(QUEEN CITY NEWS) -- The General Assembly passed an extensive criminal justice reform bill following a heated debate on the NC House floor Monday afternoon. House Bill 307, entitled “Iryna’s Law,” promises changes to the judicial system, expands the death penalty, and provides more funding for prosecutors in Mecklenburg County.
The law is named after Iryna Zarutska, who was fatally stabbed while riding Charlotte’s light rail in South End late last month. Mecklenburg County Republican Rep. Tricia Cotham said the bill offered members a chance to stop crime and “stand up for not just Iryna, but for so many others.”
The bill creates a code of conduct for magistrate judges, changes some pretrial processes, and requires those charged with a violent offense to go through a mental evaluation, if