CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A new North Carolina law aimed at tightening bail restrictions and expediting death penalty appeals takes effect Monday, as the state simultaneously rolls out a $9.5 million pilot program designed to address mental health issues in the criminal justice system.

Iryna's Law will end the written promise to appear options for certain violent offenders and mandate that judges order mental health evaluations in specific cases. The law was named after Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee who was fatally stabbed on a Charlotte light rail train in August by a man with a lengthy criminal history.

The state's new mental health initiative will invest $9.5 million over three years in programs designed specifically for adults with serious mental illness who have a history

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