the judicial official has reason to believe the defendant is a danger to themselves or others. Iryna’s Law requires a defendant to receive an initial examination by a commitment examiner to determine grounds to petition for IVC. The arresting officer must transport the defendant to a facility for an initial examination. The commitment examiner must either petition for IVC or provide written notice to the court that there are no grounds for petition

VIDEO: CMPD releases video of encounter with accused killer before deadly light rail stabbing

CMPD releases video of encounter with accused killer before deadly light rail stabbing